Flashcards in C7 - Common Elements In Winemaking And Maturation Deck (222)
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1
What is the next stage in winemaking after harvest?
The grapes are processed and prepared for alcoholic fermentation
2
On a basic level, what is alcoholic fermentation?
Yeast converts sugars in the grape to alcohol
3
What is the next basic stage of winemaking after alcoholic fermentation?
The wine needs to be stored prior to packaging and sale
4
Broadly speaking, what are natural wines?
Wines made with minimal intervention
5
Describe the seeds and stems of the grape
Both contain tannins
Seeds contain high levels of bitter oils
6
How are stems made available to the winemaker
By hand harvesting
7
Why is the grape skin important to the winemaker?
The skin and the area immediately underneath, contain high levels of flavour compounds (containing the grape's signature character)
It contains tannins
It contains colour compounds
8
A large number of chemical compounds are classed as...
Tannin
9
Describe tannins at Véraison
How does this change?
They taste very bitter and astringent
As grapes ripen, bitterness and astringency fall
10
What is the Bloom of a grape?
The waxy surface that covers the skin of a grape
It contains yeast that can be used for fermentation
11
List the three major constituents of a grape's pulp
Water
Sugar
Acid
12
What is the largest constituent of a grape's pulp?
Water
13
What is the second largest constituent of a grape's pulp?
Sugar
14
In order, what are the most abundant acids in a grape's pulp?
Tartaric acid
Malic acid
15
What can oxygen react with during winemaking and maturation?
Grape juice
Many of the component parts of a wine
16
What is oxidation?
Oxygen reacting with any component part of a wine
17
What is the biggest threat to a winemaker wanting their wine to be dominated by primary fruit characteristics?
Oxidation
18
How is the risk of oxidation broadly avoided by a winemaker?
Use of antioxidants such as Sulfur Dioxide
Keeping oxygen contact to a minimum
19
Why might grapes be picked at night?
It is cooler and the effect of oxygen is reduced because chemical reactions occur more slowly at lower temperatures
20
How are grapes kept away from oxygen once they reach the winery? What is this process called?
By filling airtight winery equipment with carbon dioxide or nitrogen before they are used for grape processing or winemaking
Protective/anaerobic winemaking
21
What is the argument against anaerobic winemaking?
Some argue that the resultant wines may be bland or uninteresting and that a higher level of oxygen contact helps to develop complexity and character
22
...rarely if ever benefit from oxygen contact during maturation
Wines that have been protected from oxygen during winemaking
23
How are anaerobically made wines stored?
In inert airtight vessels which are kept completely full
The vats are made from stainless steel or cement lined with epoxy-resin
24
How are aerobically made wines usually stored?
In wooden vessels that are normally made of oak
25
Oak is...but it is not...
Watertight
Airtight
26
How does the mild oxygen permeability of oak help a wine?
It can help to soften tannins in red wines
Gives more flavour complexity
27
What happens to flavours in wine during deliberate oxidation/maturation?
Primary fruit flavours gradually fade
Tertiary characters start to develop, such as leather and earth
28
Other than flavour, how may a wine change as a result of oxidation?
Red wines become paler and gain a hint of brown
White wines become deeper in colour and gain a hint of orange
29
What two main factors influence the amount of deliberate oxidation a wine receives?
Size of vessel
Length of time stored in it
30
