Wine Basics

Question 1

What is wine?

Answer 1

Wine is an alcoholic beverage made with fermented grapes.

Question 2

What species of grape is most wine made from?

Answer 2

Vitis vinifera

Question 3

How many grape cultivars are used in commercial wine production?

Answer 3

1,400. Only about 100 of these varieties make up 75% of the world’s vineyards.

Question 4

What are examples of primary aromas?

Answer 4

Derived from the interaction between the grape and yeast and can include fruit, flower, and herb-like flavors.

Question 5

What are examples of secondary aromas?

Answer 5

Derived from yeast and other microbes and may include aromas like yeast, cheese, cream, sourdough, or beer-like smells.

Question 6

What are examples of tertiary aromas?

Answer 6

Derived from aging and oxidation (including aging in oak barrels) and may include vanilla, maple, browned butter, and nut-like aromas.

Question 7

Viscosity

Answer 7

The tears that form on the side of the glass (“wine legs”) can tell us if the wine has high or low alcohol and/or high or low sugar. The thicker and more viscous the legs, the more alcohol or residual sugar in the wine.

Question 8

Sweetness

Answer 8

Is the wine sweet or dry?

Question 9

Acidity

Answer 9

How sour is the wine? A wine with high acidity will cause your mouth to salivate and tingle more than a wine with a low acidity.

Question 10

Tannin

Answer 10

How mouth-drying is the wine? This is a trait found more so in red wines and less so in white wines. You can feel tannins on the middle and sides of your tongue as a mouth-drying, bitter sensation.

Question 11

Alcohol

Answer 11

When you swallow, pay attention to the warming sensation in your throat. High alcohol wines will have a burning sensation.

Question 12

Body

Answer 12

How big is the wine on your palate? Does it fill your mouth with flavor and richness or is it lean and lithe?

Question 13

Finish

Answer 13

What flavor or taste does the wine finish with? Is it bitter? Sweet? Smoky? Oily? Salty?

Question 14

Length

Answer 14

How long does it take until you can’t taste the wine on your palate?

Question 15

Layers

Answer 15

Does the wine’s flavors and textures change over the course of a single taste? If so, the wine is layered.

Question 16

Describe the following sparkling wine methods: Traditional (Champagne), Ancestral, Tank

Answer 16

Traditional: more expensive and involved. Can only be used when making champagne. Fizzier and brioche notes due to greater lees contact. Tirage: sugar and yeast

Ancestral: less bubbles and cheaper. Less consistent than champagne (pet net). Primarily fruit notes.

Tank:

Question 17

What does “Sekt” stand for?

Answer 17

Sparkling in German

Question 18

What does “extra brut” mean?

Answer 18

Dry

Question 19

What are lees?

Answer 19

Lees are the byproduct of sugars in the wine. Deposits of dead yeasts.

Question 20

Where was vitis vinifera first domesticated?

Answer 20

Georgia (the country)

Question 21

What is the difference between primary, secondary, and tertiary aromas and flavors?

Answer 21

Primary aromas are derived from the interaction between the grape and yeast and can include fruit, flowers, and herb-like flavors. Secondary aromas are derived from yeast and other microbes and may include aromas like yeast, cheese, cream, sourdough, or beer-like smells. Tertiary aromas are derived from aging and oxidation, and may include vanilla, maple, browned butter, and nut-like aromas.

Question 22

What happens to the color of white wines as they age?

Answer 22

They get deeper/darker

Question 23

What happens to grapes in high elevations?

Answer 23

More moderate temps means higher acidity and more tart

Question 24

What happens to grapes in warmer climates?

Answer 24

They are more fruit forward

Question 25

What pairs well with fat?

Answer 25

Acidity and tannins

Question 26

What pairs well with spices?

Answer 26

Sweet

Question 27

Why is a single vineyard more expensive?

Answer 27

All of the grapes have been grown on a single plot of land that is considered superior.