Tasting & Evaluating Wine

Question 1

Tasting environment

Answer 1

Good light
No strong odours i.e. near kitchen
Spittoons
Space for glasses/notes

Question 2

How to prepare yourself

Answer 2

Clean, neutral palate
Free of perfumes/aftershave
Clean, appropriate glassware i.e. ISO tasting glasses with stem & good sized bowl
Fill correctly i.e. approx 1-1.5 oz of wine to taste

Question 3

What is SAT

Answer 3

Systematic Approach to Tasting

Question 4

Why do we use a SAT?

Answer 4

• Calibrate the palate
• A common language for all to describe wine
• Able to evaluate wine’s:
  appearance, nose palate, quality

Question 5

What are the main wine faults ?

Answer 5

Cork taint -
TCA (tricholroanysol), causes wet cardboard taste/smell
Closure failure -
Oxygen seeps in. browner in colour. aromas of honey, caramel, coffee
Heat damage -
direct sunlight or bright artificial light. Tastes dull/stale

Question 6

What are the primary aroma characteristics of wine?

Answer 6

Those that the grape itself gives to the wine
i.e. floral, fruit, herbaceous (flowers, fruits, veg)

Question 7

What are the secondary

Answer 7

Occurring within the winery, created by the winemaker on purpose.

i.e. bready/yeasty/biscuity (autolysis), dairy (maloactive conversion), oak barrels (vanilla/spices)

Question 8

What is tertiary

Answer 8

Occur during maturation, over time. Aroma of dried/stewed fruit, mushrooms, honey, coffee, petroleum

Question 9

How can you assess appearance intensity

Answer 9

Looking down into glass, holding glass at 45 degree angle.
For red - can also look down into an upright glass

Question 10

Appearance intensity description

Answer 10

pale - medium - deep

Question 11

Appearance colour

Answer 11

white - lemon - gold - amber
rose - pink - pink-orange - orange
red - purple - ruby - garnet - tawny

Question 12

Nose intensity

Answer 12

light - medium - pronounced

Question 13

Aroma characteristics

Answer 13

primary (grape, fermentation), secondary (winery, post-fermentation), tertiary (maturation, over time)

Question 14

SAT - Palate
Sweetness

Answer 14

dry - off-dry - medium - sweet

Question 15

SAT - Palate
Acidity

Answer 15

low - medium - high

Question 16

SAT - Palate
Tannins

Answer 16

low - medium - high

Question 17

SAT - Palate
Alcohol

Answer 17

low - medium - high

Question 18

LOW - alcohol wine %

Answer 18

Under 11% ABV

Question 19

MEDIUM - alcohol wine %

Answer 19

11 - 13.9 % ABV

Question 20

HIGH - alcohol wine ABV %

Answer 20

Over 14% ABV

Question 21

Fortified Wine - LOW alcohol %

Answer 21

15 - 16.4

Question 22

Fortified Wine - MEDIUM alcohol %

Answer 22

16.5 - 18.4

Question 23

Fortified Wine - HIGH alcohol %

Answer 23

18.5 +

Question 24

SAT - Palate
Body

Answer 24

light - medium - full

Question 25

SAT - Palate
Flavour intensity

Answer 25

light - medium - pronounce

Question 26

SAT - Palate
Flavour characteristics

Answer 26

primary - secondary - tertiary

Question 27

SAT - Palate
Finish

Answer 27

short - medium - long

Question 28

SAT - Conclusions
Quality

Answer 28

poor - acceptable - good - very good - outstanding

Weighing up the following overall -
Balance -
i.e. of sugar/fruit flavour/ alcohol/acidity
Out of balance = no more than ‘acceptable’
Length/finish
- Length & HOW it finishes i.e. bitter/sweet/flavourful
Identifiable characteristics/flavour intensity
Complexity -
not all good wines have all 3 flavour characteristic clusters.
Purity, definition

Question 29

What to weigh up when assessing quality

Answer 29

Balance -
i.e. of sugar/fruit flavour/ alcohol/acidity
Out of balance = no more than ‘acceptable’

Length/finish
- Length & HOW it finishes i.e. bitter/sweet/flavourful

Identifiable characteristics/flavour intensity

Complexity -
not all good wines have all 3 flavour characteristic clusters.
Purity, definition of a simple wine with just primary can be ‘outstanding’

Question 30

How many of the 4 SAT criteria are met for each level of overall wine quality

Answer 30

poor - none
acceptable - 1 criterion
good - 2 criterion
very good - 3 criterion
outstanding - all 4 criterion

Question 31

When tasting multiple different wines, what order should you consider to best experience each

Answer 31

Lightest to heaviest
Driest to sweetest