Section 1: Understanding the label Flashcards
prominent pieces of info are brand or producer, region, variety of grapes
what is the vintage
year in which the grapes were harvested
when are grapes harvested in southern hemisphere
feb - april
when are grapes harvested in northern hemisphere
aug - oct
hemispheres’ effect on age and what that means
SH wines are half a year older than NH wines of same vintage - particularly important with wines that need to be consumed young eg rose and fruity unoaked white
what are geographical indicators
(GI) common to all wine regions - on most bottles. it is a designated vineyard area within a country eg bordeaux
nb can be a single vineyard
true or false - GIs are tightly controlled, why
so consumer gets what they are paying for and the wine is made from the grapes grown in the location stated on the label. this is very complex but throughout the world wine is divided into two categories - wines with a gi or wines without a gi
what two categories are the wines with GI in EU separated into
protected designation of origin (PDO) and protected geographical indication (PGI)
what are PDOs
smaller areas with more tightly defined regulations. in theory each PDO has a unique flavour that cannot be copied by any other wine because it must be made according to the laws.
PDO wines rarely state the grape variety on the label
what are PGIs
larger areas with fewer regulations
what do the GIs in EU define
geographical area and specific permitted vinegrowing and winemaking techniques and grape varieties
France PDOs
AOC - Appellation d’Origine Controlee
France PGI
VdP - Vin de Pays
or some prefer not to use it and go for IGP - Indication Geographique Protegee or Vin de France
Italy PDO
DOCG (tighter) and DOC
Italy PGI
IGT
Spain PDO
DO and DOCa (tighter)
Spain PGI
VdIT
Germany PDO
Qualitatswein and Pradikatswein (sugar in must)
New world wine labelling
‘wines with a GI’ - each country has their own way of labelling
France quality heirachy (4)
regional, villages, premier cru, grand cru
italian labelling terms (2)
classico and riserva
how do spanish wine laws break down the criteria?
age - both bottle and in barrel
order of increasing minimum age of wine categories in spain (4)
joven, crianza, reserva, gran reserva
how do 6 subcategories of pradikatswein differentiate
sugar level content of grapes at time of harvest
order of mimimum sugar level from lowest to highest (pradikatswein)
kabinett, spatlese, auslese, BA, eiswein, TBA
barrel/barrique fermented definition, why, pro/con
white wine only - fermented in oak better integration of oak flavours in wine, more labour intensive and expensive
barrel/barrique aged definition, why, pro/con
aged in oak prior to bottling
oaked definintion
wine has been in contact with oak through ageing in oak vessels or staves and chips
unfilteded/unfined definition
most wines are treated before bottling to remove anything that can cause haziness - filtration can strip away a lot of the character - more likely to have deposits and less likely to e clear
what is noble rot
botrytis cinera - a fungus that attacks berries - can be used deliberately to make sweet wine
what does cuvee mean
common labelling term used to indicate a specific blend or selection - can be a blend of anything (vintage, region, variety etc) often indicates better wine
what does viellies vignes mean
old vines - lower yield, higher quality
chateau/domaine/estate meaning
only uses grapes it has grown on its own land
merchant/negociant meaning
blends wines or grape brought in from other winemakers and grape farmers
what is a co operative cellar
winemaking facility whose ownership is shared by a number of grape farmers
