Sommelier Prep Course Quizes

Question 1

The formula for fermentation

Answer 1

Sugar + Yeast = Ethanol & Carbon Dioxide & Heat

Question 2

The scientific name for the yeast used in wine fermentation

Answer 2

Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Question 3

The scientific name for the wine grape

Answer 3

Vitis vinifera

Question 4

3 specific characteristics of wine grapes

Answer 4

1. High sugar levels
2. High acid levels
3. Biochemical complexity

Question 5

The Greek and Roman gods of wine

Answer 5

Dionysus and Bacchus

Question 6

A pest native to North America that ravages the root stocks of wine plants

Answer 6

Phylloxera. Grafting resistant (American) root stocks has been the most effective solution to combat them.

Question 7

The blind tasting where American wines won out over top rated French wines.

Answer 7

The “Spurrier Tasting” in 1976

Question 8

Wine and wine grape’s origin lie where?

Answer 8

Iran and Iraq (Early Mesopotamia)

Question 9

The ancient culture that spread wine throughout the Europe.

Answer 9

The Romans. They improved and established growing in countries that the Greeks had previously visited and beyond.

Question 10

Who kept the wine culture alive in Europe during the Middle Ages?

Answer 10

The Catholic Church

Question 11

What contribution to the wine industry did Louis Pasteur make?

Answer 11

He discovered the role of yeast in fermentation.

Question 12

What contribution to the wine industry did Jules Guyot make?

Answer 12

He developed several agricultural techniques to improve the cultivation of wine grape vines and the quality of the fruit they produced.

Question 13

What contribution to the wine industry did Thomas Munson make?

Answer 13

He was a horticulturalist in Denison Texas in the late 1800s that developed the rootstocks that would solve the phylloxera problem.

Question 14

What growing condition will improve the quality of the grapevine but not the quanitity

Answer 14

Stress

Question 15

What qualities do grapes grown in warm climates have?

Answer 15

Less acid and more alcohol

Question 16

What qualities do grapes grown in cold climates have?

Answer 16

More acid and less alcohol

Question 17

The art and science of growing grapes

Answer 17

Viticulture

Question 18

The art and science of making wine

Answer 18

Viniculture

Question 19

The unique taste of a specific place

Answer 19

Terroir

Question 20

The normal age of grapevines

Answer 20

Grapevines are in their prime between 10 and 30 years of age but they can live to be well over 100 years old.

Question 21

The vintage date on a bottle denotes what?

Answer 21

The year that the grapes were harvested.

Question 22

Reproduction between two grapevine plants of the same species

Answer 22

Cross

Question 23

Reproduction between two grapevine plants of different species

Answer 23

Hybrid

Question 24

A subspecies of a grapevine is known as a

Answer 24

Varietal

Question 25

An exact genetic copy of a grapevine is known as a

Answer 25

Clone

Question 26

Attaching a plant to the rootstock of another is known as

Answer 26

Grafting

Question 27

Method of collecting grapes for producing top-quality wine

Answer 27

Hand harvesting

Question 28

Method of collecting grapes where cost is also an issue.

Answer 28

Mechanical harvesting

Question 29

The primary difference between the production of red wine and white wine is that:

Answer 29

Red wines are fermented with their skins, white wines are not.

Question 30

The stage of the winemaking process during which solids (such as skins, seeds, and stems) are separated from liquids (either juice or wine) is called:

Answer 30

Pressing

Question 31

Clarifying a wine by moving it away from sediment

Answer 31

Racking

Question 32

Stirring up sediment and dead yeast cells

Answer 32

Battonage

Question 33

Adding a substance to a wine to remove cloudiness

Answer 33

Fining

Question 34

Allowing a wine to age in contact with its dead yeast

Answer 34

Sur Lie aging

Question 35

The typical method for producing sparkling wine that includes secondary fermentation, riddling, and disgorgement

Answer 35

methode champenoise (also known as methode traditionale outside of France.)

Question 36

Fortified wines are made stronger by

Answer 36

The addition of high-proof brandy. The additional alcohol kills off bacteria.

Question 37

A mold that attacks grapes; removing the water from them and concentrating their sugar content.

Answer 37

Botrytis cinerea

Question 38

What is the tasting order for wine?

Answer 38

Light to heaviest (white wine to red wine)

Question 39

Analyzing a wine that you know very little or nothing at all about

Answer 39

Blind Tasting

Question 40

Analyzing a wine when you already know something about it. Usually by wine instructors

Answer 40

Led Tasting

Question 41

Analyzing a wine by seeing how the same wines from the same vineyards and winemakers compare to each vintage (results are based on growing conditions from each year).

Answer 41

Vertical Tasting

Question 42

Analyzing a wine by comparing several from the same region and the same vintage (teaches you the difference in wine manufacturing and minute differences in terroir)

Answer 42

Horizontal Tasting

Question 43

Analyizing a wine with a wine brokers or wine distributors that demonstrates their different offerings to consumers and retailers

Answer 43

Industry Tasting

Question 44

Hints of purple in a red wine are indicative of what?

Answer 44

Youth

Question 45

Sediment in a wine is a sign of what?

Answer 45

Sediment

Question 46

As white wines age their color turns what?

Answer 46

Darker

Question 47

As red wines age their color turns what?

Answer 47

Lighter

Question 48

The most important sense for analyzing wine.

Answer 48

Smell

Question 49

Intensity of aroma and intensity of flavor indicate what?

Answer 49

The quality in a wine (not age).

Question 50

The amount of pigmentation in a wine is an indicator of

Answer 50

The grape skin's thickness.

Question 51

A wine with high tannins would be described as

Answer 51

Tannic or astringent. A dry wine is one that has no residual sugar.