Wine for Beginners Flashcards Preview

The resultant liquid that is less sweet than the original grape juice and also alcoholic, while the carbon dioxide escapes as a gas.

In other words, white wine is made from just the grape pulp. (Also, white grape skins don’t contain red pigment.)

Wines with high acidity taste crisp and citrusy, making your mouth water. Low-acidity wines, on the other hand, can taste flabby; lacking in structure with no backbone bringing the wine’s elements together.

Tannins taste astringent and have a drying sensation in the mouth. Importantly, they contribute to the structure and mouthfeel of wine.

The body of a wine can range from light-bodied, like Pinot Grigio or Grenache; and medium-bodied, like Chenin Blanc and Merlot; to full-bodied, like Cabernet Sauvignon and oaked Chardonnay.

Full body is about density and weight, and these two thing typically occur when the wine has a high alcohol content (13.8% abv and higher).

Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, and Riesling are all examples of grape varieties.

White wines typically have lower alcohol than red wines

Unlike sparkling wine, such as Champagne or Prosecco.

Most still (i.e. non-sparkling) wines are made in a dry style. meaning they have very little residual sugar.

When a wine is described as “aromatic” it means that it packs a lot of delicious smells. These can be fruity, floral, earthy, herbaceous, or even vegetal (like green pepper and cut grass).

Sauvignon Blancs typically have strong citrus and green grassy notes.

Has red and black fruit-forward flavors

Has lots of stone, tropical, or citrus fruit flavors and aromas, depending on where the grapes are grown.

Depending on where the fruit is grown and the style the winemaker is going for, Chardonnay wines vary a lot.

For example, American Chardonnays are most often matured in oak and exhibit tropical fruits and vanilla flavors, while some French Chardonnays (like Chablis) are not matured in oak and exhibit very acidic, citrusy flavors and aromas.

Typically has notes of smoke, black fruit, and pepper spice.

Has bright acidity, and red fruit and earthy flavors and aromas.

Dark fruit aromas and flavors like blackberry and plum.

Typically has fruit, spice, and smoky notes.

Flavors include citrus, stone fruit, white flowers, and even gasoline!

For example, some young red wines can feel very astringent and harsh in the mouth, while more mature reds can be smooth and creamy.

The way the soil drains and its capacity to hold heat; the topography of the land and its exposure to the sun; and the location of the vineyard relative to the equator and nearby oceans and rivers… these are all aspects that contribute to the winemaking concept of “terroir” which is usually expressed in the quality, complexity, and flavor/aroma profile of the resultant wine, giving it a sense of place.

Aging wine allows it to develop complex flavors and aromas over time.

Some winemakers will cellar wine for one year, many years, or even decades before releasing it to market.

When you buy a wine, you can age it at home if you like, provided you can store it somewhere cool and dark.

Age is not directly proportional to quality! It’s possible for some wines to just get too old and will taste either sour, fruitless, and like vinegar or cooked (like stewed fruit / prunes).

Furthermore, wines with corks should be stored on their sides to keep the cork moist, while wines with screw caps can be stored either upright or on their sides.

Wine fridges are fantastic appliances for this purpose, since not everyone’s home comes with a basement or a cool, dark place they can store their wine.

In other words: on the cool side of room temperature.

Red wines can be served at the same temperature that they’re stored.

In other words: chilled!

Whites wines should be served at a cooler temperature than they’re stored. So it’s a good idea to put a white wine in the fridge several hours beforehand so that it’s nice and chilled by the time you intend to serve it.

Wine doesn’t store well in heat, light, and in environments that have extreme fluctuations in temperature, like your kitchen, where you fire up the stove on the daily.

It’s a fun and easy read, I promise!

Brut just means “dry”, but for sparkling wine.

As in Brainscape’s “Somm Talk” YouTube series.

You could also ask:

• “Do you have any wines on special tonight?”
• “What are some simple wines that are a great value?”
• “What are some wines with [characteristic X] that are ‘not too crazy fancy’?”

What you want to eat—more specifically its weight, complexity, and flavor profile—is paramount in choosing the perfect wine.

Ask the sommelier/server: “We’d like to order the Greek pizza / sea bass / filet mignon / quarter-pounder with cheese (just kidding), etc. What wine do you recommend to go with it?”

Do NOT suffer through a bad glass of wine! As long as you are polite, you are not inconveniencing the restaurant by sending a bad glass or bottle back.

When wine is exposed to the oxygen in air, it begins to oxidize, which creates different flavors and aromas that can actually complement the wine.

If left for too long, however, oxidation can rob a wine of its freshness, fruit, and color, ultimately causing it to spoil.

Cork taint is caused by penicillium mold, which is endemic to the cork. When this mold gets in contact with anything chlorine-based, it produces a compound called TCA (trichloroanisole), which has that characteristic musty, wet dog smell. Yuck

Decanters come in many shapes and sizes—some of them quite exotic—but what they all share in common is that they maximize the surface area of the wine that’s exposed to the air.

Most white and rosé wines don’t need to be decanted.

The sediment in wine is typically either tartrate crystals—dark, crunchy, flavorless little crystals—or it can be spent yeast, called lees. Both are completely natural byproducts of winemaking and neither will make you ill.

This is known as the traditional method of making sparkling wine.

Other sparkling wines, like Prosecco, are made using a quicker, cheaper method.

If you want to connect with other like-minded wine learners, join our Brainscape community in Discord!

If the bottle says “2018” on the front or back label, it means the grapes that were used to make that wine were harvested in 2018.

The appellation of a wine can represent a country, state, or specific vineyard area, such as Bordeaux in France, Napa Valley in California, or Stellenbosch in South Africa.

A long finish indicates that the wine has more complexity and depth, and so it’s seen as a very desirable quality!

Holding a glass by the stem prevents the heat from your hand from warming the wine.

Blending wines enable winemakers to achieve a certain vision or outcome that otherwise would have been controlled by that particular vintage’s grape yield (or shortcomings).

It’s like mixing two paints to create a different color. Red is an important color and blue is an important color… but mixing the two makes purple! This is where the artistry of winemaking can really shine.

The more viscous the wine, the more of these droplets will form, which tells you how much sugar or alcohol is present in the wine.

Depending on the style and quality of the wine, these “youthful characteristics” can be desirable (fresh, crisp flavors and bright fruits) or they can be undesirable (astringent, tart, underdeveloped green fruit flavors).

Most wineries will cellar their white wines for 8-12 months and their red wines for 12-36 months (and sometimes more) before releasing them to market. They do this because they want you to experience the wine at its best!

And so, you don’t have to age wine after buying it: you can drink it right away. However, if you did want to cellar a few to see how that improves their quality, stick with fuller-bodied red wines and make sure the place you store them is cool and dark!

The result is a dry wine; “dry” meaning there’s no residual sugar remaining. Essentially, the yeasts have run out of fuel!

According to the mobile shopping app Ibotta, which analyzed 50 million receipts submitted by its users, Tuesdays are the best days to shop for wine because many wine stores offer specials and discounts. For example, AstorWines.com offers 15% off every Tuesday.

Saturdays and Sundays, on the other hand, are the most expensive days to buy wine.