Practical 1 Flashcards
Sight: medium to deep straw.Nose: ripe pear fruit with notes of wax-lanolin, floral, lemon citrus and earth.Many wines are blended with Sauvignon Blanc and oak aged.Palate: medium bodied and dry with a waxy texture and notes of gravelly earth and oak.Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: medium-plus.
Bordeaux Blanc -with Sauvignon Blanc & Semillon
ID Keys: the combination of waxy texture, racy acidity, presence of earth and oak are keys to recognizing Semillon-based White Bordeaux
Sight: pale to medium straw with green highlights.Nose: grapefruit-lemon/lime citrus notes with pronounced chalky minerality,herbal-grass and white flower notes.Palate: light to medium-bodied and very dry to bone dry. Use of little or no wood typical is typical for Sancerre while use of partial or all new wood can be found in Pouilly-Fumé.Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: medium-plus to high.
Sancerre/Pouilly-Fumé (Sauvignon Blanc)
ID Keys: the combination of tart citrus, herbal notes with the minerality often taking center stage.Look for oak in Pouilly-Fumé but not in Sancerre.Not easily confusedwith New Zealand Sauvignons because there’s less fruit and less aggressive grass/herb/vegetal notes and striking minerality.
Sight: very pale straw with green and silver highlights.Nose: pronounced grapefruit and lime citrus notes with gooseberry, grass, and green herb notes; some wines can be aggressively vegetal with elements of asparagus, green bean and bell pepper/jalapeño.Other wines have a touch of minerality while still others are pungently vegetal.Palate: medium-bodied and dry with emphasis on mouth-watering, juicy citrus fruit. Oak is almost never used.Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: medium-plus to high.
New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
ID Keys: intense citrus and herbal/vegetal flavourscombined with tart acidity are keys to recognizing New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc.Some wines have an impression of “sweet” tropical (passion fruit) and pink grapefruit notes as well.Other wines can be overtly vegetal with canned green bean or asparagus notes
Sight: pale to medium straw with green highlights.Nose: tart green apple, lemon-citrus fruit with pronounced chalky seashellminerality.Some producers use new oak imparting spice and wood aromas. Malolactic fermentation is also sometimes used.Palate: medium-bodied and very dry to bone dry. Flavoursinclude tart green apple, lemon peel, and chalky minerality.The intensity of flavourand quality varies with producer and the specific appellation (1er cru vs.grand cru, etc.). Theoretically, the better the appellation the more intensity of minerality and overall flavour.Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: medium-plus to high. ID Keys:textbook Chablis is an austere, bone dry, high acid whitewith pronounced chalky minerality.The fruit is often overshadowed by the minerality in all but the ripest vintages.Traditionally made wines display little, if any, oak although winemakers are increasingly using more wood
Chablis (Chardonnay)
ID Keys:textbook Chablis is an austere, bone dry, high acid whitewith pronounced chalky minerality.The fruit is often overshadowed by the minerality in all but the ripest vintages.Traditionally made wines display little, if any, oak although winemakers are increasingly using more wood
Sight: light to medium straw with green highlights.Nose: apple/pear and citrus fruit with mushroom-earth and mineral notes; also butter/cream aromas from malolactic and vanilla, baking spices, toast, and wood notes from oak aging. Palate: medium to full-bodied and dry to bone dry.The wines can be quite powerful depending on the pedigree of the vineyard and quality of the vintage.Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: medium-plus to high.
Côtes de Beaune
ID Keys: the combination of tart apple/pear fruit with bright citrus, hazelnut, earth and new oak flavoursis key to recognition. Generally, the style of Chassagne-Montrachet tends to be rich andfull-bodied with Puligny-Montrachet known for elegance and Meursault for pronounced earthiness.Again, these are very broad generalizations and exceptions occur often
Sight: straw to medium yellow.Nose: ripe apple-pear and yellow peach fruit with sweet and tart citrus.Wines with botrytis have honey and stone fruit elements along with floral and mushroom/earth notes. Palate: full-bodied and dry to off-dry in style.Some “dry” wines are slightly sweet.Structure: alcohol: medium-plussometimes bordering on high; acid: medium to medium-plus.
Alsace Riesling
ID Keys: Riesling flavors but with rich, ripe fruit, high alcohol, and medium acidity; more alcohol and richness than most German Rieslings with less acidity; also less opulently floral than German Riesling with a weightier and rounder mouth feel.
Sight: medium straw with green highlights.Nose: racy green apple, unripe green pear, lime zest, and mineral with a touch of white floral.Palate: medium-bodied, very dry and bracingly acidic with an austere character.Structure: medium alcohol and medium-plus to high acidity.
Australia: Clare and Eden Valleys Riesling
ID Keys: Clare and Eden Rieslings can be remarkably intense in character with bracing acidity and astonishing minerality not to mention their austerity and potential for long-term aging. Wines that do have age often show pronounced petrol or TDN notes
Sight: pale to medium straw green, very bright. Nose: red and golden apple, quince, lemon-lime citrus, peach-apricot, floral, spring greens/herb, green olive, sulphur/wet wool, and pronounced chalky minerality/wet stone.SO2 often detected; used barrels or no wood at all.Palate: bone dry to sweet depending on the style.Vouvray Sec and Savennières can be austere, bone dry and intensely flavouredwines with intense minerality.Vouvray Demi-Sec and Doux often display honey and botrytis notes with tart citrus and chalky minerality.Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: high.
Loire Valley Chenin Blanc
ID Keys: dry wines have a combination of apple-peach fruit, wet wool, wet stone-mineral quality with high acidity and no wood.Sweeter wines have honey, ripe stone fruits, citrus, and minerality.The SO2 qualities often make Old World Chenin easier to identify
Sight: pale to medium straw. Nose: a fruit-bowl of ripe melon, pear, and tropical fruit with sweet and tart citrus notes.Little, if any, minerality and oak infrequently used.Palate: medium bodied and off-dry to slightly sweet.Quality wines have a good balance of ripe, succulent fruit and crisp acidity.Structure: acidity: medium to medium-plus; alcohol: medium to medium-plus.
New World: California –Washington State Chenin Blanc
ID Keys: off-dry, pleasantly fruity and quaffable.
Sight: straw or deep yellow depending on the style of the given wine. Nose: little or no oak and bright lemon-lime citrus, floral and malic apple flavours. Palate: lighter in body with higher acid and less alcohol. very dry. Structure: alcohol:medium-minus to medium; acidity: high.
Australia Semillon
Sight: deep straw to pale yellow.Nose: exotic, highly-perfumed nose of ripe stone fruits, lychee, sweet citrus, pronounced floral (rose petal and jasmine), and earth-mineral.Wood rarely used. Palate: medium-plus to full-bodied.The palate is rich, viscous and sometimes oily with the hallmark touch of bitterness on the finish; wines commonly have more than a touch of residual sugar even to the point of being slightly sweet.Structure: alcohol: medium-plus to high alcohol; acidity; medium-minus to medium.
Gewürztraminer Alsace
ID Keys: Alsace Gewurztraminer is unmistakably flamboyant with its heady, exotically perfumed nose, succulent off-dry fruit, oily texture, bitter finish, and lack of acidity
Sight: medium straw. Nose: pronounced floral (white flowerer and roses), stone fruits, honey and stony mineral.Some wines are aged in new oak. Palate: medium-to full-bodied and dry to bone dry. Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: medium-plus.
Viognier Northern Rhône: Chateau Grillet & Condrieu
ID Keys: the combination of pronounced floral notes, ripe stone fruits, minerality andatouch of bitterness on the finish found in all the aromatic grape varieties (Viognier, Gewürztraminer, Muscat and Torrontés). Some wines offer new oak aromas and flavours. Usually more acidity and less alcohol than New World counterparts
Sight: deep straw to deep yellow gold.Nose: profile similar to Condrieu but but much riper and without minerality.Fruits include apricot/peach/nectarine, golden apple, orange as well as honey and floral elements.A high percentage of new oak and full malolactic are often used.Palate: medium-plus to full-bodied with ripe sweet (even canned) fruit and the hallmark touch of bitterness on the finish with elements of new oak.Structure: alcohol: medium-plus to high; acidity: medium to medium-plus.
California Viognier
ID Keys:ripe, often over-ripe stone fruits, floral notes and the use of new oak; like Chardonnay with canned peaches and bitterness on the finish.
Sight: deep straw to deep yellow. Nose: very similar palate to Alsace Gewurztraminer in style with an exotic floral (orange blossom and rose petal) and spicy nose and lychee, ripe stone fruits andearth-mineral.Wood rarely used.Palate: medium to full-bodied and dry to bone dry.Once again, like Alsace Gewurztraminer but with relatively higher acidity; often the perception of sweetness on the palate even when dry and still the hallmark bitterness on the finish.Structure: alcohol: medium-plus to high; acidity: medium to medium-plus.
Muscat Alsace
ID Keys: very similar to Alsace Gewurztraminer but with a touch higher acidity
Sight: pale to medium straw with a touch of rose/copper.Nose: tart apple, green pear, citrus, straw, almond and stone/mineral.Palate: dry to bone dry and light to medium-bodied with tart apple/citrus and mineral notes.Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: medium-plus.
Northern Italian Pinot Grigio
ID Keys: most Pinot Grigios are light and citrusy with tart fruit, almond and mineral notes. The best examples come from Alto Adige and can be much richer with considerable intensity of fruit and minerality. May of the wines show a brassy/coppery hue in the color.
Sight: deep straw to medium yellow with hint of copper.Nose: ripe, smoky yellow apple and melon with sweet and tart citrus, floral, honey, and dark earth-mineral. Palate: medium-plus to full-bodied and dry to off-dry in style (some wines show noticeably residual sugar).Very ripe fruit with an earthy character; botrytis notes often found even on wines dry in style.Structure: alcohol: medium-plus to high; acidity: medium to medium-plus.
Alsace Pinot Gris
ID Keys: full-bodied and off-dry with rich, smoky pear-melon fruit and earthiness.Many wines have residual sugar with a rich, palate-coating mouth feel; the texture is often described as “oily.”
Sight: deep straw to yellow gold.Nose: ripe golden apple, peach and melon fruit with citrus and jasmine floral notes.Wines are often blended with Roussanne and oak-aged displaying oxidative qualities and a waxy-nutty character similar to some styles of Semillon. Palate: dry, rich and full bodied.Structure: alcohol: medium-plus to high; acidity: medium to medium-plus.
Rhône Marsanne
ID Keys: ripe fruits, waxiness, high alcohol and earthiness are keys to recognition
Sight: pale to deep straw. Nose: style varies with different regions/climates and even classifications (Wachau). Cool climate wines tend to be lighter in body with tart green apple/pear, bright citrus fruits and herbal-vegetal qualities (celery, caraway, radish, white pepper, lentils) with earth and/or mineral.Wines from warmer regions have much riper fruit with notes of peach-nectarine, rhubarb, yellow apple, honey and more.Palate: wines are generally very dry and styles range from light and racy to rich, weighty, and grand
depending on specific region and producer.Structure: alcohol: medium to high; acidity: medium-plus to high acidity.
Grüner Veltliner
ID Keys:can be light and racy or full-bodied and grand.Ripe fruit and the celery-radish-white pepper combination are unique Grüner.
Sight: pale to medium straw.Nose: white peach, green pear, mandarin/orange and lime-citrus with notes of floral, light herb, hops/Pilsner and wet stone minerality.Wood rarely used.Palate: light to medium bodied and bone dry to dry.Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: medium-plus.
Albariño
ID Keys: combination of peach, sweet citrus and herbal-citrusy character with aromasof flowers, beer/hops and mineral; Albariño is often describe as “Viognier nose and Riesling palate.”
Name 2 whites wines with very high acidity
Chenin Blanc, Aligote’, Furmint
Name 5 white wines with high acidity
Riesling , Sauvignon Blanc, Albarino, Gruner Veltliner, Assyrtiko, Muscadet, Semillon
Name 5 white wines with moderate acidity
Chardonnay, Pinot Gris, Marsanne, Roussanne, Viura, Gewurztraminer, Viognier, Arneis, Verdicchio
Structure of Chardonnay’s acid is?
Linear. Same level from beginning to end. The acidity is integrated into the body of the wine. No gap between the fruit & the acid.
This is a Riesling. It is 13.5% ABV, full bodieed, concentrated, slightly off dry, with an oily character. Petrol Scented, with some slate & smoke. The color is darker than many Rieslings. From what region does it come?
Alsace. Can be confused with Australian, but Australian versions have more zesty or tangy acidity.
This Riesling is more earthy than most. It has tangy acidity as opposed to steely. Can be mineral driven. Dry, medium to full bodied, some phenolic grip. Not fruit driven.
Austria
Riesling that is full of lime citrus notes, steely acidity, very clean. Chalky & so dry that it is almost austere. Petrol is common even in young versions. Name the region.
Clare Valley Australia.
Riesling with floral notes, some lime, but less than Clare Valley. Can have a jasmine scent. Plenty of mineral.Dry finish. Petrol is common even in young versions. Name the region.
Eden Valley.
Steely, smoke, lime peel, pears. Ripping acid. Dry wine. But not Riesling.
Dry Furmint
Bordeaux region. Combines opulence of Semillon with the verve of Sauvignon Blanc with intense aromas of citrus fruit, peach, acacia, beeswax, & hazelnut. Medium in body, acidity, & alcohol. Often with discernible oak influence & lees character.
Graves
Mineral notes. Saline notes. citrus-like taste and high acidity. Often with lots of lees contact. Non aromatic & minimal fruit.
Muscadet
Nose: white peach, green pear, mandarin/orange, and lime-citrus with notes of floral, light herb, hops/Pilsner/lees, and wet stone minerality.Wood rarely used (barrica).grapefruit, blossom, lemon zest
Palate: light to medium bodied and bone dry to dry.Tendency to bitterness due to thick skins. Nick Jackson says sometimes a salty tang at the finish. Peach, orange blossom
Albariño
Italian grape with candied orange or orange blossom nose and ample fruit on the palate, and even some oiliness and phenolic grip. Acidity is lower and softer than in other Italian varieties, and the body bigger
Arneis
Deeply colored wine with extremely high acid, phenolic grip (not bitterness). Lime zest & minerals.
Assyrtiko
Describe Cortese/Gavi.
Some apple peel & lemon zest. In better examples lime & greengages. A bit like Chablis with some Italian on top of it.
Describe Rhone Blanc.
Meyer Lemon, Beeswax, Apricot, orange zest, brioche
Grapes in Rhone Blanc?
Ugni blanc, Grenache Blanc, Roussanne, Bourboulenc, Picpoul, and Clairette. Since about 1998 Viognier is increasingly being used and is also appearing as a single varietal.
Can have a slight pine scent, but is better known for its apricot & peach, citrus-blossom aromas, in particular bitter orange on the nose. Wines are zesty with peach fruit, minerals, and almond notes. tastes of skin contact, mineral, peach, nuts. Persistent mouth feel of skin contact, but not particularly showing phenolic bitterness. On the palate it typically shows classic apple and pear flavors, depending on where it is grown, with spicy or mineral notes. High acid.
Falanghina
