Winemaking

Question 1

True or false?

The winemaking process for most wines is configured around preserving the primary fruit character of the grapes.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Pre-fermentation skin contact or simply keeping the pressed grapes for longer in the press is practiced by some producers to extract ____ ____ and add to the _____ of the ______

Answer 2

flavour molecules and add to the texture of the wine

Question 3

Cool fermentation temperatures are used for what varieties?

Mid range temperatures are used more often for another variety.
What variety is this and why is this necessary?

Answer 3

Cool fermentation temperatures are used for Muscat, Riesling and Sylvaner,

mid-range temperatures are more likely to be used for Gewurztraminer .
(Gewurztraminer has pronounced aromas, not affected by slightly higher fermentation temperatures, and has high sugar levels. A slightly higher fermentation temperature is desirable to ensure that the yeast can ferment effectively to high alcohol levels.)

Low fermentation temperatures are avoided as its characteristic banana aroma is not desired in Gewurztraminer

Question 4

as no additional flavours are desired, what type of vessels are used?

Answer 4

Inert vessels are used, made either from traditional large old oak or stainless-steel.

Question 5

Which producers would be likely to use ambient yeasts? why?

Answer 5

Higher quality producers would be more likely to use ambient yeasts, the reason being that arguably they contribute to more Terroir expressive wines

Question 6

MLF…. is it used?

Answer 6

malolactic conversion is typically avoided on the white grape varieties grown in Alsace, as the aim is to retain primary fruit

Question 7

Wines retain their freshness during maturation by sitting on their ____ ____, often there is no ____-____ to retain primary flavours

Answer 7

Fine lees

Lees-stirring

Question 8

Traditionally, consistency in fermenting to dryness or not has been quite low. often consumers would buy the wines based on the producer’s house style.

with the current trend towards drinking drier styles of wine what change have Alsace producers made to their wine labels?

Answer 8

Many will state the sweetness level on the back label to indicate how much residual sugar is left in the wine.