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
