Leiths Introductory Certificate Wine Course Guide Introduction There is a difference between tasting and drinking. Tasting is a technique that allows you to work out the quality and value of a wine. Drinking is about relaxing and enjoying wine, preferably with food, and in good company. 1. What you need to know about wine – the basics The world’s wine producing regions lie broadly speaking between the parallels 35° and 50° north and 30° – 45° south of the equator. European wine regions are often referred to as “The Old World”. Wine producing countries in the southern hemisphere and including North America may be referred to as “The New World”. Factors that influence quality: A cool climate brings natural acidity Poor soils make the vine struggle and ‘dig deep’ to survive Grape varieties can themselves vary in quality Management of the vineyard throughout the year The work of the winemaker in the cellar 2. What makes a wine taste like it does? There are a number of factors influencing wine style: • Grape variety • Place the grapes are grown, known as “Terroir” by the French. This includes climate, soil and the lie of the land • Winemaking – for instance the use of oak • How old the wine is – young wines often smell of fresh fruits and flowers, whereas older wines develop different characters. • Vintage, which refers to the year the grapes were picked (not the quality). In “marginal” climates like Bordeaux, there can be big differences in annual weather conditions 3. Grape varieties Different grape varieties have different aromas and flavours, so they are the principal cause of different flavours in wine. Because of the common New World practice of labelling by grape variety, wine is often defined by its grape. However French, Italian and other European wines are more likely to be defined by region. The wines of some regions are based on a single grape variety, e.g. chardonnay for white Burgundy, pinot noir for red Burgundy. Others are made from a blend, most notably Bordeaux, Champagne, Rioja and Chianti. © Leiths School of Food and Wine Ltd 2016 There are hundreds of different grape varieties in use by the wine industry today. The best-known are the popular ‘international travellers’ which perform well world-wide. There are many other grape varieties, which tend to be local to their region. Here is a list of the most popular grape varieties. White Red • Chardonnay • Cabernet Sauvignon • Sauvignon Blanc • Merlot • Riesling • Pinot Noir • Syrah / Shiraz • Semillon • Grenache • Viognier • Malbec • Pinot Gris (Pinot grigio) • Cabernet Franc • Chenin Blanc • Barbera • Muscat (Asti Spumante & other • Tempranillo ( Rioja) sweeties) • Sangiovese (Chianti) • Torrontés • Nebbiolo ( Barolo) • Gewürztraminer 4. Wine Styles. Wines from the New World tend to be fuller-bodied, smoother and higher in alcohol, but there are a growing number of exceptions! White Wines • Aromatic whites, most commonly made from Sauvignon Blanc, Gewürztraminer, Riesling, Muscat. These are not normally oak aged and are often lighter in style, crisp and refreshing. • Oak-aged whites, typically made from Chardonnay or perhaps Semillon. The most famous Chardonnay-based whites are from Burgundy in France. These dry whites can often be fuller-bodied and more buttery in style. • Sweet whites are generally either fortified, such as Muscats from the Mediterranean countries, or are made from riper grapes. The latter often have the words Late Harvested on the label. Red Wines - Most red wines are dry. • light-bodied, such as Valpolicella from Italy and reds from Beaujolais or the Loire Valley in France. Can often be served lightly chilled. • medium-bodied.e.g. red Bordeaux, Rioja, Pinot Noir (red Burgundy). • full-bodied, e.g. Australian Shiraz, California Zinfandel, Argentinian Malbec • Just because a red wine has a deep colour does not necessarily mean it is fuller bodied or higher quality. Many of the world’s greatest red wines are actually pale in colour. Rosé Wines • European Rosés tend to be pale in colour and dry. Typically, they come from Southern France (Provence), Italy, Spain and Portugal. • New World Rosés vary more in colour and tend to be sweeter than those from Europe. Colour is not an indication of quality. Fortified Wines © Leiths School of Food and Wine Ltd 2016 • Port, can be vintage, tawny, vintage character, late bottled vintage. • Sherry, long-term decline but refreshing, dry styles like fino and manzanilla are undergoing a revival. • Madeira. There are four main styles from dry to sweet. • Muscats such as Beaumes de Venise and Rivesaltes. Champagne and Sparkling Wines Champagne, the best known sparkling wine, can only be made in the Champagne region in Northern France. Sparkling wines made anywhere else in France or the rest of the world cannot use the Champagne name. NV - Most Champagne is “Non-vintage” (NV) which means blended from wines from more than one vintage for consistency of style. Brut – medium dry to dry. Demi-sec – medium dry to medium sweet. Blanc de Blancs – made 100% from Chardonnay Blanc de Noirs –made from black grapes, mainly Pinot Noir Rosé – made from black grapes or a blend of black and white. Vintage – Champagne from a very good year. De Luxe or Prestige Cuvée- top of the range Champagne. 5. Making Wine Wine is made from fresh grapes. The grapes are fermented by the following process: Sugar (in the grape juice) + yeasts (natural or cultured) ⇒ ⇒⇒ fermentation ⇒ ⇒⇒ alcohol + carbon dioxide. The main difference between white and red wine making is in the colour of the grape and the processing: A. Making Dry White Wine • The grapes (normally white) are pressed, to separate the juice from the skins and pips. • Temperature controlled fermentation of just the grape juice • If all the grape sugars are converted to alcohol, a dry white wine is produced. If fermentation is stopped half way, a sweet wine is made. • Fermentation and/or ageing in wooden barrels (normally oak) gives vanilla, oaky flavours best suited to more neutral grape varieties like Chardonnay. B. Making Red Wine • Black grapes are crushed. • Fermentation (warmer than for most whites – the higher temperature leads to better extraction of colour and tannin). • Colour comes from the black grape skins which are effectively macerated during the fermentation. • The skins are pressed after fermentation • Maturation in oak barrels (softens tannins and can add flavour). C. Making Rosé Wines © Leiths School of Food and Wine Ltd 2016 • In New World countries, Rosé wines are often made by blending red and white wines or black and white grapes. • This practice is not normally allowed in Europe. In Europe, the juice of black grapes is macerated on the skins for a short period of time (24 to 48 hours) to extract a small amount of colour. The juice is then separated from the skins and fermented like a white wine. D. Making Sweet Wines This involves stopping the fermentation before all the sugar has been converted to alcohol. There are 3 main ways of doing this: • Eliminating the yeast part of the way through fermentation, normally by filtration. • Harvesting the grapes late so that they are especially sweet and there is still some grape sugar left in the wine after fermentation is complete. The best known wines in this style are made from grapes with “Noble Rot”. • “Fortifying” wines with grape spirit which is high in alcohol and kills the yeast. This results in higher alcohol “Fortifed wines”, such as Port, Sherry and Muscat de Beaumes-de-Venise. E. Champagne and Sparkling wines The process of fermentation produces carbon dioxide gas as well as alcohol. If the fermentation takes place in a sealed container so that the carbon dioxide produced cannot escape, the gas dissolves in the wine and makes it naturally sparkling. Cheaper sparkling wines are generally fermented in large stainless steel tanks. Higher quality sparkling wines (such as Champagne and CAVA) are fermented in bottles, which is a much more expensive process but which leads to a finer style of wine. 6. How to taste Tasting, paradoxically, is about using more senses than just our sense of taste. • Appearance. Wines should be clear and bright. White wines tend to be pale when young, but can be more golden in colour if they are older or sweet or where they show oak influence. Red wines generally start off deeper in colour, with hints of ruby or purple, but then lose colour and become garnet brown as they age. • Nose. If a wine is faulty (corked or oxidised), the fault can normally be identified on the nose. Most so called flavours in wine (fruits, flowers, nuts, herbs, spices, oak, dairy) are actually aromas that are picked up by our sense of smell. Different grape varieties bring different aromas to wines. • Taste. Take a decent mouthful and swirl the wine in the mouth for 4 to 5 seconds. Sweetness and fruit will be picked up on the tip and middle of the tongue; acids typically on the side of the tongue; alcohol at the back of the mouth / throat; tannin around the teeth / gums. A higher quality wine will normally have good “balance” and be mouthwatering. • Aftertaste. Better quality wines normally leave a flavoursome, appetising aftertaste. 7. Matching food and wine © Leiths School of Food and Wine Ltd 2016 Our drinking and eating habits have changed radically in the last 20 years. The simple rule ‘red wine with meat, white wine with fish’ applies broadly, but there is much more scope for experimentation today thanks to the huge variety of eclectic cuisines available. Food and wine matching is heavily influenced by the revolution in international and ethnic cuisine. The wines we enjoy are no longer automatically French but often New World (from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, California, Chile and Argentina), i.e.