Prelude to Wine

Question 1

What are the tastes in wine?

Answer 1

Sweet
Sour
Bitter

Question 2

What are the 3 sources that can affect a wine’s flavor?

Answer 2

Grapes
Fermentation
Maturation & Aging

Question 3

The major wine grapes come from what species?

Answer 3

Vitis vinifera

Question 4

Name 3 grapes that have high tannin.

Answer 4

Nebbiolo
Cabernet Sauvignon
Syrah / Shiraz

Question 5

What is Terroir?

Answer 5

How the elements of a particular region influence the flavor of a wine

Soil Composition
Geography
Sunlight
Weather
Climate
Plant Life

Question 6

What is Brix?

Answer 6

Winemaker’s measure of sugar in grapes

Question 7

What is phylloxera?

Answer 7

Grape louse that can kill the entire plant

Question 8

What is Noble Rot?

Answer 8

Botrytis cinerea. Mold that can increase the concentration of acid & sugar

Question 9

Sugar + ___ = ___ + CO2

Answer 9

Yeast

Alcohol

Question 10

What is the abv % range for sparkling wine?

Answer 10

8-12%

Question 11

What is the abv % range for table wine?

Answer 11

8-15%

Question 12

What is the abv % range for fortified wine?

Answer 12

17-22%

Question 13

What is must?

Answer 13

The mixture of grape juice & skins

Question 14

How is white wine made from red grapes?

Answer 14

The skins are removed from the juice

Question 15

What is maceration?

Answer 15

Soaking the grape skins with the juice to extract aromas, tannin, & color

Question 16

What is chaptalization?

Answer 16

Adding sugar to the must to increase final abv

Question 17

What is residual sugar?

Answer 17

Natural sugars left over after fermentation has ended

Question 18

Where does tannin come from?

Answer 18

The skins, seeds, and stems of the grapes

Question 19

What does a vintage on a bottle indicate?

Answer 19

The year the grapes were harvested

Question 20

What are the factors that affect whether a wine will last more than 5 years?

Answer 20

The color / grape
Vintage
Where the wine comes from
How the wine was made
Storage Conditions

Question 21

What is a “corked” wine?

Answer 21

Musty aroma [fault] caused by TCA

Question 22

What is sulfur dioxide?

Answer 22

A natural antioxidant, preservative, and disinfectant

Question 23

What is vertical tasting?

Answer 23

Comparing the same wine from different vintages

Question 24

What happens to the color of white wines as they age?

Answer 24

The color concentration increases

Question 25

What happens to the color of red wines as they age?

Answer 25

The color concentration decreases

Question 26

What is the difference between aroma & bouquet?

Answer 26

Aroma describes the smell of the grapes

Bouquet describes the total smell of the wine [usually found in older wines]

Question 27

Why should you swirl a wine before smelling it?

Answer 27

To release the volatile compounds [esters, ethers, & aldehydes] to yield the wine’s aroma / bouquet