Riesling And Chardonnay Flashcards
What acidity is Riesling?
High acidity (holds onto its acidity even more than Chenin blanc)
Does Riesling have a think or thick skin?
Thin skin - susceptible to botrytis/noble rot
What climate does Riesling thrive in?
Cool
Moderate
Is Riesling Aromatic?
Yes
What flavours do you associate with a ripe Riesling through to a extra ripe Riesling?
Just ripe -Green fruits (apple and pear)
Citrus (lemon, lime) and floral (blossom)
Extra ripe - stone fruits (peach, apricot), tropical fruits (mango, pineapple) and sometimes even dried fruits (dried apricot)
Is Riesling a dry, medium or sweet wine?
Can be dry through to sweet
Is it usually light or full bodied?
Light to full bodied
Very good or outstanding examples can age in bottle with what aromas?
Honey, petrol (gasoline)
Is Riesling normally oaked?
No rarely
Riesling recap
High acid keeps its acidity
Aromatic grape
Apple, pear, lemon, lime, blossom - peach, apricot, pineapple, mango - dried apricots
Dry to sweet
Light bodied to full bodied
High acidity is perfect for balancing high levels of sweetness
Off dry or medium wines are made by interrupting the fermentation and removing the Yeast. This leaves a lower alcohol wine and some residual sugar.
The sweetest styles the fermentation stops naturally as the grapes are extra ripe and high in sugar.
Finest rieslings can age well in the bottle due to retaining its acidity. Can develop tertiary flavours of honey and petrol (gasoline)
What are the three regions in Germany
Mosel - typically lighter in body as most northerly region in Germany. Medium sweetness to balance very high acidity. Best vineyards are planted on steep slopes, facing south/south west on the banks of Mosel river. Stony soils and reflected sunlight from the river aid grape ripening
Rheingau - situated on steep south facing slopes on the north bank of the river Rhine. Helps maximise sunlight and warmth. Typically drier in style than Mosel rieslings and have more body.
Pfaiz - towards the French border. Is protected by mountains to the west and has a dry, sunny, climate. Typically Pfaiz Riesling is dry and medium bodied
Labelling in Germany reflects the ripeness in the grapes. Click for information
Landwein - term for a PGI wine in Germany, typically light bodied and dry to off dry in style
Qualitatswein - PDO wine labelled like this must come from 13 wine growing areas in Germany eg Rheingau and Mosel. Must achieve a higher level of grape ripeness than is required for Landwein. Typically more intense in flavour and fuller in body.
Pradikatswein - a higher minimum sugar level is required. The grapes must come from one a single wine growing area. There are 6 Pradikat categories classified in order of the sugar levels required at the time of harvest:
Kabinett
Spatlese
Auslese
To make a dry wine from the above Auslese would have the most alcohol due to having more sugars
To achieve sugar levels needed for
Beerenauslese
Trockenbeerenauslese
Elswein
The grape sugars must be concentrated on the vine. Yeast cannot ferment such high levels of sugar into alcohol and the resulting wines are naturally low in alcohol and sweet.
What does Trocken and Halbtrocken mean when it comes to labelling in Germany
Trocken - Dry
Halbtrocken - Medium
Most German wines have some sweetness. This could be indicated by the pradikat level of the wine….
Kabinett - lightest most delicate category. Kabinett Rieslings are typically light in body with delicate green fruit (green apple) and citrus fruit (lime) flavours and floral aromas (blossom)
Spatlese (late harvest) - a Spatlese Riesling will have more concentrated flavours and fuller body than a Kabinett from the same region. Riper citrus fruits (lemon, lime) and some stone fruit flavours (peach)
Auslese - (selected harvest) - these wines are made from carefully selected extra ripe bunches. Rieslings display flavours of stone fruits (apricot) and tropical flavours (mango) and dried fruits. Although Auslese wines can be made in a Trocken style (dry), most have some sweetness.
Eiswein (ice wine) - these wines are made from grapes that are frozen on the vine. Eiswein Rieslings have vibrant stone fruit aromas (peach, nectarine) and tropical fruit (mango, pineapple) flavours. Botrytis plays no part. The specific weather conditions required to create Eiswein do not occur every year. Labour intensive to produce and yields are small. Therefore command high prices
Beerenauslese/BA (selected berry harvest) - These wines are made from selected bunches that have been concentrated by botrytis/noble rot. BA Rieslings have characteristics of fresh stone fruit (apricot) tropical fruit (mango) dried fruit and honey.
Trockenbeerenauslese/TBA (selected dried berry harvest) - these wines are made from individually selected berry’s that have been dried through the effect of botrytis. These are rare and concentrated wines with flavours similar to BA but more intense.
What French region is famous for producing Riesling?
Alsace AOC - lies to the east of the Vosges Mountains, which protect the vineyards from rain bearing westerly winds. It is therefore one of the driest and sunniest wine producing regions in all of France.best vineyards are planted in the mountain foothills facing east or south east to benefit from the morning sun.
A typical Alsace Riesling is dry with pronounced aromas and flavour intensity.
Ripe citrus and stone fruit flavours
Medium bodied with high acidity
What two regions in Australia are famous for Riesling?
Eden Valley
Clare Valley coastal breeze cools down vineyards
Both have high altitude so moderate climates. They produce Rieslings in a dry style with citrus fruits (lime and lemon)
Chardonnay quick info
Versatile grape can grow in a range of climates. Cool, moderate, warm (will lose acidity in warm areas)
Medium to high acidity
Dry
Light to full bodied
Range of winemaking techniques
Used to make sparkling wine with Pinot noir
Very good examples can age with aromas of hazelnut, mushroom
Cool climate Chardonnay has high acidity, light to medium body and flavours of green fruits (apple, pear) citrus fruits (lemon) and wet stones
Moderate climate medium to high acidity, medium to full body and flavours of lemon, stone fruits (peach) and sometimes tropical (melon)
Warm climates Chardonnay is full bodied, medium in acidity and dominated by flavours of stone fruit (peach) tropical fruit (pineapple, bannana)
Winemaking options for Chardonnay
Malolactic conversion can dairy flavours (butter cream)
Lees contact during maturation can add body and flavours of bread and biscuit.
Oak barrel fermentation/maturation can add body and flavours (smoke, vanilla, coconut)
Important regions for Chardonnay
Burgundy/Bourgogne
Chablis
Côte d’Or - the south part - cote de Beaune - villages of Meursault AOC and Puligny-Montrachet AOC
Maconnais labelled Macon AOC
Village in maconnais - Pouilly-Fuisse AOC
Bourgogne AOC and Chablis AOC regions for Chardonnay
Bourgogne AOC - wines labelled under this regional appellation can be made from grapes grown anywhere in burgundy. Usually simple with apple and lemon characteristics, high acidity
Chablis AOC - village appellation. Cool climate produces dry, light to medium bodied wines with high acidity, flavours of apple, lemon and wet stones. Oak flavours not detected from wines from Chablis as inert vessels tend to be used.
Côte d’Or - Meursault AOC and Puligny-Montrachet AOC
Côte d’Or is moderate climate and wines have more riper fruit flavours peach (stone fruit) and melon (tropical)
Chardonnay tends to be more south in Côte de Beaune. Two village appellations are
Meursault AOC
Puligny- Montrachet AOC
Both famous for producing outstanding chardonnays. Complexity and body is added by fermenting/maturing the wines in oak vessels and ageing them in contact with with their lees.
Maconnais - Macon AOC and Pouilly-Fuisse
Macon AOC - fruity and mostly unoaked Chardonnay with simple flavours (lemon, peach, melon)
Pouilly-Fuisse AOC - Steep east and south east facing slopes offer high quality wines with concentrated stone fruit and tropical fruit flavours. These wines are often fermented and/or matured in oak barrels to add body and complexity.
South France PGI
Pays d’Oc IGP
Languedoc-Roussillon is situated along the Mediterranean coast in southern France. Stretching from the Spanish border in the west to the river Rhone in the east.
Home to Pays d’Oc IGp
Chardonnay - USA
California- central valley cut off from sea influence by mountains, has a dry warm climate. peach and pineapple, medium acidity and medium body
Los carneros is in -lNorthern California, coastal influences moderate the climate. Morning fogs from San pablo bay cools los carneros
Sonoma - cooled by pacific sea breezes
Napa Valley - increasingly warm and sunny as you go further north. Known for full bodied Chardonnay with pronounced tropical fruit flavours complemented by vanilla and spice from new oak.
Santa Barbara - cooling sea breezes
Oregon climate is moderate, refreshingly high acidity, citrus fruits (lemon) tropical notes (melon)
