Systematic approach to tasting wine Flashcards
What is purpose of the SAT ?
to develop two fundamental skills
1. ability to describe a wine accurately
2. Ability to make reasonable conclustion based on these description
What are the two scale for clarity fo the wine ?
Clear
Hazy
What are the terms to identify the intensity of the wine in terms of appearance ?
Pale
Medium
Deep
What are the different colours that can defined a red, white and rosé wine?
White wine
- lemon-green
- Lemon
- Gold
- Amber
- Brown
Red wine
- Purple
- Ruby
- Garnet
- Tawny
- Brown
Rosé wine
- Pink
- Salmon
- Orange
What other observations can be made regarding the apperance of a wine ?
Legs or tears
- wine that contain sugar or high alcohol levels are more viscous and have thicker, more persisten legs
Deposit
- Some wine may have a deposit taht can indacte that it is unfined and or unfiltered
Pétillance /Spritz
- Some wine can show a slight carbon dioxide
- Can be a fault or,
- some light-bodied unoaked wines are bottled with dissolved carbon dioxide to add freshness
Bubbles
- Important to sparkling wines
Name the fault of a wine
TCA - Trichloroanisole
Reduction
Sulfur dioxide
Oxidation
Out of condition
Volatile acidity (VA)
Brettanomyces (“brett”)
Explain TCA fault
Trichloroanisole
- Taint gives the wine aromas reminiscent of damp cardboard
- Fruit flavours will be muted
- Wine appear less fresh
- Tainted cork may be at fault
Explain Reduction fault
- Gives a stinky character like rotten egg , boiled cabbage, boiled onions or blocked drain
- Low levels of reduction could be pleasant, adding character and complexity
- Can dissipate once the bottle is open
Explain sulfur dioxide fault
At very high levels, SO2 can give a wine an acrid smell or recently extinguished matches
At low levels, can mask fruitiness of a wine
Insufficient can lead to oxidation
Explain Oxidation fault
Opposite of reduction
Typically due to a failure of the closure, allowing unwanted oxygen to interact with the wine
deeper coloured and more brown than it shoudl be
Aromas of toffee, honey caramel of coffe and lack freshness and fruitiness
Some are made that way and it is not a fault
Explain out of condition fault
Wines have lost vibrancy and freshness
Taste dull and stale
Either because they are too old or have been stored in bad conditions
May be elements of oxidation too
Explain Volatile Acidity (VA) fault
all wines have some volatile acidity as low levels help make the wine seem more fragrant or complex
high levels of VA give the wine aromas of vinegar or nail polish remover
Explain Brettanomyces (brett) fault
A yeast that can give wine plastic or animal aromas reminiscent of sticking plasters, hot vinyl, smoked meat, leather or sweaty horses
Some love it at a low levels, some consider it a fault
What are the terms to describe Intensity of a wine ?
Light
Medium(-)
Medium
Medium(+)
Pronounced
What are the 3 types of aromas ?
Primary aromas
Secondary aromas
Tertiary aromas
What are primary aromas ?
Aromas that exist after fermentation
Some aromas come from the grapes and others are created during the fermentation process
A wine can dispaly many clusters of primary aromas.
What are secondary aromas ?
Aromas created by post-fermentation winemaking
include aromas extracted from oak, from malolactic converstion of as a result of lees contact or autolysis
What are tertiary aromas ?
Aromas have their origin in agein processes
- oxidative due to a long period in oak (coffee, toffee, caramel)
- due to a long period in bottle (petro, honey, mushrooom)
The primary aromas are changing
fruit become less fresh and take dried of cooked character