WSET L2 Wine Exam Flashcards
(62 cards)
Wine Pairing:
Sweet food makes wine more:
more drying & bitter.
more acidic,
less sweet & fruity
P17
Wine Pairing:
Umami food makes wine more:
more drying & bitter.
more acidic,
less sweet & fruity
P17
Wine Pairing:
Salty food makes wine more:
less drying & bitter.
less acidic,
more fruity,
more body
p17
Wine Pairing:
acidic food makes wine more:
less drying & bitter.
less acidic,
more sweet and fruity
p17
Wine Pairing:
highly flavoured food makes wine more:
overwhelmed by food flavours
p17
Wine Pairing:
fatty/oily food makes wine more:
less acidic
p17
Wine Pairing:
Spicy food makes wine more:
alcohol increases heat from food
p17
Wine Faults:
Cork Taint (TCA)
- makes wine smell like wet cardboard.
- dampens fruit aromas and seems less fresh
p23
Wine Faults:
Failure of closure
- gives wine unwanted oxygenation.
- wine will appear darker than it should.
- more honey/caramel/coffee (tertiary)
- lack’s freshness and fruitiness
(most notable in wines that should be drunk when young/fruity)
p23
Wine Faults:
Heat Damage
- stored under hot conditions, direct sunlight or bright artificial lights
- lose freshness
- lack expected fruit character
p23
Grape formation and ripening
- Flowering
- Fruit set
- Veraison (starting to ripen, change colours)
- Ripening (become golden or darker)
- Harvest/extra ripening
p28
Botrytis/Noble Rot
- fungus that grows on grapes causing tiny holes, allowing water to evaporate, concentrating acids, sugars, and flavours
- needs damp misty mornings to promote growth of fungus, followed by dry afternoons to limit growth and avoid killing grapes
- almost always used for sweet wines
p30
Frozen Grapes
- colder regions, healthy grapes are left unpicked to continue through autumn & winter
- this concentrates sugars in grapes
- pressed while still frozen
- produce sweet wines
p30
Climate
Cool: avg 16.5
Moderate: avg 16.5-18.5
Warm: avg 18.5-21
p31
Grape Growing Terms on labels:
Vielles Vignes
French for “Old Vines” - not a legally defined concept
p38
Grape Growing Terms on labels:
Vintage
year grapes were harvested
p38
Grape Growing Terms on labels:
Late Harvest
grapes are left on vine and harvested later
riper flavours and higher sugar levels
p38
Process for making Red Wine
- Crushing
- fermentation (with skin for colour & tannin) 20-32*C
- draining
- pressing
- storage/maturation
- packaging/bottling
p41
Process for making White wine
- crushing
- pressing (extract juice, no skin/stems)
- fermentation (without skins) 12-22*c
- storage/maturation
- packaging/bottling
p43
Process for making Rose (with black grapes)
- Crushing
- fermentation (short period with skins) 12-22*c
- draining (then continue to ferment without skins)
- storage/maturation
(can also be made blending red & white wine. this is not permitted in europe)
p42
Winemaking:
Inert Vessels
- using steel or concrete for storage
- preserves fresh and fruit flavours
- usually airtight
p46
Winemaking:
Oak Vessels
Secondary flavours
- can be used for both fermentation and storage
- adds vanilla, coconut, charred wood and spice
- not airtight, so can oxygenate wine ( dried fruit, nut, caramel and other tertiary flavours)
p47
Winemaking:
Oak Alternatives
Secondary flavours
- Oak barrels are expensive.
- can also use oak staves/chips to add oak flavours
p48
Winemaking:
Malolactic conversion (MLC)
Secondary flavours
- using bacteria after fermentation
- lowers acidity, increases buttery flavours
- almost always done for red wine (not as noticable)
- when used in white (usually for less aromatic grapes such as chardonnay) - very noticable
p48
