Systematic approach to tasting wine Flashcards
Name the 4 things in order for the systematic approach to tasting wine (SAT)
Appearance
Nose
Palate
Conclusions
What do you need in a good tasting environment
- Good lighting
- No strong odours
- Spittoons
- Space for glasses/notes
How to prepare yourself for tasting
and what do you need
- clean palate
- No strong perfumes/aftershave
- clean suitable glassware
- correctly filled glasses (50mm)
What are the reasons for using the SAT
- calibrate the palate
- common language to describe the wine
- to be able to evaluate the wines
-appearance
-nose
-palate
-quality
Clarity is either?
Apperance
Clear
or Hazy (fault?)
Intensity is categorised as?
Apperance
Pale
Medium
Deep
Colour for White wine is?
Lemon green
Lemon
Gold
Amber
Brown
Colour of rose is?
3 colours dude
Pink
Pink/Orange
Orange
The SAT colours for Red are?
Purple
Ruby
Garnet
Tawney
Brown
When tasting what 4 things do you you assess and record on your tasting notes
- Apperance
- Nose
- Palate
- Conclusion
Nose condition is either
Clean
Unlcean? (faulty)
Nose intensity is
Light
Medium
Pronounced
The three key Nose aroma high level catagories are?
Primary, secondary, tertiary then elaborate for each category
See Lexicon deck for the full breakdown
lexicon is not in this deck has its own
What is assessed on the palate?
What are the measurements of each element?
List in correct order
Sweetness=Dry-Off Dry-Medium-Sweet
Acidity=Low-Medium-High
Tannin=Low-Medium-High
Alcohol=Low-Medium-High
Body= Light-Medium-Full
Flavour Intesity= Light-Medium-Pronounced
Flavour Characteristics=Primary-Secondary-Tertiary
Finish=Short-Medium-Long
What are the 6 quaility levels of a wine for WSEt L2
Quality level are
-Faulty
-Poor
-Acceptable
-Good
-Very good
-Outstanding
How do you assess the wine appearance intensity?
- Hold the glass at 45 degree angle, look from above and see how far the colour extends from the core.
- For red you can look down the glass upright and assess how easily the stem can be seen
What is the intesity of a white wine that has a broad watery rim
Pale
If the pigment of a white wine almost reaches almost to the rim what is the intensity
Deep
How is a pale red wine determined?
If the wine is slightly pigmented from the core to the rim it is considered pale
You can clearly see the stem of the glass in a vertical position
How is a deep red wine determined?
The wine will be pigmented right up to the rim and you will not be able to see the stem in the vertical position
What is the most common colour for white wine
Lemon
What is the most common colour for red wine
Ruby
How do you assess the condition of a wine in the nose phase?
Looking for faults indicated by
-Wet cardboard
-Caramel/Coffee (When not expected)
-Honey
-Lacks freshenss and the expected fruit characters
How do you assess aroma intesity
Insert nose to glass without swirling if immediatly apparent then this is prounounced.
If you swirl the wine then still find them faint this is Light.
Whats the best approach to identifying Aroma characteristics
Identify the 3 main type of aromas then systematicaly identify aroma clusters and work your way through the aromas you get from the glass
What are Primary aromas
The aromas that come from the grape or the wine making process
Simple wines often have only a few aromas from the same aroma cluster
What are secondary aromas
These are aromas created by post fermentation winemaking.
Yeast-Autolysis
Malolactic Conversion
Oak
What are tertiary aromas
These aromas are from the aging process both in oak and in the bottle.
Oxadative=Oak=Coffee/Caramel
Bottle (protected from oxygen)
=petrol/honey/mushoom
What do you need to consider when assessing the acidity in a wine
High levels of sugar and acid can mask each other. The salivia test is the only true way as will still work with high sugar wines
Alcohol can create a burning that feels similar to Acid. The saliva test again is the key to the correct assessment of the wines Acid
What can alcohol contribute to a wine
Increased body/mouthfeel.
At low levels the wine can seem watery unless sugar is present to gove the wine body
What is considered Low Alcohol
Below 11% ABV
What is considered Medium Alcohol
11%-13.9% abv
What is considered High alcohol
Above 13.9% abv
What is low alcohol on fortified wine
15-16.4% abv
What is Medium alcohol on fortified wine
16.5-18.4% abv
What is high Alcohol on a fortified wine
above 18.5%
What two attributes contribute most to the body of a wine
Sugar and Alcohol. Alcohol is usually the main factor influencing body
What does high level of ripe tannin do
Can make the wine feel fuller bodied
Low unripe tannins does what?
Can make the wine seem harsher, thinner therfore more light bodied
What is the general rule for flavour intesity
Generaly the flavour intesity matches the aroma intesity
What can happen on the palate that may not happen on the nose when assessing flavour profiles
The warming affect of the alcohol can make some flavours more apparant than on the nose
NOTE:Spice/Floral flavours are LESS obvious on the palate than the nose
Generally flavours on the palate match the aroma clusters
True
You should write down any additional flavour profiles found on the palat
Why is finish important
How long sensations last on a wine is an important indictor of quality
only the flavours that are pleasant count
What qualifies a wine to be tagged with a long finish
The the flavours last as long or longer than the structural components of the wine.
Acid-tannin ect
What are the main criteria for assesing a wines quality
Balance
Length of finish
Intensity
Complexity
Describe balance in a wine.
Sugar is balanced by=?
Alcohol needs=?
Acid needs=?
-
Sugar is balanced by** Acidity **
(Wine then refreshing rather than flabby) - High Alcohol needs Fruit to balance it out
- A high Acid wine needs** Fruit** otherwise can seem thin and unpleasant
if out of balance rarely anything more than Acceptable
Describe Length/finish it terms of quality
This is how long the pleasent flavours of the wine remian after swalling or spitting the wine. How the wine finsihes is an important indicator of quality.
If you are left with burning alcochol as the last sensation then this is
Describe intensity in terms of quality
A wine that is weak with dilute flavours is rarely of good quality.
Beyond a certain level more intesity does not mean more quality.
What is the best way to categories quality
Categorise the wine to see if it ticks the box in all four criteria of quality
Balance/Length-Finish/Intesity/Complexity
Are all premium wines complex
No not always. These wines are focused on purity and definition.
What makes a wine be classed as Outstanding
Shows positivily against all four quality criteria.
1-Balance
2-Length/finish
3-Intesity
4-Complexity
