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WSET Level 3 RLM > SAT and Theory > Flashcards

SAT and Theory Flashcards

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1
Q

What temperatures should wine be stored at?

A

Temperatures should be cool and consistent:

ideally between 10°C and 15°

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2
Q

What temperature should Med/full-bodied oaked whites be served at?

A

Lightly chilled:
10-13°C
(50-55F)

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3
Q

What temperature should Light/medium-bodied whites be served at?

A

Chilled:
7-10°C
(45-55F)

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4
Q

What temperature should sweet wines be served?

A

Well chilled: 6-8°C (43-45F)

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5
Q

What temperature should sparkling wines be served?

A

Well chilled:
6-10°C
(43-50F)

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6
Q

What temperature should Light-bodied reds be served?

A

Lightly chilled:
13°C
(55F)

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7
Q

What temperature should Medium/full-bodied reds be served?

A

Room temperature
15-18°C
(59-64F)

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8
Q

What will happen to reds if served too cold?

A

Will taste thin, harsh:

Can warm by holding bowl of glass in hands

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9
Q

What will happen to reds that are served above 18°C?

A

Will appear to lose freshness, flavours become muddled.

Once cooled will regain balance.

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10
Q

How should an ice bucket be filled?

A

3/4 full with equal quantities of ice and water; transfer heat from bottle to melt ice.

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11
Q

What will happen to white, rose and sparkling wines if over chilled?

A

Can mask flavours

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12
Q

Why are reds better served in larger glasses?

A

Allows air to come in contact with large wine surface and develop aromas and flavours

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13
Q

Why are whites and roses better served in medium sized glasses?

A

Allows fresh fruit characteristics to gather and be directed towards the top of the glass

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14
Q

Why are sparkling wines better served in flutes?

A

Enhances bubbles, and thus aromas.

Allows to travel through larger volume of wine before bursting at top

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15
Q

Why are fortified wines better served in small glasses?

A

Due to high alcohol content;

but should still be large enough for swirling and nosing

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16
Q

What are some reasons why clean glassware is so important when tasting?

A
  • Slightest taint can ruin the flavour; and with sparkling, will lose sparkle quicker
  • This includes from dishwasher, etc as detergent, salt residue etc can remain in glass; best to check
  • Best to prepare each glass by polishing before each use
  • This way they are free of finger marks and dust and are clean
  • Best cloth is linen, will not leave fluff
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17
Q

What are the steps to opening a bottle of still wine?

A
  1. Remove top of the capsule by cutting around it below the lip of the bottle (capsule remover or knife)
  2. Wipe the neck of the bottle with a clean cloth
  3. Draw the cork as gently and cleanly as possible using your selected corkscrew
  4. Give the neck of the bottle a final clean inside and out
  5. Pour a sample into a glass to check the wine’s condition
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18
Q

What are the steps of decanting a wine?

A
  • Wine with a heavy deposit need to be decanted;
  • Deposit is natural and formed during the ageing process of many good reds
  • Some young wines benefit from the aeration that occurs by being decanted, although this can be done as easily by swirling the wine in a glass;
  • NB: airing a wine by opening a bottle does not good, too little of the wine is in contact with the air for it to have any effect
  1. Remove the bottle horizontally from its rack and place in a decanting basket if available; alternatively hold the bottle carefully, making sure the deposit is not agitated
  2. Very gently remove the top of the capsule and clean the shoulder and the neck of the bottle; very gently remove the cork
  3. Remove the bottle from the basket, being careful not to disturb the deposit; holding the bottle in front of a light, pour carefully into the decanter until the deposit can be seen near the neck; at this point stop pouring
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19
Q

What are the steps to opening a bottle of sparkling wine?

A
  • Considerable pressure in a bottle of sparkling wine
  • Chilling to the correct temperature helps to reduce this pressure
  • But even when the wine is chilled, possible for the cork to spring violently from the bottle
  1. Remove the foil and loosen the wire cage
  2. Cork must be held securely in place from the moment the wire cage is loosened
  3. Tilt the bottle at an angle of about 30°, gripping the cork, and use the other hand to grip the base of the bottle
  4. Turn the bottle, not the cork
  5. Hold the cork steady, resisting its tendency to fly out and ease it slowly out of the bottle
  6. The gas pressure should be released with a quite ‘phut’, not an explosion and flying cork
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20
Q

What are the serving sizes of a standard 75cL bottle of wine?

A

6 x 125 mL glasses

4 x 175 mL glasses

3 x 250 mL glasses

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21
Q

What will happen to a wine if it not consumed as soon as it is opened?

A

It is opened it will lose aromatic intensity in a matter of days and after that it will oxidise and develop vinegar aromas

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22
Q

What is the best way to store a wine once it is opened?

A

Replace the closure and store in a fridge

23
Q

How long will a wine’s life be extended after opening?

A

A few days

24
Q

What is a Vacuum system

A

Oxygen is removed from the bottle;
Bottle is sealed;
unsuitable for sparkling wines as they will lose their bubbles

25
Q

What is a Blanket system?

A

Blankets the wine with a gas heavier than oxygen to form a protective layer between the wine and the air

26
Q

Which has more impact? Wine on food or food on wine?

A

Generally food has more impact on the way a wine will taste;

will also more likely have a negative impact

27
Q

What are the 2 components in food that make wine taste harder?

A

Sweetness and umami

28
Q

What does it mean when wine tastes ‘harder’?

A

More astringent and bitter; more acidic

Less sweet and fruity

29
Q

What are the 2 components in food that make wines taste softer?

A

Salt and acid

30
Q

What does it mean when a wine tastes softer?

A

Less astringent and bitter; less acidic

Sweeter and more fruity

31
Q

How does sweetness in food affect wine?

A

Increases bitterness, astringency, acidity and warming effect of alcohol;

Decreases body, sweetness and fruitiness

Sweetness in a dish can make dry wines seem less fruity and taste unpleasantly acidic

32
Q

If a dish contains sugar, what level of sweetness should a wine be?

A

A higher level of sweetness than the dish

33
Q

What does umami in food do to a wine?

A

Increases perception of bitterness, astringency, acidity and warming effect of alcohol

Decreases perception of body, sweetness and fruitiness

34
Q

Why are some foods with umami difficult to pair with wine?

A

They lack salt, that counteracts its hardening effect on wine

I.e.: asparagus, eggs, mushrooms, ripe soft cheese

35
Q

How will umami affect wines?

A
  • Bitterness in wine comes from tannins extracted from grapes or oak
  • For a balanced high-tannin wine, the change in perceived bitterness may not appear to be excessive and will not be enough to unbalance the wine
  • Low-tannin red wines, white wines made with oak or skin contact, can become surprisingly bitter and unbalanced when consumed with umami-rich foods
36
Q

How does acidity affect food?

A

Increases perception of body, sweetness and fruitiness;

Decreases perception of acidity

37
Q

How to pair food with acidic wine?

A
  • Generally a good thing for pairing, can bring a wine with very high acidity levels into balance and enhance its fruitiness
  • However if the level of acidity in the wine is low, high levels of acidity in foods can make it seem flat, flabby and lacking focus
38
Q

How does salt in food affect wine?

A

Increases perception of body;

Decreases perception of astringency, bitterness and acidity

Wine-friendly component of food that can enhance a wine’s fruit character and soften astringency

39
Q

How does bitterness in food affect wine?

A

Increases perception of bitterness

  • Sensitivity to bitter tastes varies greatly
  • Generally, bitter flavours add to each other
  • So bitterness in the food alone may be at a pleasant level, and any bitterness in the wine may be in balance, together can combine to reach an unpleasant level
  • Effect is very subjective
40
Q

How does chilli heat in food affect wine?

A

Increases perception of bitterness, astringency, acidity and the burning effect of alcohol;

Decreases the perception of body, richness, sweetness and fruitiness

  • Sensitivity and pleasantness varies greatly
  • Effects caused by chilli heat are greater in wines with high alcohol levels than those with lower alcohol levels
  • Alcohol also increases the burning sensation of the chilli, some people enjoy this
41
Q

How does flavour intensity affect wine with food?

A
  • Usually desirable for the flavour intensities of the food and wine to be matched so that one does not overpower the other
  • In some cases, an intensely flavoured food (curry) can be successfully partnered with a lightly flavoured wine (simple, non-aromatic, unoaked white)
42
Q

How does acid and fat affect wine with food?

A
  • Most find combo of acidic wines with fatty or oily foods to be satisfying
  • Provides pleasant sensation of the acidic wine ‘cutting through’ the richness and cleansing the palate
  • Subjective effect
43
Q

How does sweet and salty affect wine and food?

A
  • May people enjoy; can lead to successful paring
  • Sweet wine and blue cheese
  • Subjective
44
Q

What are high risk foods when pairing with wine?

A

Sugar
Umami
Bitterness
Chilli heat

45
Q

How should sugar be paired with wine?

A

Should be paired with wine that has at least as much sugar as the dish

46
Q

How should umami be paired with wine?

A

Umami in food will emphasise the astringency and bitterness of tannins;

wine will need to have components such as concentrated fruit flavours to cope;

can be balanced by addition of acid or salt in the food

47
Q

How should bitterness be paired with wine?

A

High in bitterness will emphasise bitterness in wine;

whites or low-tannin reds

48
Q

How should chilli heat be paired with wine?

A

White wines, low-tannin reds;

low in alcohol wines;

Fruitiness and sweetness will be reduced by chilli heat, so wines with higher levels of these components to make less severe

49
Q

What are the low-risk food and wine pairings?

A

Dishes high in salt and/or acid generally pair well;

high-acid food should be matched with high-acid wines;
otherwise can taste too soft and flabby

  • Simple, unoaked wines with a little residual sugar are unlikely to be made unpleasant by any dish; but as these wines change very little when partnered with food the pairing can be less interesting
  • Understanding why well-established pairings are successful helps
  • I.e.: Muscadet, Champagne and oysters – unoaked, so no bitter component spoiled by umami of the oyster, light in flavour so not overwhelming to delicate flavour of oysters, high in acid, so seems vibrant and refreshing with lemon juice
50
Q

What are high-risk pairings?

A
  • The more structural components in the wine (and food) the more possible taste interactions there will be
  • Makes pairing more complicated
  • But results can be more interesting
  • Most problematic wines are those with high levels of bitterness and astringency from oak and grape tannins;
  • Combined with high levels of acidity and alcohol, and complex flavours
51
Q

What are approaches for matching or contrasting flavours?

A
  • Ideal that flavours in the food can be mirrored or contrasted by flavours in the wine, is one of the most commonly applied ideas in pairing
  • i.e.: smoky, spicy, gamey or creamy dish matched by smoky, spicy, gamey or creamy wine, may or may not be successful;
  • but does not depend on matching of flavours, but on the interaction of structural components in the food (sugar, oil/fat, salt, etc);
  • and the wine (sugar, alcohol, acid, tannin, etc)
  • If the structural pairing works, then flavour matching or contrasting can further enhance the pairing
  • But if the structural pairing fails, the match is likely to be unsuccessful
52
Q

What are approaches for wines with local foods?

A
  • Idea that the regional dish is likely to best with a wine from that region; successful pairings are likely to have evolved locally over time
  • But many regions produce wines in a range of styles, so some knowledge of food and wine interactions is still needed to identify suitable choices
  • Many great cuisines that have developed in places with little or no wine production, need a way to approach pairing for these dishes even if the conclusion is that some of them are difficult or impossible to pair successfully
  • Helpful, to have principles that allow the finding of food partners made in regions that are not celebrated for their food
53
Q

Red wine with red meat

A

• Idea of red with red, is that tannins in red wine bind to meat proteins, softening the impact of the wine; however although they do bind, it is thought that the salt content of meat dishes plays a more important role in softening the wine tannins

54
Q

White wine with white meat

A
  • Some fish are high in umami, which can make a red wine seem more bitter and astringent hence suggestions that whites make a better match
  • But this reaction can be counterbalanced by salt and acid, common in fish dishes
  • More difficult to avoid is the reaction of compounds found in red wine with oily fish, which tends to produce a metallic taste; with these types of fish can be safer to stick with white and white rule
  • Essential to consider all components of a dish (sauces), as well as what it is served with
  • If the structural elements of a dish match, then there is no reason not to serve white wine with red meat or red wine with fish

WSET Level 3 RLM (7 decks)

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