Sommelier Prep Course Quizes Flashcards
The formula for fermentation
Sugar + Yeast = Ethanol & Carbon Dioxide & Heat
The scientific name for the yeast used in wine fermentation
Saccharomyces cerevisiae
The scientific name for the wine grape
Vitis vinifera
3 specific characteristics of wine grapes
- High sugar levels
- High acid levels
- Biochemical complexity
The Greek and Roman gods of wine
Dionysus and Bacchus
A pest native to North America that ravages the root stocks of wine plants
Phylloxera. Grafting resistant (American) root stocks has been the most effective solution to combat them.
The blind tasting where American wines won out over top rated French wines.
The “Spurrier Tasting” in 1976
Wine and wine grape’s origin lie where?
Iran and Iraq (Early Mesopotamia)
The ancient culture that spread wine throughout the Europe.
The Romans. They improved and established growing in countries that the Greeks had previously visited and beyond.
Who kept the wine culture alive in Europe during the Middle Ages?
The Catholic Church
What contribution to the wine industry did Louis Pasteur make?
He discovered the role of yeast in fermentation.
What contribution to the wine industry did Jules Guyot make?
He developed several agricultural techniques to improve the cultivation of wine grape vines and the quality of the fruit they produced.
What contribution to the wine industry did Thomas Munson make?
He was a horticulturalist in Denison Texas in the late 1800s that developed the rootstocks that would solve the phylloxera problem.
What growing condition will improve the quality of the grapevine but not the quanitity
Stress
What qualities do grapes grown in warm climates have?
Less acid and more alcohol
What qualities do grapes grown in cold climates have?
More acid and less alcohol
The art and science of growing grapes
Viticulture
The art and science of making wine
Viniculture
The unique taste of a specific place
Terroir
The normal age of grapevines
Grapevines are in their prime between 10 and 30 years of age but they can live to be well over 100 years old.
The vintage date on a bottle denotes what?
The year that the grapes were harvested.
Reproduction between two grapevine plants of the same species
Cross
Reproduction between two grapevine plants of different species
Hybrid
A subspecies of a grapevine is known as a
Varietal
An exact genetic copy of a grapevine is known as a
Clone
Attaching a plant to the rootstock of another is known as
Grafting
Method of collecting grapes for producing top-quality wine
Hand harvesting
Method of collecting grapes where cost is also an issue.
Mechanical harvesting
The primary difference between the production of red wine and white wine is that:
Red wines are fermented with their skins, white wines are not.
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:
Pressing
Clarifying a wine by moving it away from sediment
Racking
Stirring up sediment and dead yeast cells
Battonage
Adding a substance to a wine to remove cloudiness
Fining
Allowing a wine to age in contact with its dead yeast
Sur Lie aging
The typical method for producing sparkling wine that includes secondary fermentation, riddling, and disgorgement
methode champenoise (also known as methode traditionale outside of France.)
Fortified wines are made stronger by
The addition of high-proof brandy. The additional alcohol kills off bacteria.
A mold that attacks grapes; removing the water from them and concentrating their sugar content.
Botrytis cinerea
What is the tasting order for wine?
Light to heaviest (white wine to red wine)
Analyzing a wine that you know very little or nothing at all about
Blind Tasting
Analyzing a wine when you already know something about it. Usually by wine instructors
Led Tasting
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).
Vertical Tasting
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)
Horizontal Tasting
Analyizing a wine with a wine brokers or wine distributors that demonstrates their different offerings to consumers and retailers
Industry Tasting
Hints of purple in a red wine are indicative of what?
Youth
Sediment in a wine is a sign of what?
Sediment
As white wines age their color turns what?
Darker
As red wines age their color turns what?
Lighter
The most important sense for analyzing wine.
Smell
Intensity of aroma and intensity of flavor indicate what?
The quality in a wine (not age).
The amount of pigmentation in a wine is an indicator of
The grape skin’s thickness.
A wine with high tannins would be described as
Tannic or astringent. A dry wine is one that has no residual sugar.
