Wine basics Flashcards
(18 cards)
what are tannins?
Tannins are polyphenols that naturally occuring in plants, seeds, bark, leaves, fruit skins
- tannin is what gives some red wines (shiraz) the astringency and bitterness and complex taste
Are tannins only found in red wines?
- tannin is found mostly in red wines
- tannin can also exist in white wines if they have been ages in oak barrels
what flavours do esters give to wines?
esters provide the buidling blocks for fruity flavours
chardonnay: apple
rasberry: grenache
what flavours do pyrazines give to wine?
- herbaceous flavour
- pryazine is a organic compound that give vegetable like smell
- fundamental aromomatic compound in coffee and chocolate
- bell pepper - cabernet franc
- grass - Sav blanc
what flavours do terpenes give to wine?
- primarily rose and lavander
- in wine gives taste of sweet/floral or herbaceous
- grenache wines: lavender
- shiraz: eucalyptus leaves
- muscat blanc: rose
what flavours do thiols give to wine?
gives off a bitterness fruit taste and earthiness
- thiol is a organosulfur compound
- tiny amounts of thiol - fruity taste
- large amounts of thiol - garlic
- grapefruit: sav blanc, vermentino
- black current: red bordeaux, cab sav, merlot
what flavours do sulfur give to wine?
- gives earthy flavours
- suflur is the secret to the minerality in wine
- some sulfur smells really good: chalk-like aroma in chablis
- some sulfur can smell like shit - wet wool - wine fault from UV damage
chalk: chablis and champagne
Although tannins have a bitterness and dryness to it, why is the taste so desirable in wines?
- the tannin in wine binds to the proteins in our saliva -> this gives it a palate clensing effect
- this is why bold wines with lots of tannin pairs really well with fatty juicy rib eye
what are some red wines that are full-bodied?
- red wines that are full bodied with lots of tannin are
1. cab sav
2. malbec
3. syrah/shiraz
give an example of a medium bodied red wine. what are these types of wine good with and why?
- grenache, merlot, cab franc
- AKA food wine - pairs well with a variety of foods -> they offer tons of flavours with balance of zesty aciditiy
- pairs well with foods like salads to rich lasagne
give an example of a light bodied red wine
- pinot noir, gamay noir
- very little tannin T.F not dry, not bitter
how are rose wines made?
- made by “dying” the wine for short amount of time with the skin of red grapes
what style of wine is rose?
- both sweet and dry
- dry rose come from grape varietals of - granache, syrah, carignan, mourvedre
- southern region of france in provence produces many dry roses
give an example of sweet aromatic white wine
- reisling, gewurtzraminer, torrontes
- explosive, purfume-like aromas
- can be both sweet and dry but most have a sweet touch to it due to the perfume notes
give examples of full bodied white wine
- chardonnay, viogner
- creaminess, rich smooth taste makes these wines very popular
- special techniques used in making these wines - > oak-aging
give examples of light bodied white wine
- pinot gris, sauv blanc, gruner veltliner, albarino, soave (swah-vay)
- good to drink with most foods -> “the beer of wines”
- some pinot gris are very popular for poeple who prefer savoury flavours (sav blanc and gruner) which have flavours of bell pepper and gooseberry
what is the sweetness scale in champagne from dryest to sweetest?
brut nature, extra brut, brut, extra dry, dry, demi sec, doux
where does the sweetness in brut champagnes come from?
- sweetness comes from the process of making champagne
- sugar or grape is added back to the wine before corking the wine
- sparkling wine is traditionally very acidic -> adding sweetness to it rounds out the flavour + reduce the intensity from the tartness
