Beverage Appreciation Final

Vitis Vinifera

The species of European wine grapes

What is the difference between a wine grape and a regular table grape

(In terms of size, skin thickness, sugar, and acidity)

A wine grape:

• Smaller in Size

• Thicker skin

• High sugar

• High Acidity

A table grape:

• Larger in size

• Thin skin

• Lower Sugar

• Lower Acidity

What is in the skin of a grape

Tannins

Color

What part of the grape has tannins and antioxidants

• Skins

• Pulp

• Pips

• Leaves

Skins

What 3 things are in the Pulp or Flesh of a grape?

Sugars

Acids

Water

Where do wine grapes originate from

The Caucus Mountains in Georgia

What is the wine belt

The latitudes between 30 and 50 degrees North and South are ideal for growing grapes with the correct amount of sunlight, heat, and water.

What types of grapes are grown in cool climate regions

• Commonly white grapes

• Grapes higher in acidity

• Grapes lower in sugar

What types of grapes are grown in warm climate regions

• Commonly black grapes

• Grapes lower in acidity

• Grapes higher in sugar

• Grapes with riper flavors

What are the 5 traits or structural characteristics that characterize wine

Body, Sweetness, Tannin, Acidity, Alcohol

Body

• Body is the overall feel of a wine in your mouth

• Full-bodied wines feel viscous and mouth-filling

• Light-bodied wines feel more delicate

• Kinda like the difference between light and skim milk

Sweetness (what causes sweetness? What types of wines have high/low sugar)

It is caused by the presence of residual sugar in the wine.

• Dry wines have no sugar or very low levels.

• Sweet wines have high levels of sugar

What is Residual sugar

The unfermented grape sugars left over in the wine after fermentation has completed.

Tannins (where do they come from, what do they do, and are they liked?)

• Tannin is a characteristic of red wines that comes from the skins of grapes

• Tannins are probably one of the least loved of all of wine’s traits

• Tannins cause your mouth to feel dry and taste bitter.

• Felt all throughout the mouth but mainly on the sides of the cheeks

What’s the difference between higher acidity and lower acidity (Body, sweetness, described as tasting how?)

Higher acidity - taste lighter bodied and also less sweet; often described as tasting spicy, sharp, or too sour

lower acidity - taste fuller bodied and more sweet; often described as tasting flat, dull, soft, or flabby

Where do you taste acidity in your mouth

Front or sides of mouth

Where do you taste alcohol

a burning sensation in your throat

Low alcohol ABV wine

Anything below 11.5% ABV

Medium alcohol ABV

11.5% - below 13.5%

High alcohol ABV

13.5% and up

What months is the wine harvest in the northern hemisphere

From late August to October or mid-November

What months is the wine harvest in the southern hemisphere

From February to April

The growing grapes cycle

As grapes ripen, what changes occur?(Sugar, acid, flavor, color, %…)

• grapes swell with water

• sugar levels rise

• acid levels fall

• flavors become riper

• grape skins change color

What is terroir? And the 4 components that create it?

climate

topogrogrophy

soil

human impact

What are the 4 principal white varieties (SRPGC)

o Chardonnay

o Sauvignon Blanc

o Pinot Grigio

o Riesling

What notes are in chardonnay, and where can you find the grape variety

apple, pineapple, lemon, peach, vanilla

France, California, Australia,

What notes are in sauvignon blanc, and where can you find the grape variety

apple, lemon, asparagus, green bell pepper, cat piss

France, New Zealand

What notes are in Pinot Grigio, and where can you find the grape variety

pear, lemon

Italy

What notes are in Riesling, and where can you find the grape variety

Floral, lime, peach

Germany, France, Australia

What are the 4 principal red varieties (MPNSC)

o Cabernet Sauvignon

o Merlot

o Pinot Noir

o Syrah / Shiraz

What notes are in Cabernet Sauvignon, and where can you find the grape variety

Blackcurrant, Green Pepper, Mint, Vanilla

Grown in nearly every wine producing country

What notes are in Merlot, and where can you find the grape variety (why is it special)

Plum, Blackberry, Vanilla

Chile, California, France

Hollywood star, popularity went down because of movie Sideways

What notes are in Pinot Noir, and where can you find the grape variety (why is it special)

Strawberry, Red Cherry, Vanilla

France

Hollywood star, popularity rose after the movie Sideways, known as heartbreak grape because it's so difficult to grow.

What notes are in Syrah, and where can you find the grape variety

Blackberry, Vanilla, Black Pepper

Australia, France

What happens to yeast during fermentation

Yeast eats sugar and burps CO2 and pisses Ethynol

Fermentation equation:

_____ + _____ = _____ & _____

sugar and yeast

alcohol and CO2

What is the process of creating white wine

What is the process for creating red wine

What are the two methods for creating sparkling wine

Traditional method (bottle fermentation)

Tank method (Charmat method)

What are the steps to Traditional method (bottle fermentation)

What are the steps to Tank method

What is liqueur de tirage

A precise mixture of still wine, sugar, and yeast added to blended base wines immediately before bottling to induce the secondary fermentation

What is riddling

The slow turning of a bottle upside down to move sediment to the neck for removal

What is a wine fault

When the characteristics of the wine are not as the grape grower or winemaker would have intended them to be.

What causes a wine fault?

Unhealthy grapes

stressed yeast

too much or too little oxygen during winemaking

Unclean winemaking equipment

faulty enclosure

poor shipping and storage conditions

What is cork taint

• Caused by the chemical TCA (Thrichloroanisole)

• If the wine smells strongly of wet cardboard, wet dog, or a musty cellar, your wine is corked

• Severe concern

Failure of closure

• If a closure allows unwanted oxygen to interact with a wine, the wine will oxidize

• The wine will appear browner than it should be

• It may have aromas of honey, caramel, or coffee, and will lack freshness and fruitines

• Medium concern

Heat Damage

• If a wine is stored in conditions that are too hot, in direct sunlight, or under bright artificial lights, it will become damaged

• The wine can lose its freshness quickly and lack the expected fruity character.

• Severe concern

Volatile Acidity

• If the wine smells sharply of vinegar or nail polish remover, it is likely to suffer from volatile acidity.

• Medium concern

Brettanomyces or “Brett”

• “Barnyard,” “horsey” and “feral” are typical aroma descriptors.

• Medium concern

Wine diamonds or sediment

• Little crystals or dark colored sediment in the bottom of the bottle or attached to the enclosure.

• You can use a decanter to fix this

• No cause for concern

What is Botrytis

A fungus that can grow on ripe grapes, causing noble rot.

What are the conditions needed for noble rot

• ripe grapes

• damp, misty mornings

• warm, dry afternoons

What is the three tier system?

What are the 4 main ingredients in beer

• Malt

• Water

• Hops

• Yeast

What do hops grow on and what do they do?

• Flowers that grow on a bine

• Contributes spectrum of flavors depending when added

Hot Side of hops

Adds bitterness & shelf-stability

Cold Side of hops

Adds fruity & floral flavors

What are beer malts categorized into

base malts and specialty malts

What type of malt is majority brewed

base malts

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 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

Chablis = ______

Chablis = Chardonnay

Sancerre = ______

Sancerre = Sauvignon Blanc

Sauternes = ______

Sauternes = grapes affected by botrytis

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

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

• Piedmont

• Aosta Valley

• Lombardy

• Liguria

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

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

• Veneto

• Emilia-Romagna

• Friuli-Venezia Giulia

• Trentino-Alto Adige

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 5 regions are most famous in Central Italy (MATUL)

• Marche

• Abruzzo

• Tuscany

• Umbria

• Lazio

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 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

North central Spain is famous for what wines

Tempranillo

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 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 is port? Where is it from

• A fortified wine (extra alcohol added)

• made from grapes from the upper Douro Valley region in Portugal

• 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

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

50

__% of forests in Portugal are cork trees

28

What wine is Canada most famous for producing?

Ice Wine

What wine is Oregon most famous for producing?

Pinot Noir

What are California’s most prominent AVAs in the North Coast region

Napa Valley

Sonoma

Alexander Valley

Carneros

Mendocino

Cabernet Sauvignon & Fumé Blanc = _____

Cabernet Sauvignon & Fumé Blanc = Sauvignon Blanc

What is the wine region Marlborough, New Zealand most known for producing

Sauvignon Blanc

What is the wine region Barossa Valley, Australia most known for producing

Shiraz

What is the wine region Mendoza, Argentina most known for producing

Malbec

What is interesting about Carménère in Chile

• This grape variety disappeared from its native Bordeaux following the phylloxera outbreak in the mid-1800s

• It was considered extinct until Jean-Michel Boursiquot discovered it in Chile

What is Swartland home to in South Africa

• Home to the new natural movement

• The natural movement is where wines are produced with minimal intervention

• Rejects industrial yeasts, pesticides, filtration, and additives, relying on indigenous wild yeast