Tasting & Evaluating Wine Flashcards
Tasting environment
Good light
No strong odours i.e. near kitchen
Spittoons
Space for glasses/notes
How to prepare yourself
Clean, neutral palate
Free of perfumes/aftershave
Clean, appropriate glassware i.e. ISO tasting glasses with stem & good sized bowl
Fill correctly i.e. approx 1-1.5 oz of wine to taste
What is SAT
Systematic Approach to Tasting
Why do we use a SAT?
- Calibrate the palate
- A common language for all to describe wine
- Able to evaluate wine’s:
appearance, nose palate, quality
What are the main wine faults ?
Cork taint -
TCA (tricholroanysol), causes wet cardboard taste/smell
Closure failure -
Oxygen seeps in. browner in colour. aromas of honey, caramel, coffee
Heat damage -
direct sunlight or bright artificial light. Tastes dull/stale
What are the primary aroma characteristics of wine?
Those that the grape itself gives to the wine
i.e. floral, fruit, herbaceous (flowers, fruits, veg)
What are the secondary
Occurring within the winery, created by the winemaker on purpose.
i.e. bready/yeasty/biscuity (autolysis), dairy (maloactive conversion), oak barrels (vanilla/spices)
What is tertiary
Occur during maturation, over time. Aroma of dried/stewed fruit, mushrooms, honey, coffee, petroleum
How can you assess appearance intensity
Looking down into glass, holding glass at 45 degree angle.
For red - can also look down into an upright glass
Appearance intensity description
pale - medium - deep
Appearance colour
white - lemon - gold - amber
rose - pink - pink-orange - orange
red - purple - ruby - garnet - tawny
Nose intensity
light - medium - pronounced
Aroma characteristics
primary (grape, fermentation), secondary (winery, post-fermentation), tertiary (maturation, over time)
SAT - Palate
Sweetness
dry - off-dry - medium - sweet
SAT - Palate
Acidity
low - medium - high
