Old World Wine

When and where is the first documented case of people making wine

8,000 years ago in the Caucus mountains

What is the difference between the old wine world and new wine world

Old wine world primarily is made up of wine from Europe, and new wine world is everything outside of Europe

2024 had the lowest wine production since ____ because…

• 1961

• meteorological events, a move in consumers wanting organic wines, lower consumption of wine

What are the 3 top wine producers in the world?

• Italy, Spain, and France

What are the 3 major consumers of wine in the world?

• United States, France, and Italy

What country is the biggest consumer per capita

Portugal

What are the 4 biggest wine regions in Georgia?

• Lechkhumi

• Racha

• Kakheti

• Kartli

What is the black grape variety originating from Georgia, and what are its characteristics?

• Saperavi

• A bold red wine, with high tannins, high acidity, and full body, with a very rounded taste

What is the white grape variety originating from Georgia, and what are its characteristics?

• Rkatsiteli

• Used for either white wines or orange wines

• Earthy, mineral notes with a rustic vibe

Example of Georgian Wine hospitality

• Greeted with a small bottle of Saperavi wine

What is Supra and where does it originate from?

• Georgia

• A feast followed by a succession of toasts

• A toastmaker (tamada) downs a glass of wine in the shape of a Khantsi

• Gives three toasts (to the motherland, to God, to guests)

• Guests can not decline the offer to drink from Khantsi

What is the name of the vessel used to toast in Supra ritual

• Khantsi

How big is a Khantsi

The size of a full bottle of wine

What are two reasons why guests cannot refuse a drink from the Khantsi

• it’s culturally rude to decline

• It is in a shape where it can’t be put back on the table

What is the wine caller in Georgia called

Marani

What is the name for UNESCO recognized clay pots used for fermentation

Qvevri

Why are Qvevri stored in the ground in Marani in Georgia?

To maintain cool temperature

What wine can you produce from Qvevri fermentation methods?

• Orange wine or amber wines

What is the most famous Georgian region for Qvevri orange wines

• Kakheti

What is the most popular grape variety is used for Qvevri orange wines

Rkatsiteli

How does orange wine break the rule of white wines

Since it is made from a skin contact method, there are a little bit of tannins

What are some of the flavors from orange wine

• sour

• bitter

• apricots

• dry fruits

• nuts

• yeast

• dried apple

What is the first association with wine you should have with France? What is it made from?

• A merlot red blend

• Made from Merlot + Cabernet Sauvignon

How many wine regions does France have?

11

What are the most famous French wine regions

• Burgundy

• Bordeaux

• Rhone Valley

• Loire Valley

• Champagne

What is the most important thing to remember about French wine

Vast climate conditions differ from year to year, leading to vintage variation

What is phylloxera, who came up with a solution?

• a louse that almost killed all grape varieties

• American, T.V. Munson discovered if you graft American roots to European vines, it builds a resistance to phylloxera

Bordeaux separates into _____ regions called ___________

• two

• Right bank and left bank

What is the difference between Bordaux’s Right bank and Left bank

• Right bank is famous for merlot dominating Bordeaux blend

• Left bank is famous for dominating the Cabernet Sauvignon Bordeaux blend

Why is there a difference in what blends are grown on right and left bank?

• soil

• left bank has more gravel which cabernet sauvignon does well in

• right bank has more limestone solid that merlot does well in

What red wines is Bordeaux most famous for

• Cabernet sauvignon

• Merlot

What white wines is Bordeaux most famous for

• Semillon

• Sauvignon Blanc

• Muscadelle

• (a white blend from this region would typically only include Semillon and Sauvignon Blanc)

What are the 3 grape varieties used to make champagne blend

• Chardonnay

• Meunier

• Pinot Noir

What is the most famous sub region of champagne

Reims

What is the terroir needed to grow champagne

• cool continental climate

• slow ripening

• frequent frost

• grown on chalky, clay limestone

What are the two methods to produce sparkling wines

• Traditional method (bottle fermentation)

• Tank method (Charmat method)

What is the traditional method for creating sparkling wine

• harvest

• Still wine (first fermentation)

• liqueur di tirage (second fermentation for at least 36 months)

• bubbles created

• riddling and disgorgement (slow turning upside down)

• dosage (topped with sugar and wine)

What is the tank/Charmat method for creating sparkling wine

• Harvest

• Still Wine (first fermentation)

• Liqueur de tirage (second fermentation)

• Bubbles created

• Bottle

FILLER CARD

FILLER CARD

The ancient Greeks called their Italian colonies ____, meaning ____________.

• Oenotria

• The land of Wine

There are more than ___ native Italian grape varieties, of which at least ___ make up Italy’s everyday wines

• 500

• 175

What are the 4 regions that make up the Northwest wine culture of Italy? (PALL)

• Piedmont

• Aosta Valley

• Lombardy

• Liguria

What is the growing climate like in the Northwest of Italy and how does this affect the taste of the wines?

• Intermediate to cool climates

• shorter growing season

• Red wines are more earthy

• White sparkling wines have ample acidity

What is the most touristy region of the Northwest of Italy, why is wine harvested differently there?

• Liguria

• many vineyards are on very steep hills, requiring all grapes to be handpicked

What grape variety is most famous in Piedmont? Where does it get it’s name from?

Nebbiolo, named after being grown in or below the fog

Can Nebbiolo be grown worldwide?

No, highly region specific

What are some characteristics of Nebbiolo

• high acidity

• high tannin

• full body

• red cherry, red plum, dried herbs, mushroom, woody, tobacco, lather

What makes Nebbiolo different from other grape varieties color wise

• looses color quicker than most varieties, making it more garnet with brown undertones

What 4 regions are most famous in the Northeast of Italy? (VEFT)

• Veneto

• Emilia-Romagna

• Friuli-Venezia Giulia

• Trentino-Alto Adige

What is the climate like in the Northeast of Italy and how does that affect taste

• Cooler Climates

• Warmer areas from Adriatic Sea

• Reds have a more fruity taste

What sparkling wine is famous in the Northeast of Italy

• Famous for sparkling prosecco made from the tank method

• Hills for Prosecco making are protected by UNESCO

What famous red wine comes from the Northeast of Italy, what part of the region does it come from

• Amarone Della Valpolicella

• From the Valpolicella region

• Unique because of the wine production method

What makes the wine production method of Amarone unique

• Usually winegrowers sun dry grapes to increase sugar and alcohol level

What 5 regions are most famous in Central Italy (MATUL)

• Marche

• Abruzzo

• Tuscany

• Umbria

• Lazio

What is the climate like in central Italy, and what grape varieties does it produce

• Mediterranean climate

• Red varieties shine here

• Sangiovese

• Montepulciano

What wine is famous in Tuscany

Chianti wine

All Chianti classical wines produced in region mast have a ______ trademark, stemming from what story?

• Gallo Nero trademark

• According to legend a black rooster defined the territory of the region, giving us the modern classical territory

What grapes are used in Chianti

• Sangiovese

What is the classification system for chianti wines

• Chianti Classico DOCG - 6 months of aging

• Chianti Classico Riserva - 2 years of aging

• Chianti Classico Gran selezione DOCG - 2.5 years

What notes are in chianti

• dry wine

• medium to full body

• high tannin

• medium plus acidity

• medium plus alcohol

• Cherry, plum, Tomato, Leather, Clay Pot

What does the term Super Tuscan mean

coined in the early 1980s to describe a red blend from Tuscany, uses wine grapes not indigenous to Italy

What country has the highest vineyard surface area

Spain

Spain is the origin country of what 3 grape varieties (TAG)

• Tempranillo (red)

• Garnacha (red)

• Alberino (white)

What are the 7 areas Spain can be organized into by climate (NV CCIGS)

• North Central Spain

• Valencia Coast

• Catalonia

• Central Plateau

• Islands

• Green Spain

• Southern Spain

Green Spain (Climate, Famous for what White, Red, and Rose wines)

• Has a cooler climate than some regions

• Regions include Pais Vasco and Galicia

• Famous for mineral-rich, white wines like Alberino

• Mancia Red wine

• Rose wine Rosado

Catalonia has two notable wines PC:

• Cava

• Priorat (red wine also known as GSM or Rhone blends)

What is Cava

A sparkling wine made from a similar production to champagne

North central Spain is famous for what wines

Tempranillo

Javan

• an Italian aging category meaning young

• Fruity

• No aging requirements

• Typically released in year following vintage

Crianza

• an Italian aging category that must be aged in oak barrels

• 6 or 9 months aging

Reserva

• an Italian aging category that must be aged for an extended period of time in either an oak barrel or a wine bottle

• Softened tannings

• more friut flavors

• flavors from maturation, especially if aged in oak barrel

Gran Reserva

• an Italian aging category subject to the highest minimum aging requirements

• Find more secondary and tertiary aromas, very complex

What wine is most popular is Southern Spain

Sherry Wine

What is Sherry

• a fortified wine, meaning extra alcohol was added

• produced around the town of Jerez de la Frontera

• Made from the grape variety Palomino

• A blend of different vintages

What are the three most important styles of dry Sherry, why are they special? (FOA)

• Fino

• Oloroso

• Amontillado

• grows under a layer of dead yeast, allowing wine to oxidize and gain more complex flavors

What is the Solera System

• A system used to construct barrels for Sherry production

• barrels are placed in a pyramid with newest wine on the top.

• Every layer below it is called a criadera

• Once the wine on the top is matured enough, a portion of it is placed in the 3rd and second criadera.

• This keeps going down from 3rd criadera to 2nd, to 1st until Solera

What are the distinct wine regions of Portugal? (DADA MV)

• Douro Valley

• Alentejo

• Dao

• Alagarve

• Madeira Island

• Vihno Verde

What is the most famous grape variety in Portugal? what is it used to make? What does it taste like?

• Touriga Nacional

• Port

• Blueberry, Violet, Plum, Mint, Wet Slate

What is port?

• A fortified wine (extra alcohol added)

• made from grapes from the upper Douro region

• A blend of indigenous grape varieties from different vintages

What are the two different types of port?

• Ruby Port

• Tawny Port

What is the difference between Ruby Port and Tawny Port?

• Ruby port is less expensive

• Ruby port is aged in steel or concrete tanks

• Ruby port is fresh and fruity

• Tawny port is is wooden vessels allowing it to slowly oxidize

• A blend of different vintages but blended with an approximation or being aged for 10, 20, 30, 40… years)

• meant for immediate consumption, does not improve in bottle

What is Madeira, where was it made?

• Another fortified wine, made from Madeira island

What notes are in Madeira?

• Burt caramel

• walnut oil

• peach

• hazelnut

• orange peel

Where does maderia’s taste come from

• repeatedly heating the wine

Portugal produces more than ___% of the world’s cork

50

__% of forests in Portugal are cork trees

28%