wine beginer course jan06 chinese english

1. Ruby Red Simon Zhou

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.

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.

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.

3 Grapes 3 years to grow

Harvest and transport to winery

/ Press/ferment

Age in oak

Age in bottle

Release

Ice wine

Fortified wine

Sparkling wine

/ 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

CabernetS auvignon

Merlot

Pinot Noir

Shiraz /

Chardonnay /

Sauvignon Blanc /

Riesling /

Gewrztraminer /

Pinot Gris

Old world vs new world

France

Germany

Portugal

Australia

New Zealand

South Africa

Many wines are matured in oak barrels

2 main types of oak

French

American

225 3000 Sizes range from 225L to 3000L

Wine can be oaked for as little as 3 months or as long as 10 years

99% 99% of all wine made does not age

Wines that will age

French Bordeaux Grand Cru

French Burgundy Premier/Grand Cru

Vintage Champagne

Port/Sherry

Top Italian( Barolo, Super Tuscan)

Top Australian ( Grange, Henscheke)

Top Spanish( Rioja, Priorato)

Top New Zealand red( Stoneyridge)

Top American red wine (Cask 23)

Only the best years are worth aging

For example

1990 Bordeaux

1997 Tuscan (Italian)

Softer tannins

Soft acidity

Develop complexity

Integration of components

Secondary characteristics

Premier Cru 5

Deuximes Crus 14

Troisimes Crus 14

Quatrimes Crus 10

Cinquimes Crus 18

Chateau Lafite-Rothchild

Chateau Latour

Chateau Margaux

Chateau Haut-Brion

Chateau Mouton-Rothchild

Chateau Petrus

Chateau Chavel Blanc

Screw cap

Plasic cork

vs Cork vs screw cap

14 14 different grades of corks

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.

A bottle is usually 18-20 pours

Never pour more than half full

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

There are literally thousands of recognisable smells

When you have a blocked nose, food tastes bland

Example of aroma wheel

4 4 Main tastes

Bitter

Alcohol

Tannin

All must be in balance

Our memory is limited

Making notes can be very useful

Scoring systems

100( US)

20( UK)

5( RubyRed )

20 Temperature Constant (less than20 oC )

55 Humidity (around 55%)

Store in darkness

Avoid movement (not next to a fridge)

How warm/cold is the shop

Is wine stored next to airconditioning or similar

Fine wine should be stored on its side

Knowledge of shop person

Range of selection

Regular tastings or updates

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

Wine and food matching

Blind tasting & Wine options

Wine Quiz

Mystry Gift

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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'.

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 .

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.

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.

wine beginer course jan06 chinese english

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