Wine Terms Flashcards
TCA
Trichloroanisole
Tainted cork (corked) wine. Smells like damp cardboard or mildew.
Reduction
Taint that gives wine a stinky character like rotten eggs
Sulfur dioxide
Additive to wine to prevent oxidation. Too much can create an acrid smell of recently extinguished matches, tainting the wine.
Oxidation
Can turn wine brown and create coffee and caramel aromas instead of fruit.
Out of condition wine
Wine will taste old and stale. Tainted due to improper storage or wine too old.
Volatile acidity (VA)
All wines have low levels of VA, but high levels can make wine smell like vinegar or nail polish.
Brettanomyces (Brett)
Yeast that gives wine animal or plastic aromas. Low levels of Brett are not considered a fault by all consumers.
Primary Aromas
From fermentation:
Fruits
Floral
Herbaceous
Herbal
Spice
Minerals/rocks
Secondary Aromas
From yeast/lees, malolactic conversion or oak:
Lees - bread, toast, cheese
Malo - butter, cheese cream
Oak - vanilla, spices, cedar, smoke, chocolate, coffee, resin
Tertiary Aromas
From maturation:
Oxidation - nuts, coffee, toffee, caramel
Fruit development - dried fruit, jam, tar
Bottle age white - petrol, spice, toast, mushroom, hay, honey
Bottle age red - leather, forest floor, game, tobacco, meat, barnyard
Youthful wine
Dominated by primary aromas
Developing wine
Distinct primary and secondary aromas, some tertiary
Fully developed wine
Dominated by tertiary aromas
Tired/past its best wine
Deteriorating aromas or signs of taint
Food pairing : Sweet
Increases perception of acidity, bitterness, alcohol.
Decreases perception of body, sweetness, fruit
Select wine sweeter than the food
Food pairing: Umami
Increases perception of bitterness, acidity, alcohol
Decreases perception of body, sweetness, fruit
Avoid high tannin, light red, or oak aged whites
Food pairing: Acidity
Increases perception of body, sweetness, fruit
Decreases perception of acidity
Select high acid wine
Food pairing: Salt
Increases perception of body
Decreases perception of bitterness, acidity
Pairs well with most wines
Food pairing: Bitterness
Increases perception of bitterness in wine
Select lower acid wines
Food pairing: Chili heat
Increases perception of bitterness, acidity, alcohol
Decreases perception of body, sweetness, fruit
Select low alcohol, sweeter wines
Vitis vinifera
Eurasian species of grape used for wine making.
American vines
Grape species native to North America. Fruit not suitable for winemaking, but rootstock is used world wide because it is resistant to Phylloxera
Phylloxera
An insect that burrows in the ground and feeds on roots of the vine. Vitis vinifera is killed by Phylloxera. American rootstock is resistant to to Phylloxera
Bench grafting
An automated process to graft v. vinifera species onto American rootstock. Takes place with machinery in a nursery.
Head grafting
Manual process to graft v. vinifera to American rootstock. Can take place in the vineyard
What does a vine need?
Heat, sunlight, carbon dioxide, water and nutrients
Factors affecting Heat
Latitude, Altitude, Ocean currents, Fog, Soil, Aspect
Continentality
Temperature difference between coldest and hottest months
Diurnal range
Difference between daytime and nighttime temperatures
Temperature Hazards
Winter, Spring Frost, Growing season
Factors affecting Sunlight
Latitude, Seas/lakes causing cloud cover, Aspect/slope
Sunlight Hazards
Cloud cover, sunburned grapes
Water Hazards
Drought, too mush water, dampness/rot, hail
Continental Climate
Short, dry summers and cooler autumn.
Suited to varieties that bud late and ripen early
Maritime Climate
Cool/moderate temperatures, low continentality, consistent rainfall
Suited for late ripening varieties not susceptible to rot
Mediterranean Climate
Low continentality, warm dry summers
Risk of drought. Longer ripening season and higher heat
Head Training
Vines with little permanent wood.
Cordon Training
Vines with a main trunk and one or more horizontal arms (cordons)
Spur Pruning
Pruning to small sections of year old wood with 2-3 buds
Replacement Cane Pruning
(Guyot pruning)
Pruning canes into larger one year wood with 8-20 buds
Untrellised Vineyards
No cordons or support wires. Vines hang down to ground. Used in hot, dry, sunny regions to provide more shade for the fruit
Trellised Vineyards
Canes and shoots are tied to the trellis. Opens the canopy to let sunlight in and air circulate. Suitable for machine harvesting.
Density Options
Limited water: wide spacing/low density
Limited nutrients, adequate water: higher density
High nutrients, adequate water: low density with multiple cordons
Vineyard Pests
Phylloxera
Nematodes
Birds/mammals
Insects
Vineyard Fungus
Downy mildew
Powdery mildew
Grey rot (Botrytis/noble rot)
Botrytis
Fungus on grapes used to produce the best sweet wines: Sauternes, Tokaji, Beerenauslesen. Grey rot turns into Botrytis if grapes are ripe and region has damp, misty mornings followed by sunny afternoons.
Alcoholic fermentation
Conversion of sugar into alcohol and CO2 through the action of yeast.
Types of yeast
Ambient (naturally occurring)
Commercial (s.cerevisiae)
Temperature during fermentation
Lower: preserves floral characteristics and encourages fruity flavors in white wine
Higher: Necessary for extraction of color and tannins in red wine
Malolactic conversion
Accomplished by adding lactic acid bacteria to wine after fermentation. Converts tart malic grape acids to softer lactic acids.
Reduces acidity and creates buttery flavors in white wine.
Lees
Sediment from dead yeast and grape fragments left after fermentation. Gross lees produce unpleasant odors and are removes. Fine lees may be kept during maturation to add extra flavor and richer texture to wine.
