Contents Section 1 - for the Love of Wine
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For the Love of Wine – Basic Wine Knowledge Contents Section 1 - For the love of wine ........................................................................................................................................ 2 For the love of wine ...................................................................................................................................................... 2 History of wine .............................................................................................................................................................. 2 History of wine in Australia ........................................................................................................................................... 3 Wine Making Process .................................................................................................................................................... 3 What gives wine its colour? .......................................................................................................................................... 4 Wine Terminology ......................................................................................................................................................... 5 Section 2 – Varieties and Regions ................................................................................................................................... 10 Wine Varieties ............................................................................................................................................................. 10 White wines ................................................................................................................................................................ 10 Red Wine ..................................................................................................................................................................... 13 Other wines ................................................................................................................................................................. 15 Regions in Australia where wine is made ................................................................................................................... 16 SOUTH AUSTRALIA ......................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. VICTORIA ........................................................................................................................ Error! Bookmark not defined. NEW SOUTH WALES ....................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. WESTERN AUSTRALIA..................................................................................................... Error! Bookmark not defined. Section 3 – Wine Tasting & Matching ............................................................................................................................. 22 Wine Tasting ............................................................................................................................................................... 22 Food matching tips ...................................................................................................................................................... 23 General Food Matching .............................................................................................................................................. 24 Section 4 – Selling Wine .................................................................................................................................................. 26 Selling wine ................................................................................................................................................................. 26 Serving Wine ............................................................................................................................................................... 27 Wine facts ................................................................................................................................................................... 27 THE FINAL CRUSH ........................................................................................................................................................ 28 Page 1 of 28 (c) Hospitality Institute of Australasia 2012 For the Love of Wine – Basic Wine Knowledge Section 1 - For the love of wine For the love of wine Wine, and wine sales, are a very important part of the hospitality and liquor industries. Restaurants, clubs, pubs, hotels and function centres rely heavily on the responsible sale of wine to its customers. Though wine does not normally sell as much as beer and some Ready-to- Drink (RTD....i.e. Jim Beam and cola in a can or bottle), there is normally more profit in a glass of wine and this is why sale of wine are very important. This short course in Wine Knowledge aims to give you: Brief history of wine The wine making process Important wine terms and information. Styles of wines Wine Tasting Food matching tips Regions in Australia where wine is made Some Australian wine facts Selling wines Selling wine is all about knowledge and confidence. This course should arm you with enough knowledge to be confident in selling wines to customers. Good Luck History of wine One barrel of wine can work more miracles than a church full of saints ITALIAN PROVERB Wine has been around for thousands of years but grapes even longer. Fossil vines, 60-million-years-old, are the earliest scientific evidence of grapes. Archaeological evidence suggests that the earliest wine production occurred in Georgia (Eastern Europe) around 7,000 BC. Other regions that enjoyed wine were Greater Iran, 4,500 BC and Armenia 4,100 BC. Earliest evidence of wine production and grape crushing were in Northern Greece around 6,500 years ago. In Egypt, wine became part of recorded history and played an important part in ceremonial life. It was not till the Phoenicians and Romans times did wine making really take off. Plantations were established and improved wine making methods which included wine presses, cultivation techniques, grape varieties and barrels for storing and shipping wine. Medieval Europe continued the march forward in wine making technology and production. The Christian Church maintained that they needed wine for the celebration of the Catholic Mass. Page 2 of 28 (c) Hospitality Institute of Australasia 2012 For the Love of Wine – Basic Wine Knowledge With Medieval Europe expanding into the Americas, South East Asia, South Pacific and the Africa’s wine went with them and eventually wine growing regions were established all over the world. Wine is sunlight held together by water GALILEO (1564-1642) History of wine in Australia What is the definition of a good wine? It should start and end with a smile. WILLIAM SOKOLIN Captain Arthur Phillip is credited with bringing the first grape vines to Sydney Australia. The vines were from Brazil and Cape of Good Hope. The early grape varieties were Pinot Gris, Frontignac, Gauais, Verdelho, and Cabernet Sauvignon. Unfortunately growing conditions in and around Sydney were not suited for grape growing due to the heat. In time the early settlers found better conditions for growing grapes in such areas as Hunter Valley NSW, Eden Valley SA and Geelong VIC. By 1854 the first wine was exported to the United Kingdom a mere 6,291 litres (today Australia exports about 800 million litres all over the world) In the mid 1,800’s Phylloxera (grape vine disease) decimated nearly all wine regions in Australia except some parts of South Australia who now lay claim to some of the oldest vines in the world. In the early of the 1,900’s most of Australia’s wines were sweet fortified wine known in the UK as “Colonial wine”. It was not till the 1950’s and 60’s with high migrant immigration (Italy, Greece, German) that tastes changed and these migrants introduced the culture of enjoying food with table wine in restaurants and at home. By the mind 1,970’s fortified wines has lost their dominance in the Australian Market. By the 1980’s Australians enjoyed 17.3 litre per capita of red and white wine. Today Australia has over 60 designated wine regions and its wines are recognised all over the world for their quality and great value. Wine is the most civilized thing in the world. ERNEST HEMINGWAY (1899-1961) Wine Making Process “Wine cheers the sad, revives the old, inspires the young and makes weariness forget his toil” LORD BYRON (1788- 1824) Wine making is not complex and has not really changed for hundreds of years. What has changed is the technology and machinery used in the wine making process. This is a quick step by step wine making process: 1. Crusher - Fresh grapes are picked from the vines and de-stemmed and crushed. 2. Press - The juice is strained and drained from the grapes, stems and skin Page 3 of 28 (c) Hospitality Institute of Australasia 2012 For the Love of Wine – Basic Wine Knowledge 3. Vat/ Tank - The juice and natural yeast, from the skins, are added to a vat or oak barrel to ferment. The yeast converts the grapes natural sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide, which then bubbles and dissipates 4. Fermentation The juice, now called “must”, ferments at controlled temperatures for up to a couple of weeks until the sugar is gone 5. Filter - The dead yeast are now either removed or