Principal Grape Varieties Flashcards
1
Q
Cabernet Sauvignon: characterize
A
- Late ripening
- Needs at least moderate climate to ripen
- High color, flavor, tannin
- Blackcurrant and black cherry
2
Q
Cabernet Sauvignon: likely winemaking approaches
A
- Lower fermentation temp (26 - 30 C) to limit tannin extraction
- Limit cap extraction
- Possibly extended post-ferm maceration to soften tannins
- Blending with other grape varieties, especially Merlot
3
Q
Dolcetto: characterize
A
- Earlier ripening than Nebbiolo and Barbera
- Deep color (often purple)
- Black plums, red cherries, dried herbs
- Ageable for several years
- Dolcetto d’Alba DOC
4
Q
Barbera: characterize
A
- Late-ripening
- Medium to deep color
- Low to med tannins
- High acidity
- Red cherries and plums, sometimes black pepper
- Can be youthful and fruity or barrel-aged to give spicy flavors
- Barbera d’Asti DOCG
5
Q
Nebbiolo: characterize
A
- Late-ripening
- Little color
- High acidity and tannins
- Sour cherries, herbs, sometimes dried flowers
- Developing aromas of truffles, tar, and leather
- Benefits from barrel and bottle ageing
- Barolo DOCG and Barbaresco DOCG
6
Q
Sauvignon Blanc: characterize
A
- Early ripening
- Well suited to cool climates
- Can be blended with another variety to give more body and richness (e.g., Semillon)
7
Q
Riesling: characterize
A
- Late budding and mid to late ripening (depending on style)
- Well suited to cool climates
- High acidity even when picked late
8
Q
Chardonnay: characterize
A
- Early budding
- Can thrive in a wide range of climates (though it is susceptible to frost)
- Acid declines the riper it gets
9
Q
Pinot Gris/Grigio: characterize
A
- Early budding and early ripening
- Loses acid as it ripens
- Can have an oily texture when ripe
- Pinot Grigio clones tend to be larger than Pinot Gris clones, and thus produce more neutral wines (with less flavor concentration)
10
Q
Sangiovese: characterize
A
- Late ripening
- High acid and tannin
- Red cherries, plums, dried herbs
- Usually aged in oak to soften tannins and add spicy flavors
- With bottle age, meaty and gamey
11
Q
Montepulciano: characterize
A
- High levels of color and tannins
- Medium acidity
- Black plums and cherries
- Most are simple and fruity, but some are matured in oak for a short time
12
Q
Gewurtztraminer: characterize
A
- Skins have light pink tinge, giving golden color to some wines
- Full-bodied with a rich, oily texture
- Low to med acidity
- High alcohol
- Pungent aromatic spicy nose (lychees, roses, sweet baking spices)
13
Q
Viognier: characterize
A
- Full-bodied
- Low acidity, high alcohol (as aromas develop only very late in the season)
- Perfumed aromas of blossom and apricots, and flavors of stone fruits
- Grapes need careful handling so wines do not develop overtly oily character
- New oak increasingly used, but careful use so as not to overwhelm aromas
- Usually dry; very small number off-dry
14
Q
Grüner Veltliner: characterize
A
- Full-bodied, high acidity
- Citrus or stone fruit, with hints of white pepper
- Develops honey and toast
- Majority: stainless steel, some some old oak. Some age a proportion of their best in new oak barriques
- Can produce fresh but unexciting wines at high yields
15
Q
Chenin Blanc: characterize
A
- High acid, non aromatic
- Dry through sweet (including noble rot) and can be used for sparkling
- Fresh apple through tropical fruit, depending on ripeness
- Dry: steely, smokey
- Developing honey, toast, and hay
- Ripens unevenly, so several passes may be required (and hand harvesting)
16
Q
Chenin Blanc: which five places is it found?
A
- Savennières (west of Anjou-Saumur): Dry, full-bodied, harvested late
- Coteaux du Layon (west of A-S): Sweet, noble rot wines)
- Paarl (South Africa coastal)
- Swartland (South Africa coastal): old vines
- Worchester (South Africa Breede River Valley): high-volume and distillation
17
Q
Muscadelle: characterize
A
- Found in Bordeaux
- Pronounced grapey, floral flavors
- Important supporting role in sweet and dry white production, but only a small percentage
18
Q
Melon Blanc: characterize
A
- Ripens early and is frost-resistant
- Suited to cool climate
- Muscadet wines
- Dry, high acidity, light body, med alcohol (~12%), green fruit
- Not ageable
- Muscadet Sur Lie
19
Q
Torrontés: characterize
A
- Med body and acidity
- Intense fruity, floral perfume, with flavors of stone fruits and melons
- Widely planted in Salta (esp. Cafayate–the best), La Rioja, San Juan, and Mendoza
20
Q
Cortese: characterize
A
- Pale and light-bodied
- High acid and aromas
- Citrus, green apples, pears
- Gavi DOCG: Altitude and sea breezes lengthens ripening to enhance acidity
- Norm is cool ferm with steel, but some use old oak and lees stirring to add complexity
- Most ready to drink, but the best can age
21
Q
Verdejo: characterize
A
- Highly susceptible to oxidation and was used to make Sherry-like wines
- Protective winemaking: light-bodied, med to high acid, melon and peach
- Lees stirring and barrel ferm: richer, fuller-bodied style
22
Q
Albariño/Alvarinho: characterize
A
- Thick-skinned, and thus resistant to fungal disease
- High in acidity, citrus and stone fruit
- Can be made into richer, fuller-bodied style with MLC, oak and lees stirring
- Found in Rías Baixas and in Vinho Verde (especially in Vinho Verde Alvarinho from Monção e Melgaço)
23
Q
Semillon: characterize
A
- Thin skin and susceptible to noble rot
- Sauternes, Barsac (sweet wines)
- Riverina, New South Wales (sweet wines)
- Hunter Valley (harvested early (low alc, high acidity), protective ferm, neutral in youth developing honey/toast)
- Barossa Valley (old: fuller, oaked; now: fresh, unoaked)
24
Q
Garganega: characterize
A
- Med to high acidity
- Med body
- Pears, red apple, stone fruit, sometimes white pepper (no oak)
- Developing almonds and honey
- Higher acidity in limestone/volanic hills because it is cooler (Classico)
- Soave DOC, Soave Classico DOC, Recioto di Soave DOCG
25
Q
Merlot: characterize
A
- Earlier budding and ripening than Cab Sauv
- Int’l style: late harvested, deep purple color, concentrated blackberry and plum, soft velvety tannins
- Bordeaux style: harvested earlier for med body and alc, higher acidity, fresh red fruit and vegetal/leafy
- More supple skins, so less rigorous extraction than cab
- 12-18 months in oak common
26
Q
Pinot Noir: characterize
A
- Early budding and ripening
- Thin skin
- Best in cool to mod climates
- Lots of clones
- Possible whole bunch ferm
- Common for hot (above 30 C) ferm for more tannin/color/flavor for longer-aged wines
- 12-24 in oak, often mostly old
- Developing forest floor and mushrooms
27
Q
Pinot Noir: name where top quality is found (7 countries and the specific regions)
A
- Burgundy
- Baden (Germany)
- Los Carneros and Sonoma (CA)
- Martinborough, Marlborough, Central Otago (NZ)
- Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, Tasmania (Australia)
- Walker Bay (SA)
- Casablanca Valley (Chile)
28
Q
Cabernet Franc: characterize
A
- Less body and tannin than Cab Sauv
- Contributes vibrant fruit and floral to Bordeaux blend (but can be herbaceous when unripe)
- Grown in Chinon and Bourgueil (Loire) and Saumur-Champigny (Loire - was light now fuller bodied)
- Light/fruity from sandy soils; fuller-bodied, more tannic from southerly slopes with limestone and clay
- Used in blend with Cab Sauv in Cabernet d’Anjou (med-dry to med-sweet Rosé)
29
Q
Syrah: characterize
A
- Small with thick, darkly colored skins
- Can range from med-bodied with pepper and fresh black fruit to smooth and full-bodied with intense, very ripe fruit and liquorice
- Developing meat and leather
- In hotter climates, can decide between max extraction and a more restrained style (earlier harvesting, gentler cap mgmt, portion of whole bunch ferm, post-ferm maceration, larger/older oak)
30
Q
Grenache/Garnacha: characterize
A
- Late-ripening variety
- Needs warm or hot climates; drought tolerant
- Thin-skinned
- High in alcohol, low in acidity, full body, soft tannins, red fruit
- Usually blended
- Pre-ferm maceration is common to extract flavor and color before alc levels rise
- Some do portion of whole bunches to enhance red fruit
- Usually no post-ferm maceration
- Usually matured in large old oak foudres, as new oak can overwhelm fruit
31
Q
Grenache/Garnacha: name the blending partners
A
- Priorat: Carignan
- Rioja Oriental: Tempranillo
- Châteauneuf-du-Pape: Syrah, Mourvèdre
- Languedoc and Roussillon: Syrah, Mourvèdre, Carignan, Cinsault
- Australia: Cabernet Sauvignon
32
Q
Mourvèdre/Montrastrell: characterize
A
- Thick-skinned
- Needs hot, sunny climate; drought-tolerant
- Deeply colored and very high in tannins
- Dense black fruit, gamey and meaty
- At northern limit in Southern France, requiring warmest sites (e.g., Bandol–where full body high tannin wines need bottle age to show bramble, meat, liquorice)
- Dominant in Jumilla and Yecla; most there youthful and fruity.
33
Q
Gamay: characterize
A
- Early budding and early ripening
- If not managed, can produce large yields with dilute flavors
- Best in granite soils with low nutrients
- Low to med tannin and body
- Fragrent aromas of raspberry and cherry
- Styles range from light and fruity to those that can age.
34
Q
Corvina: characterize
A
- Med color, low to med tannins, high acidity
- Other varieties blended to increase color and tannin
- In Valpolicella, foothills with limestone, clay, volcanic gives more acidity (Classico); in gravel and sand, less acidity and more fruit
35
Q
Aglianico: characterize
A
- Deep color, high acid and tannin, black fruit, develops earthy, forest floor
- Matured in oak
- At its best in Taurasi DOCG (in Campania)
36
Q
Negroamaro: characterize
A
- At high yields, fruity
- With controlled yields, full body, med tannins and acid, high alcohol, baked red and black fruit
- Many of best from Salice Salentino DOC (in Puglia)
37
Q
Zinfandel/Primitivo: characterize
A
- With high yields, fruity
- With controlled yields, full body, med tannins and acid, high alc, and very ripe berry fruit
- In California, can have small residual sugar, subtle herbaceous, red and black fruits, dried berries, and liquorice.
- Ripens unevenly
- White Zinfandel (Rosé) is made from early-picked grapes, usually fruit, pale, med-sweet, and low in alc
38
Q
Nero d’Avola: characterize
A
- Med to full body, med acidity and tannins, plums and black cherries
- Often made fruity, but best producers make it concentrated and complex
- Dominant black grape in Sicily
39
Q
Graciano: characterize
A
- Highly valued but difficult to grow
- Small quanities used to add concentrated black fruit, acidity, and tannins to structure
- Mostly grown in Rioja
40
Q
Carmenère: characterize
A
- Late ripening
- Best in warmest and sunniest
- Full body, high tannin
- Herbaceous when unripe, but when right balance between black fruit and herbal
- Grown primarily in Chile, especially Aconcagua Valley, Cachapoal Valley floor, Colchagua Valley
41
Q
Malbec: characterize
A
- Deeply colored, full body, smooth high tannins, black fruit
- In Argentina, most matured in new oak
- Can be floral at higher altitude
- Mostly a varietal in Argentina, but can be blended with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and/or Petit Verdot.
- Also most important variety in Cahors
42
Q
Pinotage: characterize
A
- Can be light/fruity with red flavors, or very fully body, rich, spiced berries
- When fermented or aged in oak, coffee or chocolate
- Can be blended with international varieties to make a “Cape Blend”
- Pinot Noir x Cinsault
43
Q
Tempranillo/Cencibal/Tinta Roriz/Aragonês: characterize
A
- Early ripening, thick skin
- Med acid
- Best either (i) hot with large diurnal range or (ii) moderate cooled by ocean or altitude.
- Varietal: Semi-carb maceration “Joven” wine
- Long-lived when blended with Garnacha, Graciano, Cariñena/Mazuelo, or Cab Sauv.
- Grown throughout northern and central Spain
44
Q
Trebbiano/Ugni Blanc: characterize
A
- Orvieto DOC (Umbria): blend with Grechetto
- Light body, med to high acid, ripe grapefruit and peaches
- Frascati DOC (Lazio): blend with Malvasia
- Med body, med to high acid, citrus (sometimes with Malvasia providing floral, orange blossom)
- Also in Côtes de Gascogne as dry, light-body, green apple
45
Q
Muscat: characterize
A
- Refers to a number of grape varieties
- Low to med acid, light to med body, aromatic with orange blossoms, rose, grape
- Muscat Blanc à Petits Grains (or Sárga Muskotály): more aromatic, but prone to poor fruit set and rot
- Muscat Ottonel: less aromatic, but more reliable
- Used in fortified muscats and Asti DOCG
46
Q
Carignan/Cariñena/Mazuelo: characterize
A
- Late ripening
- High tannin, acid, color, but lacks fruit or finesse
- Was popular because of high yields
- Small amount blended with Tempranillo (in Rioja) and Garnacha (in Priorat) can enhance structure
- Old vines in Cariñena, Calatayud, and Priorat can give greater intensity
47
Q
Vidal: characterize
A
- Hybrid
- Little character when made into a dry white
- High-quality icewine, but without the acid structure and aromatic complexity of Riesling
- Niagara Peninsula (Ontario, Canada)
