Tasting and Evaluating Wine

Question 1

What are the ideal tasting room characteristics?

Answer 1

• odour-free
• good natural light
• white surfaces (for wine appearance)

Question 2

Name some outside influences on our wine ability to judge wine.

Answer 2

• Palate affected by Tobacco, food, coffee, gum or toothpaste - Hayfever, cold - Fatigue

Question 3

What is the recommended glass for WSET tasting and why ?

Answer 3

• ISO glass - Rounded bowl large enough to swirl wine - Tulip shape to concentrate the aromas - Stem to hold the glass without warming the wine

Question 4

What are the steps of WSET 2 systematic approach to tasting wine ?

Answer 4

• Appearance - Nose - Palate - Conclusion

Question 5

Why do we look at the wine appearance ?

Answer 5

To look for faults. If it is out of condition it will look dull and will have at least a hint of brown. Haziness may also indicate a fault.

Question 6

What are appearance hints for red wine ?

Answer 6

• Purple indicate youth (Purple) - Orange, Amber and Brown indicate age. (Tawny) - Purple + red (ruby) - Orangey + red (garnet)

Question 7

What are appearance hints for white wine ?

Answer 7

• Green indicate youth - Yellow with a hint of green (Lemon) - Yellow with a hint of orange (Gold) - Orange or Brown hints indicate age (Amber)

Question 8

What is the most common fault of wine and what are the effects of it ?

Answer 8

Cork Taint. At low level remove freshness and fruity aromas. At works, wine become pungent with damp cardboard or musty smell.

Question 9

What will smell an out of condition wine ?

Answer 9

Dull and stale (éventé). It may also have excessive oxydative aromas (toffee, caramel, sherry)

Question 10

What are the 3 categories of appearance ?

Answer 10

• Clarity (clear - hazy) - Intensity (pale - medium - deep) - Colour (lemon - gold - amber) (pink - salmon - orange) (purple - ruby - garnet - tawny)

Question 11

What are appearance hints for rosé wine ?

Answer 11

• Bright purply-pink indicates youth - Orange and Brown indicates age.

Question 12

What are the 3 categories of nose ?

Answer 12

• Condition (Clean - Unclean) - Intensity (light - medium - pronounced) - Aromas char. (fruits, flowers, spices, …)

Question 13

What are the 6 categories of palate ?

Answer 13

• Sweetness (dry - off-dry - medium - sweet) - Acidity (low - medium - high) - Tannin (low - medium - high) - Body (light - medium - full) - Flavours (fruits, flowers, spices, …) - Finish (Short - Medium - Long)

Question 14

What is the category of conclusion ?

Answer 14

• Quality (faulty - poor - acceptable - good - very good - outstanding)

Question 15

Enumerate acidity characteristics

Answer 15

• Causes the mouth to water - Make wine taste fresh and vibrant - Riesling and Sauv blanc give high acidity wines - Cool climate = More acidity than hot climate - Sweet wines need a lot of acidity to balance sweetness

Question 16

What are the elements to take in account for conclusion ?

Answer 16

• Balance (sweetness, acidity, fruitness, tannin) - Finish (long finish = better wine) - Intensity - Complexity (More than 2 flavours) - Expressiveness (express grape variety or region ?)

Question 17

What are importants element for selecting and recommending wines ?

Answer 17

• Tastes - Preferences - Price requirements - For large number or diverse taster types avoid extreme styles, rather multiples alternatives - For special occasion - Appropriate quality but must not be the center of attention