Tasting Techniques / Food and Wine Interaction

Question 1

What are the 4 requirements needed for setting up a Wine Tasting Environment?

Answer 1

• good lighting
• no strong odours
• spittoons
• space for glasses/notes

Question 2

What are the 4 essential points when preparing for a wine tasting?

Answer 2

1. clean palate
2. no strong perfumes or aftershaves
3. clean, suitable glassware
4. correctly filled glasses

Question 3

What are 3 Faults that affect the Aromas and Flavors of wine?

Answer 3

• cork taint
• closure failure
• heat damage

Question 4

What are the reasons for using the SAT (Systematic Approach to Tasting wine)?

Answer 4

• to calibrate the palate
• to have a common language to describe wine
• to evaluate a wine’s:

1. appearance
2. nose
3. palate
4. quality

Question 5

What 2 characteristics and their terms are observed when evaluating a wines Appearance?

Answer 5

1. Intensity:
   
   • pale – medium – deep
2. Color:
   
   • White: lemon – gold – amber
   • Rosé: pink – pink-orange – orange
   • Red: purple – ruby – garnet – tawny

Question 6

What 2 characteristics and their terms are observed when evaluating a wines Nose?

Answer 6

1. Intensity:
   
   • light – medium – pronounced
2. Aroma Characteristics:
   
   • primary, secondary, tertiary

Question 7

What 8 characteristics and their terms are observed when evaluating a wines Palate?

Answer 7

1. Sweetness: dry – off-dry – medium – sweet
2. Acidity: low – medium – high
3. Tannin: low – medium – high
4. Alcohol: low – medium – high
5. Body: light – medium – full
6. Flavor Intensity: light – medium – pronounced
7. Flavor Characteristics: primary, secondary, tertiary
8. Finish: short – medium – long

Question 8

What 4 points of criteria are observed when evaluating a wines quality for Conclusion?

Answer 8

1. Balance
2. Length/finish
3. Identifiable characteristics/intensity of flavors
4. Complexity

Question 9

What are the 5 terms used to identify quality levels in a wine for Conclusion?

Answer 9

• poor – acceptable – good – very good – outstanding

Question 10

When food is Sweet, wine seems 1. ________ , 2. ________ , 3. ________

Answer 10

1. more drying and bitter
2. more acidic
3. less sweet and fruity

Question 11

When food is Umami, wine seems 1. ________ , 2. ________ , 3. ________

Answer 11

1. more drying and bitter
2. more acidic
3. less sweet and fruity

Question 12

When food is Salty, wine seems 1. ________ , 2. ________ , 3. ________ , 4. ________

Answer 12

1. less drying and bitter
2. less acidic
3. more fruity
4. more body

Question 13

When food is Acidic, wine seems 1. ________ , 2. ________ , 3. ________

Answer 13

1. less drying and bitter
2. less acidic
3. more sweet and fruity

Question 14

What are the 3 Basic Principles to consider with a Food and Wine Pairing?

(people, food)

Answer 14

1. sensitivities vary from person to person
2. personal preferences matter
3. generally, food has more impact on wine than wine has on food

Question 15

What are 3 Other types of Considerations of Food and Wine Pairings?

Answer 15

1. chili heat
2. flavor intensity
3. acid and fat