SAT4s Standard Approach to Tasting wine Flashcards
Developing the ability to taste wines and spirits as a professional is a key learning outcome of the WSET® Level 4 Diploma in Wines (here referred to as the ‘Diploma’). This skill is taught and assessed using the WSET Level 4 Systematic Approach to Tasting Wines® (the ‘Wine SAT’). The SAT is supported by the WSET Level 4 Wine-Lexicon (the ‘Wine-Lexicon’).
On what subcriteria do you assess a wine on it’s APPEARANCE? And what are the maximum points you could get for it?
- CLARITY
- INTENSITY
- COLOUR
- OTHER observations
A total of 2 points are available for a perfect score, one point for INTENSITY and one point for COLOUR. Note that CLARITY and OTHER observations are not rated.
What are the applicable SAT4 terms for CLARITY?
CLEAR | HAZY
When would you describe a wine to be HAZY?
If a wine has an unusually high amount of suspended particles then it can be described as ‘hazy’.
Haziness is caused by particles suspended in the wine.
Excessive haziness or dullness can indicate that the wine may be faulty, for example as a result of microbiological activity. The nature of the fault can normally only be determined by assessing both the nose and palate.
Wines in the Diploma examinations will always present as clear so this line of the Wine SAT is not assessed.
What are the applicable SAT4 terms for COLOUR INTENSITY?
Pale | Medium | Deep
How is the colour INTENSITY assessed for a white wine?
INTENSITY is how much colour the wine has. Intensity can be assessed by holding the glass at a 45 ̊ angle and looking through the liquid from above to see how far the colour extends from the core (at the deepest part of the bowl) to the rim (where there is the shallowest depth of wine).
When would you describe a white wine as PALE in colour intensity?
All whites appear colorless right at the rim when the glass is held at a 45o angle. When it has a broad watery rim, it is described as PALE.
When would you describe a red wine as PALE in colour intensity?
If the wine is lightly pigmented from the rim to core it can be described as PALE. When looking down through the wine in the bowl at a 45oc angle at a (exam) paper with text, it should be POSSIBLE to read EVERY SINGLE word, when looking through the core of the wine.
When would you describe a white wine as MEDIUM in colour intensity?
All whites appear colorless right at the rim when the glass is held at a 45o angle. If the pigment reaches to 2 cm from the rim it should be described as MEDIUM.
When would you describe a red wine as MEDIUM in colour intensity?
When looking down through the wine in the bowl at a 45oc angle at a (exam) paper with text, it should be IMpossible to read EVERY SINGLE word, when looking through the core of the wine.
When would you describe a white wine as DEEP in colour intensity?
All whites appear colorless right at the rim when the glass is held at a 45o angle. If the pigment reaches almost to the rim it should be described as DEEP.
When would you describe a red wine as DEEP in colour intensity?
If the wine is intensely pigmented right up to the rim, it should be described as DEEP. In this instance, when looking down through an upright glass, it should be impossible to see the stem of the glass (not even a shimmer of the circle of the stem).
What are the applicable SAT4 terms for COLOUR of white wines?
(LEMON-GREEN) | LEMON | GOLD | AMBER | BROWN
Where in the glass would you assess the COLOUR for white or rosé wines?
The core
The composition of a wine at the rim is the same as the composition at the core, so the colour itself does not change when looking through different parts of the wine in a tilted glass. However, because the depth of liquid changes, the intensity of the colour changes. White and most rosé wines appear very pale, almost colourless at the rim, so the colour is best judged where there is sufficient depth of liquid for the colour to be easily assessed: the core.
When would you describe a white wine as LEMON in colour?
The most common colour for white wines is LEMON. If there is NO noticeable greenness and NO hints of orange or brown to the colour, the wine is LEMON.
When would you describe a white wine as LEMON-GREEN in colour?
If there is a noticeable greenness to the colour, the wine is LEMON-GREEN.
When would you describe a white wine as GOLD in colour?
If there is a hint of orange or brown to the colour, the wine is GOLD.
When would you describe a white wine as AMBER in colour?
A wine with a noticeable level of browning, but still being orange in colour, are described as AMBER.
When would you describe a white wine as BROWN in colour?
A wine with a brown colour, having no noticeable orangeness to it, is described as BROWN.
What are the applicable SAT4 terms for COLOUR of rosé wines?
PINK | SALMON | ORANGE | ONION SKIN
When would you describe a rosé wine as PINK in colour?
PINK describes wines that have a very pure pink colour. They may display a hint of purple.
When would you describe a rosé wine as SALMON in colour?
If a pink-coloured wine shows a hint of orange then it can be described as SALMON.
When would you describe a rosé wine as ORANGE in colour?
ORANGE can be used to describe a rosé in which orange is the dominant colour.
When would you describe a rosé wine as ONION SKIN in colour?
ONION SKIN can be used to describe a wine with a distinctly brownish pink.
What are the applicable SAT4 terms for COLOUR of red wines?
PURPLE | RUBY | GARNET | TAWNY | BROWN
Where in the glass would you assess the COLOUR for a red wine?
The rim
The composition of a wine at the rim is the same as the composition at the core, so the colour itself does not change when looking through different parts of the wine in a tilted glass. However, because the depth of liquid changes, the intensity of the colour changes. Many red wines are so deeply pigmented that they can appear opaque at the core, so their colour is most accurately assessed near the rim.
When would you describe a red wine as RUBY in colour?
The most common colour for red wines is RUBY. If there is NO noticeable blue or purple and NO hints of orange or brown to the colour, the wine is RUBY.
When would you describe a red wine as PURPLE in colour?
Wines with a noticeable blue or purple colour are described as PURPLE. (not the slightes hint of… but obviously purple)
When would you describe a red wine as GARNET in colour?
If there is some noticeable orange or brown colour but the wine is still more red than brown, it is described as GARNET. (So mostly ruby, but some orange or brown, than it is already GARNET)
When would you describe a red wine as TAWNY in colour?
If there is a noticeable orange or brown colour but the wine is more brown than red, it may be described as TAWNY. (So mostly orange or brown, but you can still detect some ruby)
Tawny and brown are usually seen only in very old wines, or wines that are deliberately oxidised.
When would you describe a red wine as BROWN in colour?
BROWN should be used for wines where no redness in the colour remains. Tawny and brown are usually seen only in very old wines, or wines that are deliberately oxidised.
What are the applicable SAT4 terms for OTHER observations at appearance?
Outside of the examination room there are other observations that can be made about the appearance of a wine. These are rarely conclusive so while this heading appears on the Wine SAT, no marks are available for other observations in the examinations:
- Assessing the legs/tears?
- Does it have a deposit?
- Having pétillance?
- Assessing the bubbles?
On what subcriteria do you assess a wine on the NOSE? And what are the maximum points you could get for it?
- CONDITION
- INTENSITY
- AROMA CHARACTERISTICS
A total of 6 points are available for a perfect score, being 1 point for INTENSITY and 5 points for AROMA CHARACTERISTICS. Note that CONDITION is not marked in exams.
What are the applicable SAT4 terms for CONDITION?
CLEAN | UNCLEAN
Assessing faults is a skill that is not assessed in the Diploma examinations: wines will always present as ‘clean’ as they will have been checked by the examiners before being decanted into neutral bottles. Nevertheless, it is important that you are aware of common wine faults.
What are the applicable SAT4 terms for AROMA INTENSITY?
LIGHT | MEDIUM(-) | MEDIUM | MEDIUM(+) | PRONOUNCED
Remember, you must select one and only one entry from the scale to describe a wine’s aroma intensity. Alternative words are not acceptable in the examinations and if you give more than one entry or a range (e.g. ‘medium(+) to pronounced’) you will not gain the available mark, even if one of these entries is correct
How do you assess the AROMA INTENSITY?
Start without swirling the glass and sniff the wine by taking the glass closer to the nose slowly, starting from a distance.
(e.g. do not directly dive into the bowl of the glass)
When would you assess a wine to have a PRONOUNCED aroma intensity?
As a general rule, if when you place your nose above the glass aromas are immediately apparent then they are PRONOUNCED.
When would you assess a wine to have a LIGHT aroma intensity?
If when you place your nose above the glass you find aromas to be faint and hard to detect, the intensity is probably LIGHT.
What are PRIMARY aromas and flavors?
Aromas and flavors associated with the grape and the alcoholic fermentation.
They are the aromas and flavours that originate in compounds found in the grapes such as fruity, floral and herbaceous aromas and flavours and fermentation aromas and flavours, e.g. the pear drop aromas found in some inexpensive cold-fermented whites or the banana and kirsch aromas generated by carbonic maceration in red wines.
What are the clusters of PRIMARY aroma’s and flavors, appropriate as SAT4 vocabulary?
- Floral
- Green fruit
- Citrus fruit
- Stone fruit
- Tropical fruit
- Red fruit
- Black fruit
- Dried fruit
- Herbaceous
- Herbal
- Pungent spice
- Other
