Sweet Wines

Question 1

Sweet Wines - Late Harvest / Botrytis-Affected Wines - France

Answer 1

• Bordeaux
  
  • Sauternes
• Alsace
  
  • Vendage Tardive (VT)
  • Selection de Grains Nobles (SGN)
• The Loire Valley
  
  • Quarts de Chaume
  • Bonnezeaux
  • Vouvray Moelleux

Question 2

Sweet Wines - Late Harvest / Botrytis-Affected Wines - Germany

Answer 2

• Pradikatswein
  
  • Ausles (may have botrytis)
  • Beerenuslese (BA)
  • Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA)

Question 3

Sweet Wines - Late Harvest / Botrytis-Affected Wines - Hungary

Answer 3

• Tokaji Aszu
  
  • White: Furmint + five other white varieties
  • Viticulture: Aszu = the name for grapes picked at high sugar levels and have been affected by botrytis
  • Vinification
    
    • The botrytis affected grapes are pressed into paste and then added back to a dry still wine
    • The amount of paste added to the still wine determines the sweetness level
    • Eszencia: Wine made from the sugar-laden, syrupy, free-run juice from 100% botrytised grapes

Question 4

Sweet Wines - Drying grapes - Italy

Answer 4

• Passito or Recioto are the Italian words most often seen on labels to indicate grapes that were dried
• Examples
  
  • Vin Santo (Tuescany)
  • Recioto di Soave (Veneto)
  • Recioto della Valpolicella (Veneto)

Question 5

Sweet Wines - Freezing grapes - Germany (eiswein) / Canada (icewine)

Answer 5

• Ice wine is made from healthy (minimal to no botrytis) grapes that are left ont he vine far into winter.
• The water content of the grapes is frozen, naturally concentrating the sugars.
• Grapes are hand-harvested frozen and immediately put into the press.
• Intensely sweet, syrupy juice is released, leaving behind the frozen water.

Question 6

Sweet Wines - Making Wine Sweet in the Winery (Vinification Techniques)

Answer 6

• Fortification: adding high alcohol grape spirit to the wine will stop fermentation
• Chilling the wine and filtering out or removing the yeast
• Chilling the wine and adding sulfur dioxide (SO2) to kill the yeast cells
• Adding sweetness back to a wine

Question 7

Sweet Wines - What does “Trockenbeerenauslese” (TBA) on bottle of german Riesling indicate?

Answer 7

• The wine is made from grapes affected by Botrytis
  
  • The wine is fortified
  • The wine is sparkling
  • The wine is aged

Question 8

Sweet Wines - What two countries are famous for Icewine production?

Answer 8

• Germany and Canada

Question 9

Sweet Wines - Tokaji Aszu is a famous sweet wine from which country?

Answer 9

• Hungary

Question 10

Sweet Wines - What is the main grape variety used to make Tokaji Aszu?

Answer 10

• Furmint
  
  • Riesling
  • Chenin Blanc
  • Sauvignon Blanc

Question 11

Sweet Wines - Recioto is an Italian word referring to which type of wine?

Answer 11

• Dried grapes

Question 12

Sweet Wines - Bonnezeaux is a famous botrytis-affected sweet wine from which wine region?

Answer 12

• Loire Valley, France
  
  • Bordeaux, France
  • Alsace, France
  • Champagne, France

Question 13

Sweet Wines - Name four ways to concentrate sugars for sweet wine production in the vineyard.

Answer 13

• Drying grapes
• Freezing grapes
• Late Harvested grapes
• Botrytis affected grapes