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Introductory Sommelier Exam (CMS) > Tasting: How to Do it Deductively > Flashcards

Tasting: How to Do it Deductively Flashcards

How to evaluate a wine by sight, nose, and palate. Learn faults and what they smell like, and how to deduce what the wine is.

1
Q

What are the 5 benchmarks you have to hit when tasting?

A
  1. Sight
  2. Nose
  3. Palate
  4. Initial conclusion
  5. Final conclusion
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2
Q

What are the first 2 considerations that must be made when evaluating a wine’s sight (aka its appearance)?

A
  1. Whether it’s clear or hazy/has sediment
  2. Color
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3
Q

When evaluating a wine’s color, what are you describing?

A

Its intensity or concentration of color

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4
Q

What are 3 descriptors used to describe a wine’s sight/clarity?

A
  1. Clear
  2. Hazy
  3. Turbid
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5
Q

Give 2 scenarios when a wine would have sediment.

A
  1. Age
    • sediment falls out of wine as it ages
  2. Winemaking technique
    • was the wine filtered before it was bottled? If not, solids might make it into the bottle.
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6
Q

What is sediment made of?

A
  • Tannins
  • Color pigments
  • Other proteins/molecules
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7
Q

On what wines will you normally find sediment?

A
  1. Young wines that weren’t filtered
  2. Aged wines that have had sediment precipitate out
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8
Q

True or False:

White wines never have sediment.

A

False!

White wines can indeed have sediment, and it’s usually tartaric acid crystals (aka tartrates). These are harmless and have the texture of raw sugar if you get any on your palate.

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9
Q

How does a winemaker get rid of tartrates?

A
  1. Filtering
  2. Cold stabilization
    • when a white wine is brought down to 25ºF to help move along the formation of tartrate crystals so they can be filtered out
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10
Q

In their youth, white wines are _____ and _____.

As white wines age, they _____ in color.

A

Youth: light and bright in color (water white, pale lemon)

Age: darken, turning amber or brown.

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11
Q

How does barrel aging help darken the color of white wine?

A

Tiny pores in the wood allow oxygen into the barrel, slowly oxidizing the wine and darkening the color.

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12
Q

Besides being exposed to oxygen in barrel, where else can a wine be exposed to oxidation?

A

In the bottle

  • tiny amounts of air make their way past or through the cork to slowly oxidize the wine
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13
Q

What are the 3 options when describing color concentration?

A
  1. Pale
  2. Medium
  3. Deep
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14
Q

What affects color in wine? List 3 things.

A
  1. Grape variety
    • is it thin skinned or thick skinned?
  2. Color extraction
    • what technique(s) did the winemaker deploy to extract color from the skins?
  3. Age
    • is the wine youthful (bright, concentrated hues) or it is mature (more brown)?
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15
Q

What can color (or the quality of color) indicate on a wine?

A
  1. Age
  2. How it was stored
  3. Grape variety
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16
Q

In their youth, the color of red wines are _____.

As they age, red wines become _____.

A

Youth: vibrant with ruby and purple gem tones

Age: lighter, but also more brown around the rim and sometimes brown to the core

Remember: white wines as they age become darker, and red wines as they age become lighter!

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17
Q

What is the color scale for white wines?

A

From lightest to darkest:

  • Straw
  • Yellow
  • Gold
  • Amber
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18
Q

What is the color scale for red wines?

A
  • Garnet
  • Ruby
  • Purple
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19
Q

What are some secondary white wine colors?

Why would you include these when describing the color of a wine?

A
  • Silver
  • Green
  • Copper

Secondary colors can indicate age: silver indicates youth while copper indicates age.

Secondary colors can also give an indication - but not a definitive answer - of climate and grape varietal.

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20
Q

What are some secondary red wine colors?

Why would you include these when describing the color of a wine?

A
  • Orange
  • Brown
  • Blue

Secondary colors can indicate age – blue indicates youth and very clean winemaking; orange indicates age, wood, length of time spent on skins.

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21
Q

What is meant by rim variation?

A

The difference in color between the wine’s center, or core, and its edge where it hits the glass.

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22
Q

What does rim variation usually indicate?

A

Age

The wider and more orange/brown the rim variation, the older the wine.

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23
Q

When a wine stains the glass and has deep color extraction, what might that indicate about the wine?

A
  • the wine comes from a warm climate
  • it’s a highly pigmented grape
  • certain winemaking techniques were used to intensify the color
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24
Q

What’s the scale used to describe extraction?

A
  • None
  • Light
  • Medium
  • Heavy
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25
Q

When is the scale of extraction/staining used?

A

Only when you see staining in the glass.

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26
Q

What are wine tears, or legs?

A

Wine tears, or legs, are the droplets that form on the inside of a glass of wine that has just been swirled. They’re caused by the sugar and/or the evaporation of alcohol from the sides of the glass.

High alcohol wines collect a higher density of tears on the sides of the glass than low alcohol wines.

Sweeter wines are more viscous and, therefore, the tears will flow slower down the sides of a glass.

Try this at home! Swirl a glass of 8% abv Riesling Kabinett and compare it to a 22% abv Port to see the difference.

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27
Q

How can a wine glass affect the tears of wine?

A
  • Shape of the glass
  • Cleanliness of the glass
28
Q

What do thin tears mean?

A

If they disperse quickly, or sheet down the sides of the glass, it could mean the wine is lower in alcohol.

29
Q

What can thick tears indicate about a wine?

A

Thick, slow moving tears can indicate a higher alcohol level.

Note! Thick, or wide, tears don’t necessarily mean the wine is viscous, dense, or heavy.

30
Q

What is the scale of describing tears, or legs, in wine?

A
  • Light
  • Medium
  • Heavy
31
Q

When you see tiny CO2 gas bubbles in a still white wine, what effect will they have on the palate?

A

They make the wine feel a little spritzy on your palate.

32
Q

What can excess CO2 in wine indicate?

A

That the wine is undergoing second fermentation in the bottle. However…

  • it could be a flaw if it wasn’t intended by the winemaker;
  • it could mean the wine was bottled shortly after fermentation and it’s meant to be that way.
33
Q

Give a few examples of wines that purposely show excess CO2.

A
  • Vinho Verde
  • Young Riesling
  • Young Grüner Veltliner
  • Muscadet
34
Q

List the 7 most common wine faults.

A
  1. TCA (corkiness)
  2. Oxidation
  3. Volatile acidity (VA)
  4. Ethyl Acetate (EA)
  5. Sulfur Dioxide (SO2)
  6. Brettanomyces (Brett)
  7. Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S)
35
Q

What does cork taint (TCA) smell like?

Where does TCA live?

A

Old, damp, moldy cardboard.

TCA lives in barrels, corks, shippers, shipping palettes – it can literally live IN the winery and taint everything.

36
Q

What does oxidation smell like?

What causes it?

A

Dull, stale, not fresh fruit. It can also smell a little nutty and take on bitter flavors.

Oxidation is caused by bad storage – e.g. aged too long, dried-out corks.

37
Q

What does Volatile Acidity smell like?

What causes it?

A

Vinegar

VA is caused by acetic acid bacteria.

38
Q

What does Ethyl Acetate smell like?

What causes it?

A

Nail polish remover

EA is caused by the reaction between ethanol (read: alcohol) and acetic acid.

39
Q

What does Sulfur Dioxide smell like?

What causes it?

A

Just-struck match or wet wool

Excessive SO2 is caused by using too much of it in the winery.

40
Q

What does Brettanomyces smell like?

What causes it?

A

Band-Aid, barnyard, farm animals, clove

Brett is a yeast that can live in wineries (usually those that aren’t kept spotlessly clean), and the biggest culprit is barrels. Keeping a winery really, really clean, among other things, helps avoid Brett.

41
Q

What does Hydrogen Sulfide (H2S) smell like?

What causes it?

A

Rotten eggs, and sometimes like unpleasant onion

Poor nutrition for the yeasts during fermentation.

42
Q

What is the intensity scale used to describe aromas?

A
  • Low or delicate
  • Moderate
  • High or powerful
43
Q

What is the scale used to describe the age of a wine?

A
  • Youthful
    • young, fresh, primary fruit
  • Developing
    • showing signs of age, fruit smells like it’s maturing
  • Vinous
    • obvious signes of age, including oxidation and color change
44
Q

What are the fruit categories used to describe white wine?

A
  • Citrus
  • Apple/Pear
  • Stone fruits
  • Tropical
  • Melon
45
Q

What are the fruit categories used to describe red wine?

A
  • Red fruit
  • Black fruit
  • Blue fruit
46
Q

When identifying fruit characteristics on a wine’s nose, what is the range of fruit conditions used to categorize the fruit(s)?

A
  • Tart or underripe
  • Fresh
  • Ripe
  • Bruised
  • Jammy (like preserves)
  • Dried
  • Dessicated
  • Baked
  • Stewed or cooked
47
Q

What non-fruit aroma descriptors are used when assessing a wine?

A
  • Floral
    • what color impression do you get? Pink, yellow, white, or purple flowers? Are they fresh or dried?
  • Vegetal
  • Herbal (grass, rosemary, etc.)
  • Spice
  • Barnyard
  • Diesel fuel/petrol
  • Fermentation (beer head, brioche)
  • Botrytis
  • Leather/saddle/baseball mit
48
Q

What are some aroma descriptors used to identify earth or mineral character?

A

Earth

  • mushroom
  • potting soil
  • compost
  • forest floor (moist, dead leaves)
  • turned earth

Mineral

  • Stone, wet or sunbaked
  • Limestone
  • Chalk
  • Slate
  • Flint, like rocks you just struck together
49
Q

What are some aroma descriptors used to describe the smell of oak or wood?

A
  • Cedar
  • Smoke
  • Toast
  • Baking spices
  • Vanilla
  • Dill or a pickle barrel
  • Coconut
  • Sawdust
50
Q

What are the effects on wine when using large vs. small barrels?

A

Large barrels:

  • impart less oaky flavors because the ratio of wine-to-barrel is larger
  • can still add oxidative notes

Small barrels:

  • impart more oaky flavors because ratio of wine-to-barrel is smaller (more wine is in contact with the barrel)
51
Q

What are the effects on wine when using older barrels vs. new barrels?

A

Older barrels:

  • don’t impart new oak flavors by the 4th-6th year of using them (at this point they’re called neutral
  • can contribute oxidative notes

New barrels:

  • first use and 2nd year barrels impart highest concentration of new oak flavors
    • vanilla, coconut, toast, smoke
52
Q

What are the effects on wine when using French oak vs. American oak?

A

French oak:

  • more subtle aromas and flavors
    • vanilla bean, baking spice, cedar

American oak:

  • more obvious aromas and flavors
    • coconut, butterscotch, vanilla extract, dill
53
Q

What descriptors are used to describe the dryness-to-sweetness scale?

A
  • Bone dry
  • Dry
  • Off-dry
  • Medium-sweet (not sweet enough to pair with desserts)
  • Sweet (sweet enough to pair with desserts)
  • Luscious
54
Q

What do tannins feel like on your palate? Do they have a flavor?

Where do tannins come from?

A

Astringent, almost as if you put a tiny wool sock over your tongue. They can also taste bitter.

Tannins come from the seeds, skins and stems of grapes.

55
Q

What does acidity in wine do to your palate?

A

Acidity makes your mouth water.

Acidity can be out of balance – if there’s too much acidity, a wine tastes way too tart; if there isn’t enough acidity the wine can taste wide and flabby.

If a wine’s acidity is in balance, the wine feels refreshing.

56
Q

Where do you get the sensation of alcohol in a wine?

A
  • On your tongue - it can tingle!
  • In your nose, like it’s burning your nose hairs
  • In your chest and throat - it can feel hot like you just took a shot of vodka
57
Q

What are the descriptors used to identify the body, or weight, of wine?

A
  • Light
    • think the thinness of water or skim milk
  • Medium
    • almost like the weight of 2% milk on your palate
  • Full
    • dense, heavy weight like whole milk or cream
58
Q

How do you determine the length, or finish, of a wine?

What descriptors are used to identify the finish?

A

Notice how long you taste the wine after you’ve spat it out or swallowed it.

  • Short = ~15 seconds
  • Medium = ~30-45 seconds
  • Long = >60 seconds

Be sure to check in on the quality of the finish – did the flavors change? Did the wine’s fruit go tart or overripe on the palate?

59
Q

When describing a wine and you can only come up with a few descriptors, the wine’s complexity is _____.

A

Low

60
Q

When describing a wine and you come up with several descriptors, the wine’s complexity is _____.

A

High

61
Q

In your initial conclusion, besides listening to yourself describe the wine, how do you determine what the possible grape varieties are?

A
  • Color of the wine
  • Telltale, classic aromas and flavors
  • Typical/expected structural elements representative in certain grapes
62
Q

How can you tell a difference between an old world wine and a new world wine?

A

Old world

  • fruit tends to taste more tart than it smells
  • more non-fruit aromas and flavors than new world, especially in the finish
  • more mineral and earthiness than new world, especially in the finish

New world

  • ripe, fruit forward
  • fewer non-fruit aromas, and any that exist are usually overpowered by the fruitiness
  • less mineral, less earthy
63
Q

What are some distinguishing traits of cool climate wines?

A
  • Elevated acidity
  • Restrained alcohol
  • Fruit smells and tastes more tart
  • Wine feels more direct on palate
64
Q

What are some distinguishing traits of warm climate wines?

A
  • Elevated alcohol
  • Restrained acidity
  • Fruit appears ripe, overripe, or jammy
  • Appears more opulent and plush on the palate
65
Q

When determining an age range, what should you be considering on the wine?

A
  • Color
  • Rim variation
  • Youthful vs. developing vs. vinous aromas + flavors
  • Other characteristics, such as length of finish and texture
66
Q

What do you have to identify in your final conclusion?

A
  1. Grape varietal or blend
  2. Country
  3. Region
  4. Appellation
    • quality level, if applicable
  5. Vintage

Introductory Sommelier Exam (CMS) (40 decks)

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