Wine making part 1: Grapes Flashcards
What is the sugar source in wine?
Fruit
What is the yeast in wine?
Wild form/high alcohol tolerance
What is the average alcoholic strength of wine?
11.6%
What is the maturation length of wine?
Years
What is the serving size of wine?
175 ml
Who are the top 3 wine drinkers? - L/pppy
Andorra
Vatican City
Croatia
What can wines be broken down into?
- Commercial wines
- Country/Fruit wines
What are the bulk of commercial wines produced from?
grapes
What are the bulk of country wines produced from?
Fruit other than grapes
OR
Herbs/flowers
What is the volume of wine produced annually?
29 bn litres
What percentage of wine produced annually is fruit wine?
2%
What is the wine market valued at?
$302 billion annually
Who are the top 3 producers of grape wines?
Italy - 5,480,000 L (1 in 4 bottles)
France - 4,910,000 L
Spain - 4,400,000 L
Who are the top 3 producers of Fruit wines?
- China: $11.3 bn (61% of wine in China is fruit)
- Japan: $10.4 bn (plums and sparkling fruit wine)
- USA: $205 mil (tropical, citrus, berry)
What is the percentage of red/white/rose consumption in the UK?
White - 47%
Red - 42%
Rose - 11%
What is the percentage of red/white/rose consumption in Australia?
White - 50%
Red - 30%
Other - 15%
What is the percentage of red/white/rose consumption in Italy?
White - 57%
Red/Rose - 43%
Where do grapes grow best?
In temperate zones
Give examples of temperate zones?
- they have areas of hotter and colder climates (6 climate types within temperate zone - altitude and proximity to ocean effects it)
e. g. subtopic, maritime, mediterranean
Can all vine stocks(varieties) grow in the same climates?
No, different varieties prefer certain soil and subsoil and drainage - and slight differences in the climate
What conditions do warm climate (mediterranean) grapes require?
- Require consistent temps throughout the season
- Slow temp transition from summer to autumn - loses acidity
- Will not fully ripen if grown in cool climates
What conditions do cool climate (continental) grapes require?
- Cool climate regions have an avg growing season temp of 13-15 c
- sharp transition from summer to autumn - preserves acidity
- Maritime climates (near bodies of water) are the middle ground but are at risk of extreme weather events and rot related diseases
What characteristics do hot climate grapes portray?
High sugar Low acidity Low colour Low flavour High yields
What characteristics do cool climate grapes portray?
Low sugar High acidity High colour High flavour Low yields
What is the total area of land cultivated for wine grapes?
6.5 mil hectares
How much land is used for cabernet sauvignon and describe growing conditions?
340,000 hectares
Red grape
Warm and cool climate
How much land is used for merlot and describe growing conditions?
266,000 hectares
Red grape
Warm and cool climate
How much land is used for tempranillo and describe growing conditions?
231,000 hectares
Red grape
Warm and cool climate
How much land is used for Airen and describe the growing conditions
218,000 hectares
White grape
Warm climate, low density
How much land is used for Chardonnay and describe the growing conditions?
211,000 hectares
White grape
Warm and cool climate
What are the 7 most important grape varieties?
Cabernet Sauvignon (balanced full bodied red) Pinot Noir (lightest red) Riesling (dry white with high acidity) Sauvignon Blanc (dry fruity white) Chardonnay (dry full bodied white) Gewurztraminer (semi sweet white) Muscat (200 varieties, red and white, thought to be oldest domesticated vine) - All have memorable tastes and smells strong enough to form international categories of wine
What is terroir?
- A set of region-specific environmental factors said to affect the taste of products.
- Include climate, terrain (elevation, north or south facing), soil type (density and minerals) and in particular microorganisms.
Why do certain regions produce different flavour profiles of wine despite using the same ingredients etc
Due to Terroir
What is the AOC system?
It presumes that the land itself is adding a unique quality to the wine
What are the french wine regions that are most recognised as terroir locations?
Bordeaux - predominantly known for red wine
Champagne - coldest region in France and best known for its sparkling wine
Burgundy - Said to be the most terroir conscious region. Equally famous for whites and reds.
Cognac - Mainly white grapes, white wine from these is said to be fairly bland so made into brandy
Why were French vineyards almost wiped out in the 19th Century?
- by grape phylloxera
What is phylloxera?
An aphid that cased blight on the grape vines and withered the roots
Where is phylloxera native to ?
Eastern North America
Why could European vines not grow in North America when settlers first arrived?
Due to phylloxera
What was the solution to phylloxera/ wine blight in France?
To graft French vines to phylloxera resistant American rootstock
What proportion of planted grapes do the top 10 account for in Italy, France and Spain?
38%
70%
75%
How many authorised grape varieties are there in italy and who are they authorised by?
350
Ministry of agriculture and forestry
How many grape varieties are there further to the authorised ones in Italy?
500
What are the 4 most important grape varieties in Italy ?
Sangiovese
Montepulciana
Giera
Pinot gris
Where do the most expensive Italian wines come from?
Tuscany
Can vineyards make all types of wine?
No- once vineyard is planted, the wine that can be made is set
What are the controllable factors regarding wine?
Winemaking processes/ Winemaker’s skill
- The skill in tending and cultivating the vines
What is cultivating vines termed as?
Canopy management - the management of the grapevine above ground
How can managing the canopy effect wines?
- open and dense
How can weather affect the growing of the vines?
Grapes are subject to weather during growing and ripening season - regardless of anything else
- Effects can be minor/subtle or dramatic
- Weather cannot be controlled but you can shepheard the grapes
- Little can be done by grower, evasive actions, but not always effective
What in terms of weather effect the quality of the grape and thus the style and quality of wine?
Cold Heat Dryness Rain Sun/lack of Humidity
What are the 4 stages of the vines growing season?
Bud-break
Flowering
Grape set
Ripening
How long does it take for a grape vine to produce fruit and how long do they then produce fruit for?
3 years to fruit
Can last over 100 years
How long has the oldest fruiting vine been around for and how much does it produce now?
SInce 17th Century - still produces 35-55Kg a year
What is the name given to the management periods of the vineyards being broken into specific periods?
Viticulture
What happens regarding viticulture in the late autumn/ winter
Pruning (mid Dec)
Ploughing between rows (covers vine base = protects from frost)
Why is a cold winter beneficial to grapes?
They need a dormant period
What happens regarding viticulture in the new year and spring?
Pruning (Until early march) - sap rises, soil removed from vine base
What happens to grapes if there is mild weather in the new year and spring?
Causes early growth and risk of frost damage - bad if in april or early may.
Only action to combat is inexpensive and often ineffective.
Methods = heaters, cadles, water sprays and lighting fires
What happens if there is a severe frost WRT grapes?
Although crippling, a severe frost can cause an effective drastic pruning and small crop- a hot dry summer would then lead to concentrated high-quality grape
What happens regarding viticulture in the late spring/early summer
- if no frost damage, weeding and fungicide sprayed (combats mildew)
What do warm dry conditions in the late spring/early summer result in?
Early, short and even flowering and early crop
What happens if the late spring/early summer are cold and wet?
Delayed and prolonged flowering
- can lead to a failure to pollinate, embryo grapes don’t develop and so fall of the vine
What happens if there is only partial pollination during the late spring/early summer?
Tiny seedless grapes are grown, sweet but reduced volume
What happens towards the end of the late spring/early summer period?
Thinning and spraying again (canopy management)
What conditions are needed for the best ripening of grapes?
100 days of sunshine from flowering to picking
What is the best weather for the mid to late summer for the grapes?
Mix of warm sunshine and light rain
- ripening and swelling of berries
What happens regarding viticulture in the mid to late summer?
Thinning, weeding as grapes change colour
What is a green prune?
Involves reducing the amount of shoots per vine (nourishment concentrated in fewer grapes) - expensive as leeds to smaller, higher quality crop
-increase in wine price
What is responsible for the size of the crop and earliest picking date?
The stages of bud formation/flowering in spring and early summer
How can bud formation affect harvesting?
Early and even bud formation = early harvest
Uneven bud formation = difficult harvest as grapes are not ripening together
What is a risk of a late harvest?
Frost before ripening
What happens regarding viticulture in early autumn/late summer?
Ripening period responsible for creation of adequate sugar levels and richness of other component parts - acidity/sugar balance important
What do riper grapes provide?
More sugar = stronger alcohol
What happens if grapes are ripened beyond a certain stage?
Acidity levels reduced
- Acidity essential for life, vigour, refreshing qualities and longevity
What qualities do unripe grapes have?
- too little sugar (so less alcohol unless, if permitted, add additional sugar or grape juice)
- acidity will be high and wrong sort - malic (tart) rather than tartaric acid
When are the different grape harvest times?
End of september/early October - Bordeaux
- For dry white, can be in August if v hot summer but rare for reds
Grapes for naturally sweet wines picked later than for dry as sugar content will be higher
Southern Hemisphere grapes = Feb- Mar
How is it determined whether grapes are ready to harvest?
Sight
Touch
Taste
Smell
When is the degree of ripeness of a grape determine?
When harvest season begins
How is the highest standard of grapes achieved?
By hand picking and sorting - removal of damage/mould affected grapes
When are mould affected grapes not removed?
With sweet wines and ‘noble’ rot
What is noble rot?
Caused by the fungus Botrytis cinerea.
If weather stays wet, it becomes the damaging form know as grey rot.
If the weather dries the fungus slightly raisins the grape - concentrates sugar in shrunken grape and makes sweeter wines
These are called botrytized wines
How is transport of grapes important?
Need to ensure weight of grapes isn’t crushing grapes
How is modern harvesting carried out?
By harvesters
It works by vibrating the vines and ripe grapes drop onto a conveyor belt which moves the grapes into a storage hopper
How are destalking and fermentation carried out?
Winemaking part of the process
- controlled and dependent of whim and expertise of vineyard owner/oenologist (wine scientist)
What is vintage wine?
Vintage = time of grape harvesting/ of the picking of grapes at harvest time Harvest = Autumn following growing and ripening season - aim is for grapes to be at optimum maturity in levels of sugar + acidity
How can a standard vintage product be achieved year on year?
By blending different vintages together
What determines whether a wine stays a vintage?
The quality
When/ why does a large proportion of wine lose its vintage identity?
Shortly after making as it is blended with other wine
What happens to the grapes making the best vintage?
Nursed and nurtured
What does vintage mean wrt quality?
Champagne and port = high
Wine = exceptional/good/mediocre/poor
Summarise wine making:grapes
- Wine can be made from any fruit/herbs/flowers - commercial is made from red/white grapes
- Wine grapes grown in temperate regions
- Warm and cool climates will produce different flavour profiles in the final white
- There are a wide variety of diff grapes, all of which will produce different flavours in the final wine
- Once grapes are planted there is a limit to what wines can be made
- Weather and handling of grapes will greatly affect final wine quality
- Vintages are years when conditions are best
