WINE BASICS Flashcards
The more _____ the grapes contain, the higher the alcohol content of the wine will be.
Sugar
What happens to acid as a grape ripens?
The acid content decreases from ~3% to less than 1% and the sugar content increases.
Which wines are least tannic to most tannic of this list: Sangiovese, Syrah, Gamay, Grenache, Merlot, Nebbiolo, Petite Sirah, Pinot Noir?
Gamay, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Grenache, Zinfandel, Syrah, Malbec, Merlot, Mourvedre, Cab Franc, Cab Sauv, Petite Sirah, Nebbiolo
RS Level of Dry Wines
Less than .5 %
RS Level of off dry wines
.5 - 1.9%
RS Level of semi sweet wines
2%-6%
RS Level of sweet wines
6%+
_________ is often confused with sweetness.
Fruitiness
What is the latin root of viticulture?
Vit - vita - life itself
What is terrior?
Every environmental force impacting a given vineyard site: soil, slope, orientation to the sun, elevation, climate
What are the three basic rock forms?
Sedimentary: includes sandstone, clay, limestone, coal, quartz
Igneous: molten or partially molten materials
Metamorphic: Include marble and slate
Right bank Bordeaux is dominated by _______ based soils
Clay
Champagne soil is ________
Chalk - soft limestone
Willamette Valley soil is _________
Basalt - cooled lava from volcanic rock
Where can granite soil be found?
Beaujolais, Cornas region of Northern Rhone - ideal with acidic grapes like gamay.
Where can Limestone be found?
Champagne, Burgundy, Loire Valley. Very alkaline and works well with grapes with high acidity levels.
Where can slate soil be found?
Mosel region of Germany
Where can schist soil be found?
Alsace Andlau region
What is a vine destroying bug?
Phylloxera
What is biodynamic wine?
‘Spiritual science’ - managing a farm holistically as a regenerative living organism. Vines are fertilized using compost from the vineyard, soils are regenerated naturally using waste of farm and ranch animals. Harmful pests are controlled by encouraging a population of beneficial plants to feed on them. Creates a ‘living balance’
What does oak do to wine?
Oak is composed of several chemical compounds that ‘shape’ a wine and give it depth. Some flavor notes are vanilla, tea and tobacco, and impressions of sweetness.. Oak helps a wine grow softer and develop a richer more substantial flavor.
What’s the difference in flavor between American and French oak?
American = less tannic and more pronounced notes of vanilla and coconut. French = More subtle flavor, more tannic, allows for greater oxidation.
Notes on Albarino
Tasting: Lemon zest, grapefruit, honeydew, salt water/saline - known for being quite ‘salty’
- Considered one of the best wines for seafood
- Comes from the region along Spain’s northwestern coast
- Floral and citrusy but not quite as aromatic as a Riesling
- Best when young, rarely aged
- Core grape in vinho verde
Notes on Barbera
Tasting: Tart cherry, licorice, blackberry, dried herbs, black pepper
- Most widely planted grape in NW Italian region of Piedmont
- All the great Barberas come from Piedmont
- Lip smacking acidity!
Notes on Cabernet Franc
Tasting (Loire Valley) : strawberry, raspberry, bell pepper, crushed gravel, chili pepper
Tasting (Tuscany) : cherry, leather, coffee, strawberry, licorice
Tasting (California) : Dried strawberry, tobacco leaf, cedar, vanilla
- Parent grape of merlot and cabernet sauvignon
- Plays a role in many top burgundy and bordeaux blends
- Unripe grapes produce pyrazines (bell pepper flavors)
- Loire Valley Chinon - 100% cab franc
Notes on Cabernet Sauvignon
Tasting: Black cherry, black currant, cedar, baking spices, graphite
- Natural cross between cab franc and sauvignon blanc
- Originated in Bordeaux
- High tannin and body
- Molasses flavors can result from aging
Notes on Chardonnay
Tasting: yellow apple, starfruit, pineapple, vanilla, butter
Chablis : quince, lime peel, white blossom, chalk
Santa Barbara: yellow apple, pineapple, lemon zest, nutmeg
West Australia: white peach, tangerine, honeysuckle, vanilla, lemon curd
- One of the main grapes found in champagne along with pinot noir and pinot meunier
Notes on Chenin Blanc
Tasting: quince, yellow apple, pear, chamomile, honey
Pairs well with thai cuisine!
- Grown primarily in Loire Valley and South Africa (sometimes known as steen)
- High acid and minerality
- An utterly romantic white
Notes on Gamay
Tasting: pomegranate, blackberry bramble, violet, potting soil, banana
- Lowest in tannin and is therefore more like a white wine then a red
- Parents are pinot noir and gouais blanc
- Also very fruity
- Comes from Beaujolais, FR
Notes on Gewurztraminer
Tasting: lychee, rose, grapefruit, tangerine, ginger
- Predominately found in Alsace
- Intense FLORAL aromas
- An ‘extroverted wine’
- Even though the wine is very fruity, it’s rarely ‘sweet’ - look for the telltale edge of bitterness at the finish
- Dry wine
- Deep yellow with a coppery cast, full bodied, just enough acidity to hold it all together
- Because they are lower in acid, poor quality examples come off as oily
Drink with rich, complex pork dishes
Notes on Grenache
Tasting: Stewed strawberry, jammy, grilled plum, leather, dried herbs, blood orange
- Known as a white grape (grenache blanc) and a red (grenache noir)
- Produces rich, flavorful reds and deep, ruby-tinted rose
- Most important variety in Chateauneuf-du-pape and the Rhone/GSM blend
- Spanish in origin and should be known by its rightful name ‘garancha’
- Like pinot noir it’s difficult to grow and challenging to make into wine
- Not high in tannin
Notes on Gruner Vetliner
Tasting: yellow apple, pear, asparagus, white pepper, flint
- Legendary for it’s lightning strike of white petter aroma and flavor
- Austria’s most important wine
- Highly acidic
- Thrives along the Danube river north and west of Vienna
- Lively, bold, dry, minerally
- Like reisling, it is never paired with other grapes and almost never involves oak
Notes on Malbec
Tasting: red plum, blackberry, vanilla, sweet tobacco, cocoa
- Full body, medium alcohol, low tanin, known for their bold fruit and smooth chocolate finish
- Popular name for the grape variety ‘cot’
- One of five main red grapes that can be blended to make red Bordeaux
- Originated in France, is now a star in Argentina
- Tends to be low in acidity and slightly less tannic than Cab Sauv
Notes on Merlot
Tasting: boistrous black cherry flavor, smoky or chocolate finish, dried herbs, vanilla
- Easily confused with cab sauv because they share the same father - cab franc. Usually lacks cab sauv’s hint of green tobacco or dried mint
- Merlot means ‘little blackbird’
- Pomerol and St. Emilion - almost always blended with cab sauv, cab franc, malbec, and/or petit verdot
Notes on Mourvedre
Tasting: Dark, hard-edged flavors, not light, juicy or lively.
- Name derived from the latin word for Monastery
- In France, a small amount is often used to give depth and kick to Rhone Blends (Cotes du Rhone, Chateuneuf du pape)
Notes on Muscat
Muscat Blanc: orange blossom, meyer lemon, mandarine orange, ripe pear, honeysuckle
- Most commonly planted in Italy (Piedmont) and France (Rhone Valley)
- High sweetness medium acidity
- Originated in Greece
Notes on Nebbiolo
Tasting: Dark cherry, rose, leather, anise, clay pot, rich and espresso-like bitterness from the intense tannin
- High tannin, high acid, medium alcohol and body
- Top reds made in the Barolo region of Italy - makes the exalted Piedmontese wines Barolo and Barbaresco
- The word nebbiolo derives from nebbia, ‘fog’, a reference to the thick, whitish bloom of yeasts that form on the grape when they are ripe. May also refer to the wisps of fog that envelop Piedmont in the late fall when the grapes are picked.
Notes on Pinot Gris
Tasting: white peach, lemon zest, cantalope, raw almond, crushed gravel
- Most common in Italy but beautiful versions coming from Alsace (considered one of the 4 noble varieties)
- pink grape mutation of pinot nior
Notes on Pinot Noir
Tasting: cherry (baked), raspberry, clove, mushroom, vanilla, damp earth, rotting leaves, highly attractive male sweaty smell
- Loved for its red fruit and spice flavors and long, smooth, soft-tannin finish
- Planted everywhere but common in Burgundy, France (strip of land outside the Cote d’Or) and Central Coast CA
- One of the three grapes found in Champagne
- More than any other wine, it’s described in sensual terms
- Lighter in body and far less tannic than many other red varietals
- Oregon and California now have a bursting pinot noir scene, New Zealand is right behind
Notes on Riesling
Tasting: lime, green apple, beeswax, jasmine, petroleum
- Germany is the most important producer (Mosel)
- Intentionally sweet styles are beerenauslese and trockenbeerenauslese
- Other regions include Alsace (lean and quite dry) and South Australia (petrol like aromas, dry with mineral citrus flavors and tropical fruit notes)
- Sky high acidity, highly aromatic intensity, and minerality
- The fruitiness (peaches and apricots) make many people mistake this wine for sweet
Notes on Sangiovese
Tasting: warm cherry pie, roasted tomato, sweet balsamic, oregano, espresso, sometimes salty (salt and pepper in Tuscany :)
- Italy’s most planted grape and the key variety in Tuscany’s renowned Chianti
- Montalchino grows a special clone called Sangiovese Grosso or Brunello
- Closer to pinot noir than cab sauv - gets its structure primarily from acidity rather than tannin
Notes on Sauvignon Blanc
Tasting: Straw, hay, grass, smoke, green tea, lime, gunflint, honeydew, grapefruit, gooseberry
- Flavors can sometimes take on pyrazine (bell pepper) qualities
- From the french word Sauvage meaning ‘wild’. Would grow with riotous abandon if left unattended
- Clean stiletto of acidity that vibrates through the center
- Some riskier versions are described as cat pee
- Best versions come from Loire Valley, New Zealand, and Austria
- Also known as blanc fume or fume blanc
Notes on Semillon
Tasting: lemon, beeswax, yellow peach, chamomile, saline, cotton sheets,
- Major white grape of Sauternes - Bordeaux’s prized dessert wine
- Can be rich when oaked with a taste similar to Chardonnay
- Often blended with sauvignon blanc in Bordeaux
- Some of the greatest dry semillons are made in Australia
Notes on Syrah
Tasting: blueberry, plum, leather, smoke, roasted meats, game, coffee, spices, iron, black olive, white and black pepper
- Most dramatic come from northern Rhone Valley
- Part of blends that make up chateuneuf du pape and Gigondas
- Manly yet elegant
- Hermitage ‘manliest wine I’ve ever drunk’
- Planted in Australia under the name Shiraz
Notes on Tempranillo
Tasting: Cherry, dried fig, cedar, tobacco, dill
- Main grape in Spain’s famous Rioja - wines are classified by how long they are aged in oak
- Rioja can resemble red burgundy
- High tannin allows for long aging
- Not as high in acidity as pinot noir
- Also grows in Portugal under the name tinta roriz and is used to make Port wine
Notes on Viognier
Tasting: Tangerine, peach, honeysuckle, gingerbread, mango, rose
- Rich, full-bodied and oily white wine
- Fruity and floral aromas trick the drinker into thinking it’s sweet
- Originated in northern Rhone
- Would be described as a female gymnast - beautiful, perfectly shaped, muscular
Notes on Zinfandel
Tasting: Jammy blackberry, strawberry, peach preserves, cinnamon, sweet tobacco
- Fruit forward yet bold red
- Originally from Croatia
- Also grown in southern Italy under the name ‘primitivo’
- Old vine
Airen
- most widely planted grape of Spain
- used in blending as the base for less expensive sparkling wine
- Similar to pinot grigio but better
Aligote
- Rare grape of Burgundy
- Sibling of chardonnay
- Light, tart white used with creme de cassis in the Kir cocktail
Alvarinho
- Main grape in vinho verde
- Specialty of Northern Portugal
- Same as Spanish grape albarino
Bastardo
- workhorse grape for dry, Portugese reds
- native homeland Jura where it’s known as Trousseau
Brachetto
- Found in Piedmont
- Used to make brachetto d’ Acqui a deep red colored sparkling wine
Carignan
- French name for the spanish grape Mazuelo
- Earthly, powerful flavor, high acidity, high tannin
- Used for blending (usually for inexpensive blends, especially in CA)
Carmenere
- Ancient Bordeaux variety
- Now widespread in Chile
- Name derived from carmin - crimson in latin
Cinsaut
- Southern French grape grown all over the south of France
- Frequently used in blends where it adds a little spiciness
- Crossed with pinot noir to make pinotage
Calirette
Low yields, beautifully fresh and aromatic
- Common blending component in many white wines in southern France - provence, chateuneuf, cotes du rhone
Dolcetto
- Fruity, low acid grape that means ‘little sweet’
- Fruity, licoricey, bitter edged everyday wine
- Quaffing wine of Piedmont although Barbera is taking over that role
Fruilano
Grapefruit, green pear, white peach, tarragon, crushed gravel
- Sometimes called sauvignon vert (Chile)
- Often confused with Sauv blanc but with bolder fruit and subtle herbal flavors
Kerner
- Popular, delicious german variety
- Named after 19th century medical doctor Justinius Kerner who prescribed wine as good natural medicine
Lambrusco
- Name means wild grape
- Refreshing, slightly sweet or dry fizzy wine
- Because of its fizz, it’s typically drunk as a counterpoint to salumi and rich meat pasta sauces
Marsanne
- Main white grape of northern Rhone
- Makes big bodied wines and is often blended with Rousanne
Mission
- The first Vitis Vinifera planted in California
- Brought to CA by the missionaries traveling north from Mexico in 1700s
Montepulciano
- NOT the grape in nobile de Montepulciano (that’s Sangiovese)
- Especially known in Abruzzi
Muscadet
- name sometimes used for Melon du Bourgogne
- the source of the sharp, light dry French wine Muscadet
Negroamaro
- Negro (black) amaro (bitter)
- Bitter espresso-like flavors and a soft texture
Nero di Troia
- black of Troy
- Apulia region of Italy
- Rustic, tannic
Pais
- Means ‘country’ in Spanish
- Prolific variety in Chile
- Same as CA’s mission grape
Petite Sirah
- Nothing petit about this grape
- Most often the Phone grape Durif but can be a field blend of many varieties including syrah and zinfandel
Petit Verdot
- Late-ripening Bourdeaux grape
- Blended in small amounts with cab sauv and merlot for spice, depth, and color
- CA makes powerful single varietal wines
Pinot Meunier
- Meunier means ‘miller’, a reference to the thin layers of white hairs on the underside of the vine leaves
- Clone of pinot noir
- One of the three varietals in champagne and is labeled on its own
- Clone is valued for its early ripening, thus making it less susceptable to winter frost
Pinotage
- Cross of pinot noir and cinsault
- Makes a rustic red wine
- Often consumed with South African BBQ
Robola
- Grown on several lonian islands of Greece
- Makes powerful, lemony, dry white wines
St. Emillion
A grape sometimes used in the Cogniac region for the grape ugni blanc aka trebbiano Toscano
- No longer grown in St. Emillion, FR
St. Laurent
- Native to Austria
- Makes velvety reds with cherry flavors
- One of it’s parents is the Austrian red Zweigelt
Schiava
- Italian name for a group of different varieties grown in the North (usually near the Alps)
- From the word schiavo meaning ‘slave’ because the vines are often trellised to limit their vigorous growth
Teroldego
- Leading grape of Trentino- Alto, Italy
- Foradori <3
- Make fascinating and highly structured wines with blackberry fruit and tar
- Grandchild of pinot noir
Torrontes
- Specialty of Argentina
- Aromatic, slightly viscous dry white wines enjoyed as apertifs
- Not one variety but a blend of 3
Trebbiano
- Name given to a whole group of different varieties that share the same traits of large clusters and vigorous growth
Ugni Blanc
- The same as the variety trebbiano toscano
- Used to make cognac and armagnac
Verdejo
- Grown in the Spanish province of Rueda
- Makes one of Spain’s top dry whites
- Bay laurel and bitter almond flavors
- Can sometimes show a slightly green character like Sauv Blanc
Xarel-Lo
- Highly regarded Catalan grape grown for Cava
- Contributes body, flavor, and structure
- Also made into good, still table wines
Zweigelt
- One of the most widely planted red grapes in Austria
- Grapey, fruity, purple/red wines
What does ‘body’ indicate?
Low alcohol wines = light body
High alcohol wines = full body
A lot of alcohol means that there must have been a lot of sugar in the fermentation process. A lot of sugar in the tank means that the grapes were able to get quite ripe. Very ripe grapes mean that the grapes must have grown in a warm place. Wine probably came from somewhere warm like Australia or California.
Cool climates = austria, burgundy, germany, etc…
What produces ‘banana aromas’?
Malolactic fermentation - process where malic acid (has a crisp mouthfeel) is converted to lactic (a softer mouthfeel)
How does color of whites and reds change with age?
White wines get darker
Red wines get lighter
Colors of wines
Pinot Noir - light brick
Gamay - lipstick red
Zinfandel - electric purple
Nebbiolo - almost black
