2. How old is the earliest evidence of wine making ? Where was
this evidence discovered ? ? 3. ?What is wine ?
- Wine is analcoholic beverage obtained from the fermentation of
juice from freshly gathered grapes, the fermentation taking place
in the district of origin according to local tradition and
practice.
4. Origin of wine
- Nobody knows who "invented" wine. Its discovery was probably
accidental. After harvesting, some grapes were left in a container
over the winter and the natural yeasts and sugars converted the
juice into wine.
- Although archaeologists have traced the origins of wine grapes
( Vitis vinifera ) back tens of thousands of years, the first
evidence of wine having actually been made from grapes comes from a
clay pot found in Persia (now Iran) dating from around 10,000 years
B.C.
5. Egyptian Wall painting
- This Egyptian wall painting shows each stage of the winemaking
process, from gathering the grapes, to drinking the finished
product. In turn the Romans spread their vineyard lands throughout
Francea nd to their other colonies throughout Europe, including
Great Britain.
6. ?How is wine made ?
- Harvest and transport to winery
7. Special wine making process
8. Why is stone commonly seen in vineyards ? 9. ? White wine
from white grapes ?
- / Red wine is made from red/black grapes fermented with skin
and pips
- White wine can be made from both red and white grapes, usually
without the skin and pips
- Champagne is made from 2 red grapes and 1 white grape
10. Common Red grape varieties
11. Common White grape varieties
12. Wine from around the world
13. Old World Countries
14. NewWorld
15. Oak or not to oak
- Many wines are matured in oak barrels
- 225 3000 Sizes range from 225L to 3000L
- Wine can be oaked for as little as 3 months or as long as 10
years
16. Not all wines are made equal
- 99% 99% of all wine made does not age
-
- French Bordeaux Grand Cru
-
- French Burgundy Premier/Grand Cru
-
- Top Italian( Barolo, Super Tuscan)
-
- Top Australian ( Grange, Henscheke)
-
- Top Spanish( Rioja, Priorato)
-
- Top New Zealand red( Stoneyridge)
-
- Top American red wine (Cask 23)
17. Vintage is everything
- Only the best years are worth aging
18. Advantages of bottle aging
- Integration of components
- Secondary characteristics
Taittinger 19. 1855 1855 Classification
20. Examples of the top French labels
21. What do you perfer and why ?
22. Cork and screwcap
- 14 14 different grades of corks
23. Glassware is important
- The glass should taper towards the top, so that the aromas are
trapped in the glass
- The bowl should be large enough to allow you to swirl the
contents
- The glass must have a stem so the heat of your hand does not
transfer to the wine
- The glass should be plain and clear so you can see the colour
of the wine.
24. Pour wine
- A bottle is usually 18-20 pours
- Never pour more than half full
25. How to taste wine 26. Colour of wine tells a story
- Red wine gets lighter as it ages
- White wine gets darker as it ages
- Young red wines are purple in colour
- Old red wines can be brown in colour
- Check clarity of the wine
27. Smell is far more powerful
- There are literally thousands of recognisable smells
- When you have a blocked nose, food tastes bland
28. How many tastes can one taste ? 29. Tongue map
30. Components of wine
31. Write it down every time
- Making notes can be very useful
32. How to store wine
- 20 Temperature Constant (less than20 oC )
- Avoid movement (not next to a fridge)
33. What to look for when you are in a wine shop
- How warm/cold is the shop
- Is wine stored next to airconditioning or similar
- Fine wine should be stored on its side
- Regular tastings or updates
34. What is in theintermediateclass
- 4 Four-part course over four weeks
- Advanced tastingtechniques
- Red wine varietal characteristics
- White wine varietal characteristics
- 6 20 Taste over 20 wines from 6 countries
- Blind tasting & Wine options
35.
36. How many litres are the standard bordeaux wine barrique 225
245 37. Which country is the largest wine producer of the world 38.
Which country hasthe oldest vine in the world 39. How many litres
is the largest Champagne bottle you can purchase 15 12 40. What
percentage of wine produced in volumn comes from New Zealand 0.3%
1.5% 41. Who discovered tea in Chinese Mythology 42. Wine
components indepth - Tannin
- The tannins in a wine are derived from the pips, skins and
stalks. They are vitally important if a wine is intended to age, as
they are a natural preservative. The tannins givestructure
andbackboneto the wine. They can be sensed by a furring of the
mouth, or puckering of the gums, a sensation very similar to what
happens on drinking stewed tea. This is unsurprising, as this
effect is also due to tannins, released from the tealeaves after
stewing in the hot water for too long.
- Tannins are of more importance in the ageing of red wines
rather than white. The tannins act as a preservative, and as they
fade over many years, the simple, primary fruit flavours have time
to develop into the more complex flavours that are found in fine,
aged wines. A level of tannins that is sufficient to provide
structure, but not so obvious as to dominate the palate, is the
ideal when a wine is ready for drinking. For this reason tannins
are still important in red wines not intended for long ageing, as
they givegriporstructureto these wines also. Tannins may also have
different qualities, and may be described as harsh (especially in a
wine drunk too young, such as a young classed growth claret), soft
(eg. Beaujolais), stalky, chalky, etc.
43. Wine components indepth - Acidity
- All fruit requires acidity, be it an apple, lemon, mango or
grape. Acidity is what gives fruit its refreshing, flavoursome
sensation. Without it fruit would seem overly sweet and cloying, a
little like the sensation derived from drinking the sugary fruit
syrup in which some canned fruit is presented. Just like fruit,
wine also requires acidity. Too little, and it will seem dull,
flabby or perhaps cloying, particularly if it is a sweet wine. Too
much, and the wine will be sharp, harsh and undrinkable. Acidity
can be detected by the sharpness of the wine in the mouth,
particularly around the edges of the tongue near the front.
- Some acids, such as tartaric acid, are known as volatile acids,
and in small amounts these can really lift the flavours in the
wine. Too much, and the wine begins to resemble furniture polish,
acetone (nail-polish remover) or even vinegar. Higher acidity
denotes a wine from a cooler region, such as Northern France,
England or New Zealand. Low acid wines come from countries with
warmer weather, such as Australia, where acidity in the harvested
grapes is often low enough to warrant chemical acidification.
44. Wine components indepth - Alcohol
- Alcohol is the product of fermentation of the natural grape
sugars by yeasts, and without it wine simply doesn't exist. The
amount of sugar in the grapes determines what the final alcohol
level will be. In cool climates, such as Germany, where the vines
struggle to ripen their grapes, sugar levels will be minimal, and
consequently such wines often only reach 7 or 8% strength. In very
warm climes, however, the final alcohol level will be determined
not so much by the amount of sugar but rather by the yeasts
themselves. Once the alcohol level reaches about 14% the yeasts can
no longer function and rapidly die off. For this reason, wines with
a strength of more than 15% are almost certainly fortified.
- The conversion of sugar to alcohol is such a vital step in the
process of making wine, that the control of fermentation is the
focus of much of the attention of the modern winemaker.
Fermentation generates heat, and a cool, controlled fermentation
will result in very different flavours in the wine (in particular,
it protects fresh, delicate fruit flavours) when compared with
wines where fermentation is allowed to run riot. Although
fermentation will start naturally, thanks to yeasts naturally
present on the grapes in the vineyard, some winemakers prefer to
remove the element of chance this involves by kick-starting
fermentation using cultured strains of yeast. This can have
problems though - cultured yeast strains have been blamed for some
unusual characteristics in wine, such as banana flavours in
Beaujolais.
45. Wine components indepth - Sugar
- Following on from the above, it is clear that if fermentation
is arrested, either as a result of the yeasts failing in a
gradually increasing alcohol level in the ferment, or as a result
of mans intervention, there will as a consequence be some remaining
sugar in the wine. Even when the yeasts work is unhindered, most
wines still have at least 1g/L of residual sugar as some sugar
compounds are resistant to the action of the yeasts. Clearly, the
level of sugar in the wine determines how sweet it tastes. This is
quite subjective, however, and even wines that taste very dry have
some degree ofresidual sugar.Most dry wines have less than 2g/L of
sugar, although levels of up to 25g/L may be present in wines which
still taste dry due to the presence of acidity and tannin alongside
the sugar. The greater the amount of residual sugar, the sweeter
the wine, moving through demi-sec (Champagne) and off dry wines
(many German Rieslings) to the dessert wines of the world
(Sauternes, Tokay, etc). Some of these have incredibly high
concentrations of sugar, as much as 250g/L.
46. Wine components indepth - Oak
- Many wines are matured in oak barrels, and some are even
fermented in oak. Oak from different sources (most comes from
either the forests of France or USA) will impart different
characteristics on the wine, but in general oak maturation gives
aromas of butter, toffee, caramel, vanilla, spice and
butterscotch.
- French oak may give more buttery aromas, whereas American oak
gives stronger vanilla and spice aromas, although but there are
many more variables in the equation than this simple statement
suggests. It all depends on how much oak is used, how much of it is
new as opposed to re-used, how long the wine stays in contact with
the wood, whether the wine is merely aged in oak or whether the
fermentation takes place in it, how the oak has been treated, and
so on. For instance, barrels that have been 'toasted', which means
the cooper has formed them around a small fire, often burning the
oak shavings he has produced in the manufacturing process, will
have aromas of smoke and toast. Barrels that have been steamed
during manufacture, however, may give more oatmeal aromas.
47. Wine tasting indepth Sight 1
- It is worth taking a good look at the wine, as it's appearance
can yield a lot of information. It's best to view the wine against
a white background, in order to avoid mistaking the colour. This
doesn't have to be anything technical - a white plate or tablecloth
will do. Another good point to make is that the receptacles should
be made of plain, clear glass - trying to gauge the intensity of a
red wine through blue glass is notoriously difficult!
- Colour:The colour of a red wine will give a clue as to the age
of the wine. Many red wines start life as a deep purple colour,
sometimes almost opaque. With time, however, the wines lose this
youthful intensity, and begin to take on a paler, tawny, brick red
hue. Initially this appears at the rim of the wine, but as the
years go by the whole wine will take on this colour, fading to a
brick red or brown. The colour of a red wine may give a clue not
only to the age of the wine, however, but also to the grapes which
have been used. This is because different grapes produce wines of
differing intensities of colour. Pinot Noir tends to be pale, for
instance, whereas many other red grapes, particularly in their
youth, would be expected to be an inky purple-black.
48. Wine tasting indepth Sight 2
- Similar information may be gathered from inspecting a white
wine, although the pattern of colour change as a white wine ages is
different. A good example is Sauternes, the famous dessert wine of
Bordeaux. This wine starts off a lemon gold colour, but unlike a
red wine, which becomes paler as it ages, this wine deepens,
turning a rich, golden amber. This colour change is gradual,
occurring over many decades. As with red wines, the colour of a
white wine will also give some clue as to the grapes used, and also
from where the wine originates. Cool climate wines tend to be less
richly coloured, hence Burgundian Chardonnay will be paler than an
Australian example. Certain grapes have an almost characteristic
hue, such as the green tinge of Riesling.
49. Wine tasting indepth Smell 1
- Swirl the glass to throw the wine up onto the side of the
glass, thus increasing the surface area of wine in contact with the
air. It is at the interface between wine and air that aromas are
released, and thus increasing the surface area helps to make the
aromas more apparent. The agitation of the wine, of course, also
helps. To swirl effectively, don't fill the glass too full - in
fact less than half full is recommended. Be gentle, in order to
bring the wine up onto the side of the glass without spilling it
altogether. If you find you are spilling wine, and haven't
overfilled the glass, place the base of the glass on the table and
using a few good circular motions on the table top to get the
aromas going.
- Once done, stick your nose in the glass a take a good sniff,
and think about what aromas are coming up from the glass as you do
so. Young wines will haveprimaryaromas, relating to the grape
variety. Such smells are often fruit related, and hence wines are
described as smelling of blackcurrants, raspberries, and so on, or
maybe simply as 'fruity'.
50. Wine tasting indepth Smell 2
- As wines age moresecondaryaromas develop, which may be more
earthy or animalistic. I believe that the bouquet of a wine is the
most enjoyable part of the experience, more so than actually
tasting it. The aromas generated by a glass of fine wine can be
many, intertwined in a most intimate and complex manner. The aromas
of a wine take on many different forms, and very rarely does a wine
smell of grapes - but that is because the grapes most of us are
familiar with are table or dessert grapes, which are quite
unsuitable for making wine .
51. Wine tasting indepth Taste 1
- There is a lot more to describe when tasting the wine than
simple flavour. Flavours are often as expected following the
detection of certain aromas. On the 'palate' (the term used to
describe the characteristics of the wine detected in the mouth),
however, other elements come into play. Detecting the absolute
presence and relative quantities of these substances tells you
about quality, ageing potential, how well the wine will drink with
food, and so on. This empowers you to select good wines, and
discard bad ones, as you analyse the wine and understand what it is
you don't like about them.
- When you taste wine, it is important to realise that little of
the flavour that can be sensed actually involves the tongue. Much
more vital are the nasal chemoreceptors that are involved in smell.
Aromas from the wine in the mouth pervade the upper airways, and it
is sensations from the nasal receptors that we use to 'taste' the
wine. (This is why it is difficult to taste foods when you have a
head-cold). So breathe in and out through the nose as you taste,
and if you feel like it, slurp some air in through the mouth over
the wine. It will help to release the aromas, and probably raise a
few laughs!
- Pay attention to the way the wine changes as you hold it in the
mouth. First impressions on taking the wine into the mouth may be
referred to as the forepalate, followed by the mid and endpalate,
leading up to the finish.
52. Wine tasting indepth Taste 2
- The finish describes the sensations derived from swallowing the
wine. It will often be different to how the wine came across on the
palate, so take note. The flavours may linger for a while on the
palate after the wine has been swallowed, and this is referred to
as the length. The more length a wine has, the more time you have
to enjoy it, and it's probably true to say that such wines are
generally of better quality. Last of all, don't forget to spit. Not
necessary most of the time, of course, but at large trade tastings
it is the only way to stay upright. And long term, of course, it
protects the liver. If you do go to a large public tasting and are
nervous about spitting, don't be. Get yourself over the receptacle,
don't be afraid to lower your head towards it some way, and simply
release the wine from your mouth, almost letting gravity do the
job. As you get more confident you may be a little more directional
in your technique, but don't confuse confidence with inebriation.
Even when spitting, some alcohol is absorbed via the mucous
membranes of the mouth, and some via the small part that is
inevitably swallowed.