Week 1

At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:

 identify the relationship between wine consumption and health.
 describe the history of wine and culture affecting wine production
and consumption.
 identify the old world and new world wine countries.
 identify the types and categories of wine.
At the end of this lesson, you should be able to:
 state the THREE (3) factors that determine the main styles of wine.
 state the major steps of winemaking process.
 explain in detail, the winemaking process for red, white and rose
wines.
 identify the FIVE (5) different parts on wine labels.
 state the main characteristics of the principal grape varieties.
 Wine is a fermented beverage produced from the juice of any fruit, usually
grapes.

 The most common fruit wines are made from apples (called cider), pears,
plums, and berries.

 The vast majority of wines produced in the world each year are made from grapes,
especially one specific species of grape: Vitis vinifera, or the “wine grape”.
 Wine is an alcoholic beverage obtained from the
fermentation of the juice of freshly gathered
grapes, the fermentation taking place in the district of
origin according to local tradition and practice.
  A chemical process by which sugar is converted into alcohol

Sugar + Yeast = Ethanol (alcohol) + Carbon Dioxide (CO2) + Heat

natural sugar the alcohol found in all

from the grape feeds on sugars alcoholic beverages
pulp and the skin of the
grape
 The French Paradox
 Despite having one of the richest diets on the planet, the
French have one of the lowest rates of obesity and heart
disease anywhere.
 The study indicated that the higher a country’s wine
consumption, the lower its mortality rate due to heart
diseases.
 Regular, moderate consumption
 “Not too much and not too little”
 Moderate consumption
 Difference between sexes
 Consumption of wine a day depending on the individual’s
body weight
 Wine should be drunk with food and not on an empty
stomach
The story really started in China. It has been recognized
as coming from a fermented beverage made of a mixture of
rice, honey and fruit, radiocarbon dated to 7,000 – 6,600 B.C.

The presence of fruit was identified by the tartaric acid /

tartrate remnants in the bottom of a jar, familiar to anyone
who drinks wine from corked bottles today.
Researchers could not narrow the species of the tartrate
down between grape, hawthorn, or longyan or cornelian
cherry, or a combination of two or more of those.

Grape seeds and hawthorn seeds have both been found at

Jiahu.

Textual evidence for the use of grapes (but not grape wine)
date to the Zhou Dynasty (ca 1046-221 BC).
If grapes were used in wine recipes, they were from a wild
grape species native to China-there are between 40 and 50
different wild grape species in China-not imported from
western Asia.

The European grape was introduced into China in the

second century BC, with other imports resulting from the
Silk Road.
The earliest firm evidence for wine-making to date in
western Asia is from the Neolithic period site called Hajji
Firuz, Iran, where a deposit of sediment preserved in the
bottom of an amphora proved to be a mix of tannin and
tartrate crystals.

The site deposits included five more jars like the one with
the tannin/tartrate sediment, each with a capacity of about 9
liters of liquid. Hajji Firuz has been dated to 5400-5000 BC.
Sites outside of the normal range for grapes with early
evidence for grapes and grape processing in western Asia
include Lake Zeriber, Iran, where grape pollen was found in
a soil core just before ~4300 cal BC.

Charred fruit skin fragments were found at Kurban Höyük in

southeastern Turkey by the late 6th-early 5th millennia
BC.
Wine importation from western Asia has been identified in
the earliest days of dynastic Egypt.

A tomb belonging to the Scorpion King (dated about 3150

BC) contained 700 jars believed to have been made and
filled with wine in the Levant and shipped to Egypt.
In Europe, wild grape (Vitis vinifera) pips have been found
in fairly ancient contexts, such as Franchthi Cave, Greece
(12,000 years ago), and Balma de l'Abeurador, France
(about 10,000 years ago).

But evidence for domesticated grapes is later than that of

the East Asia, but similar to that of the western Asia grapes.
Old World vs. New World
 Examples:
 Italy
 France
 Spain
 Portugal
 Austria
 Germany
 Greece etc.
 Examples:
 United States
 Australia
 New Zealand
 Argentina
 Chile
 S. Africa etc.
 Light Wines
 Majority of wines
 8-15% alcohol level
 Examples:
 Burgundy and Bordeaux from France
 Rioja from Spain
 Chianti from Italy

 Sparkling Wines  Fortified Wines

 Bubbles of carbon dioxide trapped
 Extra alcohol added
 Examples:
 15-22% alcohol level
 Champagne from France
 Examples:
 Cava from Spain
 Sherry from Spain
 Asti from Italy
 Port from Portugal
 Color
 Red
 White
 Rosé

 Sweetness
 Dry
 Examples: Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand
 Medium
 Examples: White Zinfandel from California
 Sweet
 Examples: Sauternes from France
Week 1
 Producer / Name: Lucien Albrecht
 Region: Alsace, France
 Variety / Appellation: Riesling
 Vintage: 2014
 Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 12.0%
 Producer / Name: L’Ostal Cazes
 Region: France
 Variety / Appellation: IGP
 Vintage: 2014
 Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 13.0%
 Producer / Name: La Fleur Saint Georges
 Region: Lalande de Pomerol, Bordeaux, France
 Variety / Appellation: Lalande de Pomerold AOC
 Vintage: 2012
 Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 13.5%
 Producer / Name: Weingut Max Ferd. Richter
 Region: Mosel, Germany
 Variety / Appellation: Riesling Spätlese Trocken
 Vintage: 2011
 Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 12.5%
 Producer / Name: Weingut Max Ferd. Richter
 Region: Mosel, Germany
 Variety / Appellation: Riesling Spätlese
 Vintage: 2014
 Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 7.5%
 Producer / Name: d’Arenberg – The Noble Mud Pie
 Region: McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia
 Variety / Appellation: Viognier, Roussanne
 Vintage: 2010
 Alcohol by Volume (ABV): 8.0%
 Body
 Light Bodied
 Refreshing, easy to drink
 Examples: Pinot Grigio from Italy
 Medium Bodied
 Richer and more substantial
 May have been in oak barrels
 Examples: Merlot from Chile
 Full Bodied
 More concentrated and heavy
 Due to the ripeness of the grape
 Examples: Shiraz from Australia
  a chemical process by which sugar is converted into alcohol

Sugar + Yeast = Ethanol (alcohol) + Carbon Dioxide (CO2) + Heat

natural sugar the alcohol found in all

from the grape feeds on sugars alcoholic beverages
pulp and the skin of the
grape
 Wine is a fermented beverage
produced from the juice of any fruit, usually grapes.
The grape contains all the
materials needed to make
wine: sugar (for alcohol),
water, acids, flavors, color
and tannins. The quantity
and quality of these
components depend on the
grape variety, the
environment where it has
ripened , and how it has
been grown.
Grapes, like other fruit, need to have
enough sunlight and heat to
ripen.

If there is enough sunlight and heat the

grapes ripen properly; the level of acid
drops and the level of sugar increases.

For black grapes, the skins change

color from green to red and then deep
purple.
 Northern and Southern hemisphere wine producing regions lie between 30-50
degrees for sufficient summer sunshine and moderate winter.
 The annual mean temperatures are between 10 and 20 °C (50 and 68 °F).
 The presence of large bodies of water and mountain ranges can have
positive effects on the climate and vines.

 Nearby lakes and rivers can serve as protection for drastic temperature
drops at night by releasing the heat that the water has stored during the day to
warm the vines.
Although many factors can affect the  Climate  Slope  Soil
overall quality of a grape vine, the
three most important are climate,
slope, and soil.
Examples include regions in Northern France and Germany.

Cool climate regions will give wines that are:

 Mainly white
 High in acidity
 Lower in alcohol
 Refreshing
Examples include regions in Southern France, Central Spain and
Australia.

Hot climate regions will give wines that are:

 Mainly red because black grapes need more heat to ripen

 High in alcohol
 Rich in flavor
 Hillsides and slopes are preferred
over flatter terrain:
 Vines growing on a slope can receive a
greater intensity of the sun's rays.
 Small slopes that are elevated above
surrounding ground are the best.
 Slope affords better drainage.
 In cooler regions of the northern
hemisphere, south-facing slopes
receive more hours of sunlight and are
preferred; in warmer climates, north-
facing slopes are preferred. In the
southern hemisphere, these
orientations are reversed.
 Quality soil is important to allow
plants to have better root systems.
 Different grape species prefer
various soil conditions, although
there are general quality factors.
 Favorable soil conditions include:
 Aeration
 Loose texture
 Good drainage
 Moderate fertility
 Mildew
 Frost
 Phylloxera
 Plant virus
White Grapes (or
sometimes black grapes)
 White Wine

Black Grapes  Red

Wine
 Picking
 Crushing
 Fermenting
 Pressing
 Maturing
 Bottling
 Grapes are picked in the Autumn.
 Northern Hemisphere – August to October
 Southern Hemisphere – February to April

white
 Most vineyards will start with
grapes and then move to red varietals.
 The grapes are collected in bins or lugs and
then transported to the crushing pad.
 Crushing of the grapes juice is called “ must”
red wine are crushed and their stems are
 Black grapes for
removed, the juice is kept in contact with the skins during
fermentation to give color to the wine and add
tannin, both of which are found in the skin.
 For white wine, only the juice is used. The tannins
and any color in the skins are not desired.
 the process where juice is extracted from grapes

white wine production, pressing usually takes

 In
immediately after crushing and before primary
fermentation.
red wine production, the grapes are also crushed
 In
but pressing usually doesn't take place till after or
near the end of fermentation with the
time of skin contact between the juice and grapes
leaching color and tannins from the skin.
 wooden vats, stainless steel
 The winemaker will have a choice of
tanks or cement tanks, this can influence the final style of wine
by either adding flavors or not.
 The newly fermented wine is removed from its fermentation vessel.

 Red wines will be pressed first to remove the wine from the skins.
 White wines are fermented without skin contact at low
temperatures (typically 15-20°C).
 To preserve delicate fruit aromas
 Takes between 2 and 4 weeks
 Rose wines are fermented with skin contact for 12 – 24
hours at low temperatures (typically 15-20°C) until the
appropriate pink color has been achieved.
 Red wines are fermented at higher temperatures (25-30°C).
 Richly-flavored wine (e.g. Bordeaux) – more than two weeks
 Light wine (e.g. Beaujolais) – five days
 It refers to changes in wine after fermentation and before bottling.
 Some wines mature for longer than other according to the style of wine required.
 Changes in wine due to maturation:
 Color
 Taste and mouth feel
 Aroma
Flavors in a wine become more intense due to several of these winemaking choices:
 Aging for several years vs. several months
 Aging in stainless steel vs. oak
 Aging in new oak vs. ‘neutral’ or used barrels
 Aging in American oak barrels vs. French oak barrels
 Aging in various levels of ‘toasted’ barrels (i.e. charred by fire)
5 Basic Parts To A Wine Label
 Producer or Name
 The producer name is either obvious or in small
text at the top or the bottom of the label (such as
many French wine label examples).
 This is who made the wine.
5 Basic Parts To A Wine Label
 Region
 The region indicates from where the grapes were
sourced to produce the wine.
 Different countries have different rules about what
region appears on the bottle
 Often a distinction has to be made between the
region where the grapes are grown and the region
where it is bottled
5 Basic Parts To A Wine Label
 Variety or Appellation
 The variety refers to what
grape or grapes are used in
making the wine.
 Many blends will not reveal
the constituent grapes nor the
percentage that each makes
of the whole.
 If there is no varietal given,
look for the Appellation.
5 Basic Parts To A Wine Label
 Vintage or Non-Vintage (NV)
 The year that the grapes were harvested is the vintage.
 The vintage tells a lot about a wine if you are familiar
with vintage variations.
 Multi-vintage wines or “NV” wines are lower value wines
because they have the ease of pulling wine from
multiple vintages to control the flavor.
5 Basic Parts To A Wine Label
 Alcohol by Volume (ABV)
 The alcohol level actually says a lot about a
wine.
 Many European wine regions only allow their
highest quality wines to have 13.5% ABV and
above.
 The alcohol level is an indication of how
rich/big the wine may taste.
 Many higher alcohol wines are made from
riper grapes and tend to have more fruit
forward flavors.
Old World Wine Label New World Wine Label
1. Producer

3. Variety
(Appellation)

2. Region

4. Vintage

5. ABV
1. Producer or Name?
2. Region?
3. Variety or Appellation?
4. Vintage or Non-Vintage (NV)?
5. Alcohol by Volume (ABV)?
1. Producer or Name?
2. Region?
3. Variety or Appellation?
4. Vintage or Non-Vintage (NV)?
5. Alcohol by Volume (ABV)?
Estate Bottled Wine
 The wine was grown, produced and bottled on the wine estate.
 Examples:
 Mis en Bouteille au Château (France) – Bottled at the castle
 Mis en Bouteille a la Propriete (France) – Bottled at the property
 Mis en Bouteille au domaine (France) – Bottled at the estate
 Embotellat a la Propietat (Spain) – Bottled at the property
 Imbottigliato all’origine (Italy) – Estate bottled
 Erzeugerabfüllung (Germany) – Estate bottled
Reserve
 The indication of Reserve sounds
fancy but it doesn’t mean
anything official.
 There are no rules to what a
reserve wine is and thus this word on
a bottle could mean nothing
at all.
Old Vine / Vieilles Vignes
 The use of grapes from older vines
typically lends to more
concentrated flavors in a
wine.
 There are no rules to say how old the
old vine must be to get an “Old Vine”
designation.
 Vines can range from 15 to 115 years.
 Producers use it to help indicate the
style of wine they produce.
Sur Lie
 The French expression for "on the
lees."
 Lees is the coarse sediment, which
consists mainly of dead yeast cells
and small grape particles that
accumulate during fermentation.
 Winemakers believe that certain
wines benefit from being aged sur
lie.
White
 Chardonnay (Say it – Shar-don-nay)
 Sauvignon Blanc (Say it – Sew-vin-yon-Blonk)
 Riesling (Say it – Rees-ling)
Red
 Cabernet Sauvignon (Say it – Ca-bur-ney-Sew-vin-yon)
 Merlot (Say it – Mer-low)
 Pinot Noir (Say it – Pee-no N-wa)
 Shiraz / Syrah (Say it – Si-rah, Shi-razz)
Fun Facts:
 Chardonnay is the most diverse –and
most planted– white wine grape in
the world.
 A very ripe Chardonnay will have
flavors more towards tropical fruits
like pineapple, guava and mango.
 A barely ripe Chardonnay will have
green apple and lemon flavors.
Fun Facts:
 The name Sauvignon is from the
French word Sauvage meaning
“wild.”
 It originated in the Loire Valley of
France.
 It is a parent grape of Cabernet
Sauvignon (the other is Cabernet
Franc).
Fun Facts:
 Riesling is one of the most aromatic
grape varieties in the world. Besides
primary fruit aromas, you will often
get a chemical aroma similar to
petrol/gas in Riesling.
 The most expensive wines made from
Riesling are late harvest dessert
wines, produced by letting the
grapes hang on the vines well past
normal picking time.
The “Noble Rot”
Fun Facts:
 Cabernet Sauvignon is actually a
natural crossing of Cabernet Franc
and Sauvignon Blanc that occurred
during in the 1600’s.
 Cabernet Day – held on the Thursday
before Labor Day at the end of
August – is to celebrate the variety.
 The green bell pepper smell in
Cabernet Sauvignon has been
traced, and tend to be higher in
unripe Cabernet Sauvignon.
Fun Facts:
 Merlot wine is currently the most
planted grape variety in France.
 Merlot is the offspring of Cabernet
Franc (the father) also.
 Merlot is a thin-skinned grape that is
very sensitive to its environment. But
because Merlot wine is so sensitive to
light, Merlot based wines tinge
orange on the rim. The orange rim is
the telltale sign of Merlot vs.
Cabernet Sauvignon.
Fun Facts:
 Pinot Noir is one of France’s ancient
grapes dating back to the 1st century.
 The most famous region for Pinot
Noir is around Dijon, France.
 Pinot Noir likes cool climate. Of all
the wine growing regions of the
world, pinot noir prefers areas with a
long spring and fall.
Fun Facts:
 The word Syrah may hail from
“Syracruse” – a city in Sicily which
was a powerful city during the
ancient Greek rule in 400 BC.
 Some of the most expensive Syrah in
the world is from the 340+ acre
appellation called Hermitage.
 Syrah likes a view – grows best
towards the top of hills where there is
less soil, making the vines produce
less (but more concentrated) grapes.