Wset Level 3 Flashcards
What is Müller Thurgau a crossing of?
Riesling x Madeline Royale
What is Pinotage a crossing of?
Pinot Noir x Cinsault
Why can grapes grow successfully so close to the equator in places like Cafayate in N Argentina?
High altitude
What does the Humboldt current off Chile do?
Cools regions that might otherwise be too hot for grape growing
What impact does the Benguela current off South Africa have?
Cooking
What is the cooling ocean current off South Africa?
The Benguela current
What is the cooling ocean current off Chile?
The Humboldt
What is guyot training?
Replacement cane pruning. Where longer sections or one year old wood with 8-2 buds are retained and tied horizontally to a trellis for support usually on head trained vines.
Single guyot and double guyot
Requires large skilled labour force to choose suitable canes and train them
What would be the benefit of grinding vines high?
To avoid frosts
What would be the benefit of training vines low?
Benefit from heat retained by the soil
Why does cordon training take loner to establish?
Because of greater amount of permanent wood
What is a benefit of cordon training on costs?
More cost effective to manage - as machine harvesting easier to achieve due to sturdy permanent wood with shoots positioned along the length
What are untrellised vines NOT suitable for?
Mechanical harvesting
Why is head training and spur pruned - bush vines - systems best suited to warm, or hot, dry and sunny regions like Southern Rhône or Barossa Valley?
Extra shade protects the grapes from hot sun
In cool or wet regions the shade can impede grape ripening and the lack of airflow can encourage disease
What’s a benefit of an open canopy?
Maximise amount of light that can enter the canopy
Keep it well aerated to restrict spread of disease
Easy to mechanise picking
When does budburst generally begin?
March/April in N Hemisphere
Sept/Oct in S hemisphere
Generally begins when daily temperature exceeds 10°C
Varies by grape variety - Chardonnay/Pinot Noir bud at relatively low temps and are early budding varieties
Cab Sav needs warmer conditions and so is a late budding variety
Why are spring frosts a problem?
New shoots can be killed by spring frosts reducing yield significantly, particularly in early budding varieties like Chardonnay and Pinot Noir
What can happen if there is unusually cold, cloudy or rainy weather during the pollination period?
Pollination can be disrupted reducing fruit set.
Fruit set off occurs when a flower starts to develop into a grape. Not every flower becomes a grape and after fruit set unpollinated flowers drop off.
If more flowers than usual fail to fertilise this condition is called coulure
Grapes can also form without seeds and remain small this is known as millerandage
When inflorescences start flowering the vines need warm temps, plenty of sunshine and little or no rain
What happens as grapes ripen?
Sugar levels rise
Acid levels drop
Signature flavours develop
Tannins in the skin become less bitter and astringent
What part of the grape is only available to the winemaker if grapes are hand harvested?
The stems
What are the two most abundant acids found in grapes?
Tartaric acid
Malic acid
What is a bloom?
The waxy surface that covers the skin of the grapes and contains yeasts that can be used to ferment the wine
What is protective/anaerobic winemaking?
When all efforts are made to keep the grapes and juice away from oxygen
By filling airtight winery equipment with carbon dioxide or nitrogen before they are used for grape processing for example
Picking grapes at night when cooler and effect of oxygen is reduced as chemical reactions occur more slowly at lower temperatures
Keeping grapes chilled
Why have concrete vessels shaped like eggs become popular in recent years?
The egg shape is thought to aid the natural flow of the juice/wine and reduce the need for manual punching down and pumping over
Why do some winemakers prefer concrete vessels to stainless steel even though harder to clean and maintain?
The thick concrete shells help regular temperature during fermentation and maturation without the need to use expensive temperature control equipment
What is an inert winery vessel?
Vessel that do not add flavour to wines or allow oxidation
Stainless steel tanks
Concrete vessels
Glass bottles
What does fermenting at lower temperatures do flavour wise?
Avoids loss of most volatile aromas which often have a floral character
Encourage development of fruity flavours
Reduces oxygenation
What is Malolactic fermentation? MLF
It is the conversion of tart malic grape acids (also found in apples) into softer lactic acids (also found in milk)
It softens and reduces acidity and creates buttery flavours and produces CO2
When does Malolactic fermentation usually happen?
Once alcoholic fermentation has finished
What causes malolactic fermentation?
Lactic acid bacteria
They convert tart malic acid into softer lactic acids