vocab Flashcards
acidity
crisp, soft, or flabby/flat
backbone of white wine (which also has tannin but not that much)
-why you might say wine is crisp or tart (of there is significant acidity) or if there isn’t enough acidity, flabby or flat, sour if there’s too much
all wines contain acid (mostly tataric acid in grapes)
generally perceived in the middle of the mouth (mid-palate)
usually why white wines feel hard or crisp
sometimes hard to distinguish from tannin in red wine - think about after you swallow - saliva to neutralize the acid or dry from the tannin
tannin
describe wine as astringent, firm or soft
bitter dry and puckery
occurs naturally in skins, seeds or pips and stems
-from when vintner allows skins and pips to sit in grape juice as it ferments (also how wines get their color) –> why red wine has more tannins, backbone of red wine (also because red grapes have more tannins than white grapes)
can also come from oak barrels
- why red wine might be described as firm or leathery or just bitter, dries up saliva
- also gives red wine texture making it feel smooth and soft of rough and chewy
- in general the darker the wine the higher the tannin and bolder the taste
- rose wine has some but not a lot
- why you shouldn’t service red wine too cold - tannins tend to get bitter as they get cold
- high tannins: astringent , maybe even bitter and inky
responsible for hard texture - low level makes it soft
perceived in the rear of your mouth or if tannin is very high, cheeks and gums
fortified
has added alcohol
table wine
called light wine in Europe and sometimes still wine bc no bubbles
“normal non bubbly wines that wine drinkers drink all the time”
red, white and rose wine that has alcohol content of less than 14% in the us, between 8.5 and 14% in Europe (14 is the natural point for yeast fermentation to end naturally); now in some warm climates the grapes get so ripe and sugary that they naturally have more (or the use of gonzo yeast strands that continue working past 14%) –> 14.5 or 15%, still considered table wines by drinkers but not the law (dessert wines) –> taxed higher
excluded anything that is sparkling or fortified
dessert wine
tends to be sweeter and comes after a meal
alcohol (usually brandy) added so that it can retain more of its natural sugars which are usually used up during the fermentation process
ex. port, Madeira, vermouth, sherry, Marsala
sparkling wine
fermentation crests carbon dioxide - winemakers sometimes trap it
has significant carbonation which can occur as a natural part of the fermentation process or via carbon dioxide injection after fermentation
made from wide range of red and white grapes
champagne proper comes from Chardonnay, Pinot meunière and or Pinot noir
in the us there are no laws against labeling sparkling wine that’s not from champagne France as champagne - until recently you could even use capital c as long as the carbonation wasn’t added artificially. even now wineries that were already using the name champagne can continue to do so as long as you qualify (e.g. California champagne)
on label from driest to sweetest: brut nature, extra brut, brut, extra dry/extra, sec/extra seco, dry/seco/sec, Demi-sec/semi-seco, doux/sweet/dulce
varietal wines
wines named after the primary grape variety that the wine was made from (Merlot is mostly Merlot grapes)
in most jurisdictions the minimum is about 75% (don’t have to mention where the other 25% comes from on the label)
in the eu, they name wines according to the region or country
astringent
bitter from too much tannins
body
the perceived weight and viscosity of the wine
full bodied wine feels thick, coating the sides of the glass as you swirl, a light bodied wine almost like water
oaky
when it’s either fermented or aged in oak barrels
oak might add qualities like smokiness, clove, spiciness or vanilla tones
wine aged in stainless steel casks are not oaky at all
pair oaky wine with salty food because it cuts through the bitterness
price
$10-15 are usually typical of their regions and varieties
some say complexity doesn’t start until 25 or 35
process
ripe grapes –> crush –> yeast (tiny one called organisms that occur naturally in the vineyard and thus the grapes) comes into contact with the natural sugars in grapes and converts it to alcohol (also produces co2 which releases into the air) –> sugar gone wine is done
sweetest ripest grapes make the most alcoholic wine
can take from 3 days to 3 months
process called fermentation
sulfite dioxide
sulfur dioxide occurs naturally too but sometimes wine makers add it themselves - antibacterial, prevents wine from turning into vinegar. also inhibits yeast, preventing sweet wine from continuing to ferment in the bottle
also an antioxidant, keeping the wine fresh and untrained by oxygen
still many try to use as little as possible bc they believe the less the better
dessert wines and sweet wines and rose wines have the most because they need the most protection, red wines have the least
less than ever before even those us law says if there’s more than 10 parts per million you need a warning for asthmatics (10 to 20 occur naturally in wine)
dessert wine
called liqueur wines in Europe, maybe more accurately but rarely also referred to as fortified wines
higher than 14% alcohol bc winemaker added alc during or after fermentation
specialty in sherry region in Spain and port region in Portugal
called dessert bc they’re usually sweet and consumed after dinner but not always (dry sherry is dry and consumed before dinner)
alcohol content
14% - dessert wine in the us, liqueur wine in Europe
in the us, table wine allowed to have 1.5% leeway on labels (but still not allows to exceed 14%)
if percentage on label is precise like 12.2% and not say 12% or 13.5% it’s probably precise
champagne
- Sparkling wine from champagne region France
- can use the term on American labels if you qualify geography
- in European Union you can’t even mention the word champagne (“using the champagne method”)
- sale of non eu wines with champagne on label banned from sale in eu
- many sparkling wine makers in the us won’t call it champagne out of respect
legs
not from quality of wine - actually from surface tension of the wine and the evaporation rate of the alcohol
sometimes legs signify high amounts of alc
nose
the smell of the wine
has a huge nose - huge smell
lemon in the nose - smells like lemon
palate
the overall sensation in the mouth
smell
smells come from different aromatic compounds
DNPM - Do Not Put In Mouth, seriously flawed wine that produces a bad smell
taste
medium sip, hold it in mouth and purse your lips, draw some air in over the wine across your tongue (vaporizing aromas and sending them up rear nasal passages in mouth –> allows you to “taste” and perceive specific aromas beyond sweet bitter and acidic), then swish around the mouth (to hit all parts of tastebuds), then swallow
usually taste sweetness first bc sweet registers at the front of your tongue
while your brain is trying to register bitterness and acidity (sourness) you can think about how it feels - heavy, light, smooth, rough etc
10 common aromas or flavors
fruits
herbs
flowers
earth
grass
tobacco
butterscotch
toast
vanilla
coffee, mocha, chocolate
sweetness
registers first on the tip of your tongue
dry, off-dry or sweet
fruity
not to be mixed with sweetness - fruitiness is the aroma of actual fruit
try holding nose and tasting to see if a wine is really sweet
hardness
caused by acidity or tannin
softness
low levels of acidity or tannins or large amounts of unfermented sugar or alcohol
(caused by alc and sugar)
body
classify as light bodied, medium bodied or full bodied
impression from whole of wine, weight and size in mouth
usually attributed to a wine’s alcohol
families of flavors
fruity (fruits)
earthy (minerals and rocks and forests, gardening and dry leaves)
spicy wines (cinnamon, cloves, black pepper, Indian spices)
herbal (mint, grass, rosemary, hay)
measurements of quality
decided upon by a group of trained experts according to
balance length depth complexity trueness to type (typicity)
4 major components of wine
sweetness, acidity, tannin, alcohol
relationship to each other –> balance (own idiosyncrasies affect your perception of balance I.e. too sweet!)
balance of wine is the interrelationship of the hard and soft elements of wine
balance
relationship of 4 major wine components (hardening: tannin and acidity and softening: alcohol and sugar)
length
when you can taste wine across the full length of your tongue
short wines have a punch but don’t last - generally high alc or excess tannin to blame
depth
when wine has a dimension of verticality - does not taste flat and one dimensional
complexity
has multiple flavors and impressions
finish
impression wine leaves in back of your mouth and throat after you swallow
good: flavors like fruity or spicy
bad: hot from alcohol or bitter from tannin
typicity
characteristics of wines made from major grape varieties and wines of the world’s classic wine regions
causes of bad wine
moldy fruit - dusty and cardboardy
vinegar - crossed the line from grape –> wine –> vinegar
chemical or bacterial smells - acetone and sulfur flaws (rotten eggs, bad garlic, burnt rubber)
oxidized wine –> smells flat weak or cooked, air got in and killed the wine
cooked aromas and taste - stores or shipped in heat, can tell from cork leakage
corky wine - smells like damp cardboard, caused by bad cork
personality traits
characteristics of
names on labels include
varietal name: name of the grape (principal or sole grape in wine)
- Ca: 75%, Oregon 90% except cab, aus and eu: 85% - if a wine is named for two or more in us, must add up to 100% and percentages be displayed
varietal names sell best in the states so eu counties will put varietal name on wines they want to sell to american customers
brand name: company or person who wine, or made up
proprietary name: special faithful name to the particular wine
generic wine
place or places where the wine grew
- used in eu, but need to know about regions!
- actually more discerning than varietal names - place tells you sunshine soil etc
- can be difficult to find on non eu wines
vintage year: year grapes in wine grew
terroir (ter wahr)
French word - combination of immutable natural factors like topsoil, subsoil, climate (sun, rain, wind etc), slope of the hill, altitude
the unique combination of natural factors that a particular vineyard has
brand name
name of the winery, most labels say cakebread (brand), Sauvignon blanc (grape) or (brand name) (region)
bc most wineries make several wines
wines a only the brand are generally the most inexpensive and ordinary. the eu doesn’t even require a vintage date
proprietary names
producers create for special wines
in America, usually made from a blend of grapes (no one grape can be used for name)
in Europe, the grapes used were probably not the approved grapes for that region so regional couldn’t be used
usually made in small quantities, quite expensive (40-70) and high quality
generic wines
wine name used inappropriately for so long that it has lost it’s original meaning in government’s eyes
burgundy, chianti, Chablis, champagne, Rhine wine, sherry port, and Sauterne should all apply only to that region, years of agreements w eu: American wines can’t use those names unless they already were before 2006
front and back of labels
the gov says certain stuff must be put on the front, don’t specify which is which so producers put that stuff in teeny font and call it the front and put an eye catching title and label on the “back”, which ends up facing forward
the mandatory (labeling)
In the us
brand name
indication of class or type (table wine, dessert wine, sparkling wine)
% of alc by volume unless it’s implicit (table wine is t appear on labels
vintage
75-100% of the grapes used were harvested in that year
nonvintage wines use a blend of years
mythical aurora of a vintage year indicating quality
optional on labels
vintage year reserve estate bottled vineyard name "old vines" Classico
reserve
meaningless on American labels - supposed to convey it received extra aging bc it was worthy of it
in Italy and Spain: prestige bc wine perceived as better than normal and therefore deserved extra aging - even has degrees of reserves
France - not regulated but generally consistent with better than most producers
estate bottled
the company that bottled the wine so grew the grapes
in France, might be called domaine or or chateau bottled
vineyard name
medium to expensive wines
specific vineyard where grapes grew
viticulture
growing the grapes
vinification
making of the whine
microclimate
amt and timing of wind, rain, sun, humidity etc for a specific area - even the side of a hill
canopy
open canopy - maximizes the sunlight exposure of the grapes
canopy management - maneuvering leaves and fruit into the best position for a given vineyard
low yields
generally, the more grapes a grapevine gross the higher it’s yield and the less concentrated it’s flavors - lower the quality
most claim “low yields”
organic
without chemical pesticides, herbicides etc
in us, must be certified organic by gov inst.
biodynamic: vineyards are organic but farmed w principles est in the early 20th c by Austrian philospher Rudolph Steiner - cosmic aspects like respecting the movement of the moon and planets, cult following
