Sweet Wines Flashcards
where are sweet wines made?
- in the vineyard
2. in the winery
what are the 4 ways to make sweet wine in the vineyard?
- late harvest
- botrytis / noble rot
- drying grapes – either on the vine or after they’ve been picked
- freezing grapes on the vine
what are the 4 ways to make sweet wine in the winery?
- fortification
- chilling down the wine and filtering out remaining yeast
- chilling down the wine and hitting it with sulfur dioxide (SO2), which kills any remaining yeast
- adding sweetness into the wine
what is the intention of trying to make a sweet wine in the vineyard?
to concentrate the grape sugars
describe late harvest
grapes left on the vine after normal harvest to allow sugars to concentrate
what is Botrytis cinerea and what does it do?
- a mold aka Noble rot;
- lives in humid regions;
- mold spores attack grapes leaving holes in the skin, causing grapes to dehydrate and concentrate the sugars;
- grapes shrivel (and yields are reduced);
- causes oxidation of grape juice, which slightly darkens the wine;
- distinct flavours develop: mushroom (from the mild), honey, saffron, candied ginger
drying grapes to concentrate their sugars – where is the drying done?
- on the vine
2. on mats after they’ve been picked
how are grape sugars concentrated by freezing the grapes on the vine?
- healthy grapes (read: low-to-no Botrytis) are left on the vine into winter to freeze;
- when the grapes freeze it’s the water in the berries that are frozen, not the sugars, so the sugars concentrate and intensify;
- once the grapes are frozen they’re hand picked an pressed, and only the sweet nectar is released (the frozen water stays behind)
name 2 styles of wine made by freezing grapes on vine
- Icewine > Canada
2. Eiswein > Germany
Name 3 countries where you find sweet wines that are affected by Botrytis/ Noble Rot.
- France
- Germany
- Hungary
In France, name 3 regions that make Botrytis-affected sweet wines
- Bordeaux
- Alsace
- Loire Valley
What is the appellation in Bordeaux that is famous for its Botrytis-affected wine?
Sauternes
What are the 2 styles of Botrytis-affected wine in Alsace?
- Vendange Tardive (VT)
2. Sélection de Grains Nobles (SGN)
What are the 3 appellations in the Loire Valley that make Botrytis-affected wines?
- Quarts de Chaume
- Bonnezeaux
- Vouvjray Moelleux (Mwahluh pronounced)
which 3 German wines can be affected by Botrytis?
Hints: it’s 3 Pradikatslevels
- Auslese (can have Botrytis, but it doesn’t always)
- Beerenauslese (BA)
- Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA)
What region in Hungary is known for its Botrytis-affected wine? and what is this wine called?
Tokaj = region
Tokaj Aszú = name of the wine
What does the word Aszú mean?
That the grapes were affected by Botrytis
Where is the Tokaj region within Hungary?
Northeastern corner
What is the main grape of Tokaj that goes into Tokaj Aszú?
Furmint
- there are 5 other white grapes allowed
How is Tokaj Aszú made?
- Botrytis-affected grapes are harvested berry by berry, collected in small bins, then brought the winery;
- Botrytised grapes are made into a mushy paste;
- Paste is added to a base wine (made from non-Botrytised grapes);
- Amount of paste determines sweetness level
What is Tokaj Eszencia?
- wine made from only the sweet, syrupy, free-run nectar from 100% Botrytised grapes;
- there’s so much sugar the yeasts are overwhelmed, so abs is low (4-6%)
- wickedly expensive (retail ~ US$200-$500)
- rare (not made every year)
- insanely delicious
what country makes several sweet wines from drying grapes?
italy
what are the 2 terms on labels that indicate the wine is both sweet and made from dried grapes?
- Passito
2. Recioto
name 3 Italian appellations and the region they’re in which make sweet wines from dried grapes.
- Vin Santo > Tuscany
- Elba Aleatico Passito > Tuscany
- Recite della Valpolicella > Veneto
- Recioto di Soave > Veneto
When a winemaker wants to make sweet wine but isn’t working with grapes whose sugar were naturally concentrated, what action can they take?
stop fermentation, so the yeasts stop metabolising the sugars
how does fortification stop fermentation?
the high alcohol level of the neutral grape spirit is enough to kill the yeast and therefore stop fermentation, leaving natural sugars in the wine
what are the 2 ways you can stop fermentation after chilling a wine?
- filtering out the remaining yeasts
2. adding sulfur dioxide (SO2) to kill any remaining yeasts
name 2 ways to add sweetness back into a wine
- add unfermented grape juice
2. add sweet wine to a dry wine
