Wine 101

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Wine 101

• Presented by Alphonse DiMino
• Wine Director Passport
• Wine Spirits

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Philosophy of Wine

• Wine is about the discovery
• Be open minded!!
• Dont be intimidated
• Wine is about sharing
• Wine is about appreciation
• Wine enriches your soul
• Wine is FUN!!!!!!

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What is Wine?

• Wine is an alcoholic beverage made from the
  fermentation of grape juice. Wine has a rich
  history dating back to around 6000 BC and is
  thought to have originated in areas now within
  the borders of Georgia and Iran. Wine probably
  appeared in Europe at about 4500 BC in what is
  now Bulgaria and Greece, and was very common in
  ancient Greece, Thrace and Rome. Wine has also
  played an important role in religion throughout
  history. The Greek god Dionysos and the Roman
  equivalent Bacchus represented wine, and the
  drink is also used in Christian and Jewish
  ceremonies such as the Eucharist and Kiddush.

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What is Wine?

• Fermentation
• SugarYeastAlcoholCarbon Dioxide (CO2)
• Grapes
• Vitis vinifera (Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon,
  Merlot)
• Vitis labrusca ( Concord, Niagara, Catawba)
• Hybrids vitis vinifera x vitis labrusca (Baco
  Noir, Seveal Blanc)

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Where is wine made?

• Grapes require specific growing conditions
• Major Factors
• Geography
• Growing season Frost free days
• Number of days of sunlight
• Soils
• Drainage, Nutrients
• Climate
• Sunlight, temperature, rainfall

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How To Taste And Evaluate Wine

• Appearance
• Smell
• Taste
• Final Impressions

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Appearance

• Clarity Is the wine bright and healthy looking
  or is it hazy or cloudy? If a wine is cloudy, it
  may be due to disturbed sediment in older wines
  or it may be the result of refermentation in the
  bottlea big problem!!
• Intensity Is the color deep or pale?
• Color Helps Identify
• Age
• Grape Varieties
• Aged in Wood?
• Other When a glass is swirled, little rivulets
  may form on the side of the glass. These are
  known as tears or legs and are an indicator
  of higher alcohol.

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Smell The Nose

• Average person can identify over 2000 scents,
  wine has over 200.
• AromaSmell of the grapes
• BouquetTotal smell of wine
• Smell helps identify
• Age
• Faults
• Varietal

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Taste The Palette

• The five tastes Sweet, Sour, Bitter, Salty, and
  Unami
• Contrary to popular understanding that different
  tastes map to different areas of the tongue,
  taste qualities are found in all areas of the
  tongue, although some regions are more sensitive
  than others.
• The original "tongue map" was based on a
  mistranslation by Harvard psychologist Edwin G.
  Boring of a German paper that was written in
  1901. Varying sensitivity to all tastes occurs
  across the whole tongue and indeed to other
  regions of the mouth where there are taste buds
  (epiglottis, soft palate).

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What do we detect when tasting?

• Flavors (These help indentify Varietal)
• Primary Flavors (Come from the grapes, fruit
  flavors)
• Secondary Flavors (Come from vinification,
  example, oak)
• Tertiary Flavors (Come from bottle aging)
• Dryness/Sweetness This will be the first
  sensation as the wine hits the mouth, as
  sweetness
• Acidity Acidity is detectable at the sides of
  the tongue, which will start to water when the
  acidity is pronounced. Wines lacking acidity are
  said to be flabby and weak.
• Tannin Important in red wines and white wines
  that have spent some time in oak. Tannins have a
  drying sensation on the gums and teethan overly
  tannic wine will make you feel as though you
  licked pavement! Tannins can be underripe and
  green or ripe and more integrated. When noting
  the tannin level, indicate whether low, medium or
  high level, but also try to describe the quality
  integrated, green, velvety, whatnot.
• Weight/Body (Mouthfeel) Not unrelated to
  alcohol, as there is a direct correlation between
  these two structural elements. Think of the
  difference between low-fat milk, whole milk, and
  heavy cream. How does the wine feel in your
  mouth? Such as smoothness and texture.
• Alcohol Difficult to detect on the palate,
  alcohol is often felt as weightier body and
  mouthfeel. Out of balance, high alcohol is felt
  as a slight burn in the finish. Wine Lingo Hot
• Faults

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Wine Faults

• Corked Taint Smells of must and damp rags,
  subdues and more greatly affects the flavor of
  the wine. People have different levels of
  sensivity to cork taint, some recognize the fault
  more readily.
• Oxidation An oxidized wine has notes of burnt
  caramel (Madeira-like) and can be quite brown in
  color.
• Brettanomyces (Brett) Causes a mousy, barnyard
  odor, quite unpleasant in larger doses (although
  some find small doses and its aromas pleasing).
  Usually indicates poor hygiene in the cellar.
• Volatile acidity (VA) Noticeable by aromas of
  nail polish and vinegar, caused by acetic acid
  and oxygen.
• Excessive Sulphur Dioxide Noticeable by aromas
  of burnt matches, often found in cheaper wines

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Final Impressions

• Balance In determining quality of a wine it is
  important to note the balance between the
  structural elements and flavors and aromas. Be
  specific.
• Development How is the wine drinking? Are the
  tannins harsh and needing maturation time? Is all
  the fruit gone? Has the acidity lost its perk? Or
  all the components just right? Every wine has a
  youthful, peak, and tired phase in its lifeand
  most wines arent meant to age at age. With
  experience and lots of tasting, this component
  becomes easier to detect.
• Concentration Is the wine tightly knit and taut
  with a definite center, or do all the structural
  components bobble around loosely on the palate?
  Are the flavors dilute or tightly packed. Note
  that serious, age-worthy reds may need some
  unwinding time in a decanter before serving, and
  if closed in flavors and aromas, are often
  described as tight.
• Complexity Is the wine display one-dimensional
  fruit alone or is it layered and evolving in the
  glass? Obviously a higher quality wine will keep
  a wine taster intrigued and coming back for more
  tastes, and perhaps more bottles.
• Overall Quality The final conclusion of a wines
  quality is based on all these elements, but it is
  also based on a familiarity with the classic
  characteristics of a given grape or wine, known
  as a benchmark. This is the most difficult
  component of wine analysis, as it pulls from all
  levels and areas of your wine knowledge. It is
  important to base quality on your tasting
  observations, NOT on your personal preferences
  for a style or type of wine.