Wine Knowledge Flashcards
“Dry French white”
Fontaine-Audon Sauvignon Blanc Sancerre ‘22
$125
100% Sauvignon Blanc grown entirely on silex (flint) terroir, Langlois-Chateau’s single-vineyard Sancerre undergoes a gentle pressing, is fermented in stainless steel and then is kept on its lees for 6 months until bottling in April
Distinctly dry
Crip acidity
“California Cab”
Faust Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley, CA ‘20
$120
Taste: a little brambly-vine quality clings to BLACKBERRY flavors, and warmly SPICED dark PLUM is layered with fresh herbs for a lively, sweet-savory balance
Fine tannins yield satisfyingly rich, VELVETY textures, while VIBRANT ACIDITY keeps you coming back for another sip
Aroma: FRESH HERBS, pungent cedar, and forest swirl in the glass with more delicate floral notes, black pepper, bittersweet chocolate, and crushed rock
Mascot Cabernet Sauvignon
Napa Valley, CA ‘18
$400
Taste: vastly delicious, deep, and COMPLEX wine with beautifully harmonious sweet BLUE and black fruits, MOCHA, and a LONG, skin-tingling FINISH. It is everything one would look for in classy, BOLD, and supremely polished Napa cabernets.
Aroma: graphite, cigar box spice
“Fruity, easy drinking red”
Catherine & Pierre Breton “TRINCH!” Cab Franc
Bourgueil ‘22
$80
Taste: a punchy, bistro-style Bourgueil that’s both structured and glouglou
Young-vine Cabernet Franc, full of energetic vigor, is gently de-stemmed and cold-macerated in stainless steel to ensure maximal fruit expression
Aroma: this bottling smells like a gravel road after a summer rain, firm and fresh, and leaves me craving a cold slab of terrine or gamey pâté
“Red Burgundy”
Faively Bourgogne
Burgundy, France ‘21
$95
Light and perfumed
“Toasty, creamy bubbles”
Delamotte Blanc de Blancs Grand Cru
NV
$215
A bright yellow gold color with delicate, fine bubbles, it reveals a very creamy, lemon-curd nose with hints of mint, brioche, toast and honey that flow into a light to medium bodied palate with a vivid acid line enveloping abundant orchard fruit concentration with hints of lemon peel, honey and a toasty note. Elegant and refreshing, it finishes really long with a chalky grip
“Light, dry rose”
Marine Layer ‘Carina’
Sonoma Coast, CA ‘22
$78
Watermelon
White peach
Grapefruit
Light
Dry
Acidic
Pairs well with shellfish
Red wines
Made from black-skinned grapes that have colorless juice
When the grapes are pressed at the winery, the grape skins mix with the juice (called must) to create a reddish-purple beverage
Taste:
Dark fruit
Tannins (bitterness/mouth drying)
Red fruit (like strawberry, raspberry, red cherries, red plum, pomegranate, cranberry)
Black fruit (like black cherry, black plum, blackberry, blackcurrant)
Blue fruit (blueberry)
Aromas:
In the Old World, earthy aromas like potting soil, wet leaves, and barnyard are common
Decanting red wines removes sediments
New Oak Barrel Aging:
Can create flavors and aromas of sweet baking spice, cocoa, chocolate and vanilla; can also soften the tannin structure making red wine taste smoother
Varietal:
Can be labeled with the name of the grape (more common in New World) or the name of the wine’s appellation (like Burgundy)
Big 6 To Know:
Bordeaux
Chianti
Rioja
Syrah
Primitivo
Beaujolais
Bordeaux
The most famous red blend
A French wine that can be made from cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, merlot, and a few other varieties
Because Bordeaux is a protected appellation, similar blends are not allowed to be called Bordeaux and would be labeled “meritage” instead (indicating a Bordeaux-style blend)
Chianti
Central Italy
Strongly identified with one grape:
Sangiovese
*Can have a small percentage of other grapes blended in (according to the rules of the appellation)
Rioja
Spanish blended wine made mostly from the tempranillo grape (the third most-planted wine grape in the world)
The tempranillo grape is blended with mazuelo (also known as carignan), garnacha, and graciano to make Rioja wine
Taste:
Additional grape varietals add body and structure this dry, plush, and woody wine
Rioja wines are classified by the length of time they have spent aging, rather than a classification based on vineyard sites like in Burgundy.
French Syrah
Syrah is a type of red wine grape that is frequently used to make a single-varietal wine
Known for being a very drinkable wine
Taste:
Deep, meaty, dark fruit flavors
Body:
Full body
Known as Shiraz in Australia
(Some grapes have different names depending on where they are grown)
Primitivo
Made almost exclusively in southern Italy, under the name Primitivo
This grape and wine are known to the rest of the world as “Zinfandel”
Taste:
Fruity with notes of raisins and black cherries
Alcohol Content:
High
Beaujolais
Fun, fruity Beaujolais is the red wine that doesn’t act like a red wine
Low-tannin
Taste:
Versatile (many different styles)
Banana and bubblegum-scented “Beaujolais nouveau”
Funky, mineral “cru Beaujolais” (could pass for pinot noir)
Cabernet Sauvignon
Cabernet spends between 15 to 30 months aging in oak barrels
Taste:
Intensely fruity
Depth that improves with aging
Toasty notes of cedar and vanilla
Aroma:
Body:
Full-bodied
Alcohol Content:
Merlot
Taste:
Aroma:
Body:
Alcohol Content:
Pinot Noir
Taste:
Aroma:
Body:
Alcohol Content:
Malbec
Taste:
Aroma:
Body:
Alcohol Content:
Burgundy
Taste:
Aroma:
Body:
Alcohol Content:
Cabernet Franc
Red wine grape used to make an earlier-maturing red wine
Taste:
Lower levels of tannins
Aroma:
Herbaceous aromas
Body:
Light to medium-bodied
Gamay
Taste:
Aroma:
Body:
Alcohol Content:
White wines
Made from green-skinned grapes whose juice is also colorless
The grape skins are removed from the must before fermentation
White wines are most often varietal wines made from one grape variety
Taste:
Tart
Refreshing
Classic dry white wines:
Italian Pinot Grigio
French Muscadet
Austrian Grüner Veltliner
Don’t have tannins
Aromas:
Some white wine grapes (gewürztraminer, muscat, riesling, and pinot gris) are considered aromatic, meaning they have powerful fruit and floral aromas
Semi-aromatic grapes (sauvignon blanc, and albariño from Spain)
Neutral grapes (chardonnay) have less distinct aromas but respond well to winemaking processes like oak aging or sparkling winemaking
Common fruit aromas:
Stone fruit (like peach, nectarine, apricot, apple and pear)
Orchard fruits
Citrus
Common non-fruit aromas:
Flowers
Herbaceousness
Mineral
Warmer climates tend to produce riper tropical fruit aromas (like guava, passionfruit, pineapple, and melon)
Cool climate regions produce more citrus aromas (like lemon, lime, grapefruit and orange)
Body:
Lighter
Alcohol Content:
Lighter
Some producers make dry wine and sweet wine from the same grapes
Stainless Steel Barrel Aging:
More common for white wines
The technique maintains their fresh aromatics
Oak Aging:
Can add aromas and flavors of vanilla, baking spices, coconut, and caramel to white wines
Acid structure and aroma are more important in white wines because they lack the tannins that red wines have from skin contact
White wines made from a blend of grapes are more common in certain areas (including Spain, Bordeaux, and France’s southern Rhône)
Pinot Grigio
Pinot grigio is a grape that is often made into a refreshing white wine; it is usually light, crisp, and dry
The second most popular white wine in the US, after Chardonnay
Taste:
Dry
Acidic
Aroma:
Body:
Medium to light-bodied
Alcohol Content:
Known by different names in different countries:
Pinot grigio in Italy
Pinot gris in France
Depending on the region the grapes are grown, some pinot grigios can have a full to medium body, and can be both sweet and citrusy
Sauvignon Blanc
Sauvignon blanc is one of the most popular white wine grapes in the world
Taste:
Refreshingly high acidity
Flavors vary in intensity depending on where it is grown
France and Italy produce grassy and grapefruity notes while
New Zealand produces bold, powerful tropical fruit-and-jalapeño
Aroma:
Uniquely citrusy, fruity
Body:
Alcohol Content:
Riesling
Riesling is an aromatic white grape
Taste:
Fruity
Floral
High acidity
Aroma:
Citrus
Stone fruit
White flowers
Petrol
Body:
Light
Alcohol Content:
In Germany, riesling grapes are harvested at varying levels of ripeness to make different types of wine (some sweet, some dry) from the same vineyard
American Rieslings:
Chardonnay
Most popular white wine in the US and in the World
The green-skinned grape grows in almost all major wine regions across the world
The chardonnay grape is naturally neutral, and can quickly take on a variety of different characteristics, depending on where it is grown, and how it is matured
A fine Chardonnay usually has a balance between acidity, fruit and texture
Taste:
Easy to enjoy
Lower acidity
Ranges from clean and crisp to full of complex flavors with notes of honey, spices and hazelnut
Aroma:
Body:
Alcohol Content:
Chenin Blanc
Made in France’s Loire Valley region
Taste:
Fresh floral
Producers growing chenin blanc grapes will make dry sparkling wine in cool vintages (years) and off-dry sweeter dessert wine in warm vintages
Aroma:
Body:
Alcohol Content:
Rose wines
Made from red grapes, but the grape skins are removed from the must (juice) after a short period of maceration (usually less than 24 hours)
The skins give the wine its pink color but do not impart much tannin
Taste:
Can have flavors common to red wines, like strawberry, cherry, and raspberry
Can also possess typical white wine flavors, like citrus and tropical fruit
Great summer beverage
Orange wines
Sparkling wines
Can be made from any grape varieties (depending on the appellation rules of the area where they are made)
Taste:
Most sparkling wines contain a few grams of sugar to balance their high acidity
Sugar content in sparkling wines varies from dry (like brut nature Champagne) to sweet (like Moscato d’Asti)
Two of the most well-known sparkling wines are Champagne and Prosecco
Champagne
Champagne (region is south west of France) can be a varietal wine (made from one variety, such as chardonnay, pinot noir, or pinot meunier) or a blended wine, made from a blend of the permitted grapes
Traditional Method:
It is made in the méthode champenoise, which involves a primary alcoholic fermentation followed by a secondary fermentation in the bottle to produce its bubbles
Taste:
Champagne can range in taste from fruity and full-bodied with notes of burnt caramel to light and citrusy and everything between those
Aroma:
Body:
Alcohol Content:
Blanc de Blancs
A varietal Champagne made exclusively from Chardonnay grapes
Blanc de Noirs
White or Rosé Champagne made from dark grapes, particularly Pinot Noir grapes
Prosecco
Always a varietal wine made from the glera grape
Charmat Method:
The secondary fermentation happens in a large closed tank before the wine is bottled
Fortified wines
Made by adding distilled grape spirit (like Brandy) to fully- or partially-fermented wine
Taste:
Most are sweet, with the exception of certain dry styles of sherry
Aroma:
Sometimes aromatized with herbs and botanicals (like Vermouth)
Body:
Alcohol Content:
Higher in alcohol than any other types of tine
Most Common:
Port
Madeira
Sherry
Marsala
Vermouth
Macvin
Vin Doux Naturels of southern France
Some are common dessert wines
White fortified wines (fino and amontillado sherry) drunk before a big meal
Red fortified wines (port and madeira) drunk after it
Old World wine regions
Wines usually labeled by varietal
The US
South America
Australia
New Zealand
South Africa
New World wine regions
Wines usually labeled by appellation
Appellations
Burgundy
Bordeaux
Burgundy
An appellation
Classification based on vineyard sites
