Standard Options in Sparkling Wine Making

Question 1

What is the best climates for sparkling wines?

Answer 1

cool climates where grapes struggle

Question 2

What is the most important structural elements of the grape juice?

Answer 2

High acidity and low sugar

Question 3

What happens to sugar in cool climates?

Answer 3

It is slow to develop in cool climates

Question 4

Why is low sugar needed in sparkling wines?

Answer 4

Low potential alcohol of 9-11% after first fermentation but 1-2% abv is added after the second

Question 5

Trentodoc, Sonoma and England have cool climates, give reasons why each has one?

Answer 5

Because of high altitude, coastal maritime influences and location at greater latitude

Question 6

Compare sparkling wine styles from cooler and warmer regions.

Answer 6

Warmer regions give riper fruit and lower acidity than in cooler regions

Question 7

When is a warm region’s style of sparkling wine appropriate?

Answer 7

short aged wines (tank) or those spending shorter time on the lees (transfer and traditional methods) - fruit driven wines for early consumption

Question 8

What are the most common two varieties for making sparkling wine?

Answer 8

Chardonnay and Pinot Noir

Question 9

What is autolysis?

Answer 9

breakdown of dead yeast cells

Question 10

How is chardonnay suited to autolysis?

Answer 10

pomaceous and citrus flavors complement the flavors od autolysis

Question 11

What is released during autolysis?

Answer 11

amino acids, peptides, proteins, fatty acids, polysaccharides etc

Question 12

What flavor compounds are produced during autolysis?

Answer 12

toffee, nuttiness, brioche, toast

Question 13

What does autolysis do to the mouthfeel of a wine?

Answer 13

polysaccharides can increase the weight on the palate

Question 14

Why is early ripening of chardonnay an asset in sparkling wine from cool climates?

Answer 14

it will ripen enough in cool climates to avoid unappealing underripe flavors

Question 15

The chardonnay grape is at risk of which complications in the vineyard early in the season?

Answer 15

Early in season :spring frost, coulure, millerandage,

Question 16

The chardonnay grape is at risk of which complications in the vineyard late in the season?

Answer 16

• Botrytis bunch rot
• powdery mildew
• grapevine yellows (bacterial pathogen)

Question 17

In the best years, what kind of quality does high yield provide with chardonnay and Pinot Noir grapes?

Answer 17

High quality grapes for chardonnay and poor quality grapes for Pino Noir

Question 18

When does Pinot Noir bud and ripen?

Answer 18

Early budding and early ripening making it suitable for cool climates

Question 19

What are the disadvantages of Pinot Noir early in the season?

Answer 19

Prone to Spring Frost and coulure

Question 20

To what diseases are Pinot Noir prone?

Answer 20

• Very prone to DOWNY mildew
• powdery mildew
• botyrtis bunch rot
• fan leaf
• leaf roll

Question 21

What factors in a grape effect the style of sparkling wine produced?

Answer 21

• aromatic intensity
• acidity levels
• affinity to autolysis (autolysis produces bready smells in chardonnay and smoke in xarello)

Question 22

How do high yields effect aromas and why is this desirable in some sparkling wine styles?

Answer 22

It makes the aromas light and delicate which means it won’t outcompete autolytic aromas

Question 23

In cool climates with high disease risk, why do they like high sparkling grape yields?

Answer 23

Guarantee of at least some disease free crops even in the coolest years given the high yields in the vineyards

Question 24

Name 4 considerations when picking training and trellising techniques for grapes

Answer 24

• region regulations
• climate
• grape variety
• soil nutrition status

Question 25

What happens to the flavor if unhealthy fruit are used?

Answer 25

Effervescence enhances the aromas present. This includes off flavors

Question 26

What is laccase?

Answer 26

An enzyme in botrytis effected grapes

Question 27

What does laccase do?

Answer 27

It causes the wine to oxidise - browning the color

Question 28

Why must only healthy fruit be used in quality sparkling wines?

Answer 28

unhealthy grapes may have off flavors and cause poor wine colouring

Question 29

When does harvesting occur compared to still wines?

Answer 29

earlier than with still wines

Question 30

Why are grapes harvested early for sparkling wine?

Answer 30

• maintain the high acidity

- avoid autumn rainfall and disease pressure

Question 31

What is the risk of harvesting grapes too early?

Answer 31

-unripe flavors which increase as the wine matures

Question 32

What are the advantages of hand harvesting grapes?

Answer 32

• sorting at picking and post harvest to remove unhealthy grapes
• picking and placing in small containers avoids crushing , splitting and therefore oxidation (altering color and reducing freshness) and extraction (tannin and anthocyanin)

Question 33

What are the disadvantages of hand harvesting grapes?

Answer 33

• slow

- expensive

Question 34

What are advantages of machine harvesting grapes?

Answer 34

• fast
• cheap
• night harvesting easier

Question 35

How are healthy grapes selected if using a machine harvester?

Answer 35

-by hand in the vineyard before the machine harvest

Question 36

Why harvest at night?

Answer 36

• grapes have high acidity when picked during the cool of the evening
• oxidation is slowed in the grapes as they are cooler

Question 37

What are disadvantages of machine harvesting grapes?

Answer 37

• the harvester doesn’t sort as it picks
• grapes can be split and subject to crushing as they are shaken from the vine (risk of oxidation and tannin/pigment extraction)