Section 1. Tasting and Evaluating Wine

Question 1

Ideal tasting room environment

Answer 1

Odour free, good natural light white surfaces

Question 2

what affects tasting palate and how to fix

Answer 2

tobacco, food, coffee, gum or toothpaste. hayfever, colds and fatigue.
chew a piece of bread to remove flavours

Question 3

features of ISO glass

Answer 3

rounded bowl large enough to swirl the wine - sides slope inwards (tulip shape) to concentrate aromas. stem so hands don’t warm it up

Question 4

systematic approach to tasting wine (overview)

Answer 4

appearance, nose, palate, conclusions

Question 5

what to look for in appearance

Answer 5

clarity (clear - hazy)
intensity (pale - medium - deep)
colour (white; lemon - gold - amber)
(rose; pink - salmon - orange)
(red; purple - ruby - garnet - tawny)

Question 6

out of condition wine - why and what they look like

Answer 6

too old, badly stored, cork seal (allowing air)
dull in appearance and have at least a hint of brown

haziness also, but sometimes deliberate

Question 7

colour of youthful/old wines (generally - nb not always the case)

Answer 7

red: purple/tawny
white: green/orange and brown
rose: bright purply-pink/orange and brown

Question 8

first steps in ‘nose’

Answer 8

swirl the wine and make note of the condition of the nose

Question 9

cork taint - how to detect and what it smells like

Answer 9

most common fault detected by the nose
low levels - stripped of fresh, fruity aromas
worst case - pungent, unpleasant damp cardboard/musty

Question 10

out of condition wines smell..

Answer 10

dull and stale - may have excessive oxidative aromas

Question 11

true or false - all faults can be detected on the palate

Answer 11

true

Question 12

what to look for in nose

Answer 12

condition (clean - unclean)
intensity (light - medium - pronounced)
aroma characteristics (eg fruits, oak, flowers, spices)

Question 13

breakdown of aroma and flavour characteristics

Answer 13

floral/fruit (eg, stone fruit, dried fruit, tropical etc)
spice/vegetable (eg, underripeness, herbaceous, sweet spice, vegetable etc)
oak/other (eg, autolytic, dairy, kernel, animal, mineral etc)

Question 14

what to look for in palate

Answer 14

sweetness (dry - off dry - medium - sweet)
acidity ( low - medium - high)
tannin (low - medium - high)
body (light - medium - full)
flavour characteristics (eg, fruits, flowers, spices)
finish (short - medium - long)

Question 15

where is sweetness detected on tongue

Answer 15

tip

Question 16

where is acidity detected on tongue

Answer 16

sides

Question 17

where is bitterness detected on tongue

Answer 17

back

Question 18

why do you draw air in when tasting

Answer 18

ensures wine coats all parts of the mouth and the vapours are carried up the back of the nose (where the smell will detect the flavour character)

Question 19

is sweetness an indicator of how much sugar is in a wine

Answer 19

yes, but sometimes wines made from very ripe grapes are slightly sweet with no sugar

Question 20

what is a ‘dry’ wine

Answer 20

wine containing almost/no sugar - most reds and whites

Question 21

which varieties are more acidic

Answer 21

(white wines generally higher than red) reisling and sav blanc

Question 22

which climates produce generally more acidic wine

Answer 22

cooler climates

Question 23

is acidity important for sweet wines/if so, why

Answer 23

yes, very - if it is too low the wine is oversweet and cloying

Question 24

where are tannins found

Answer 24

grape skins - presense depends on amount of skin contact

Question 25

how tannic are white and rose wines - why

Answer 25

rarely any detectable tannin because they get very little/no skin contact

Question 26

which red varieties have the most tannin levels

Answer 26

thick skinned ones ie - cab sav and syrah

Question 27

what climate often produces soft ripe tannins

Answer 27

hot

Question 28

what do soft, ripe, tannins improve/add to

Answer 28

viscosity and body

Question 29

what is another term for body

Answer 29

mouth feel

Question 30

what is meant by ‘body’

Answer 30

richness, weight, viscosity

Question 31

what combination contributes to the body

Answer 31

alcohol, tannins, sugars and flavour compounds (extracted from the skin)

Question 32

why is beaujolais able to be high in alcohol but still light in body

Answer 32

very little tannin and lightly flavoured

Question 33

where are flavour characteristics detected

Answer 33

when aroma components evaporate off the tongue and rise up to the back of the nose (why we can’t taste properly with a cold)

Question 34

what is meant by ‘finish’

Answer 34

how long the desirable flavours linger in the mouth after the wine has been swallowed or spat out

Question 35

what finish makes a quality wine

Answer 35

long, complex

Question 36

what criteria differentiate between wines in your assessment of quality

Answer 36

balance (sweetness and fruitiness in balance with tannin and acidity)
finish (a balanced, pleasant, lingering finish)
intensity (middle ground between dilute and extremely intense)
complexity (many different flavours)
expressiveness (able to detect where they are from and grape variety)