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My Studies in wine
Starting out in wine is not easy!
Where do you start?
What’s the very first thing you need to know?
Wine Vocabulary - - - - X
Wine Vocabulary - - - - XLet's start with some vocabulary words you will need to understand the meaning of when you’re starting out in wine.
Grape Variety: This is where it all starts: The grape!
Wine is made entirely from fermented grape juice… Nothing else, just pure grape juice where the sugar has been transformed into alcohol.
Grapes can be white or red as you’ve probably seen in shops. But they’re also lots of varieties, of different families if you wish, each with it’s own taste, smell.
I’m sure you’ve heard of Merlot, Shiraz, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon or Zinfandel. These are all different varieties of grape.
It’s a bit like apples. Granny Smith, Pink Lady, Golden Delicious are all different varieties of apples, and each tastes different from one another.
In wine, the wine can be made from one single grape variety, so Merlot for example. But it can also be made from different grape varieties, Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon, like the wines of Bordeaux, which in this case would be called a blend.
Origin Appellation, Denominacion, Denominazione, AVA, AOP, AOC, DOC, DO
These all tell us the origin of a wine. They also ensure that the wine is of a certain style AND quality. So, origin is very important.
Most often these will be named after a region or a city: Champagne, Chianti, Rioja, Bordeaux, Napa Valley, Stellenbosh, Mendoza or Napa Valley among many many others, are all wine regions that have given their name to the wines that come from there.
Each country will have its own system to attest the origin of the wine. In France it’s the appellation system, in Spain it’s denominacion, in the USA it’s AVA.
Vintage: You may have heard this word on many occasions. With cars or clothes, it means old.
But in wine many people don’t really know what it means. Still, it is extremely important. With some wines, depending on the vintage alone, it can mean that the wine is great or conversely that it’s extremely poor.
The vintage of a wine tells you the year in which the grapes used to make the wine were harvested. Not to be confused with what year it was bottled in, nor the year the grapes were planted in.
So, when you are drinking a 2009 Chianti, it means the grapes used to make the wine were harvested in 2009. After that, it takes a few years for the juice to turn into wine; and in the case of a good Chianti Classico Reserva, it means at least 2 years ageing in barrels so at best the wine will be released from the winery in 2012.
When it comes to wine, the world is broken into two worlds: The old world and the new world.
The Old World describes wines that come from a part of the world where wine has been made historically for thousands of years and is deeply rooted into the cultural heritage: basically, Europe and the Mediterranean.
The New World covers everywhere else! Regions with a much younger history of wine making. Places like Australia, New Zealand, the USA, South Africa, Argentina, Chile and Uruguay are all included in what we call the New World. Even though some have been making wine for 400 years, it still is the New World.
Appreciation - - - - x
Now we come to the wine itself, the drinking and appreciation.
When we taste or drink wine, we use all 5 of our senses.
Sound: When the wine is being poured
Sight: When you appreciate the appearance of a wine.
Smell: When you smell the wine.
Taste: When you drink it
Touch: When the wine is in your mouth and in contact with your palate and tongue.
The look of the wine is often called the eye, or the color… but it isn’t just the color, it’s the texture, the contrast in colors…
This tells you a lot about the wine: What it’s going to taste like. How old it is How long it has to go and much more…
- The Nose of the wine, or the smell is the most poetic part of wine. This is when we look for the different smells a wine has, which we call aromas. The aromas tell us a ton of things about a wine:
- -What grape varieties were used to make the wine. -Whether the wine has been aged in barrels or not -Whether it’s young or old Whether it has potential to age or not -How good the wine is. Basically, the nose is one of the biggest windows into the wine.
- The taste of a wine only made up of three elements: Sweet - Sour - Bitter You see there are only 5 primary tastes that exist: sweet, sour and bitter. And then there is salty and umami, but these 2 tastes aren’t found in wine.
- When it comes to wine we use a special vocabulary to describe tastes.
- - Sweetness is the same, we say the sweetness of a wine. - But instead of Sour we talk about acidity. So, if a wine is sour we would say it is acidic. Crisp, zingy, fresh all describe different levels of acidity.
- Then instead of bitter, we talk about tannin. Tannin is a bitter component found in wine. And if it’s bitter, we would say the wine is tannic.
- You might be thinking about the thousands of other tastes such as blueberry, chocolate, vanilla, or butter? Well, they aren’t actual tastes… but smells.
- They are picked up by our nose, through a phenomena called retro olfaction or more simply backwards smelling. These smells are called flavours.
White Wines - - - - X
Our efforts
We actively work towards sustainable winemaking, committed to preserving the environment and supporting our local community. We use modern farming methods, minimize our environmental impact, and support social initiatives in our regions.
Together with the taste the flavours tell us:
How good it is The grape varieties used to make the wine
Where the wine is from How old it is
And more…
Flavors As you now know, flavors are not actually tastes, but smells. They are picked up by the nose, when it’s smelt; what is in our mouth as the nose is directly connected to the palate.
These flavours are often similar to the aromas you find on the nose of the wine, but they can also be different.
As the mouth brings up the temperature of the wine, the aromas evaporate more and can be more expressive which makes it easier to pick up.
Weight This is something you may have heard thrown about quite a bit when it comes to wine.
If you haven’t, I can assure you that you will!
Light, heavy, full, light, medium: all these describe the weight of a wine.
The weight is made up of a combination of things:
Alcohol, which gives an impression of heat and unctuosity on the palate. The mouthfeel which goes from liquid, watery all the way to thick, rich and oily.
The flavours which can be light and delicate all the way to intense and bold.
Light bodied wines are going to be light and delicate in flavours. The mouthfeel is going to be more on the watery side. The sweetnes and alcohol are both going to be low.
On the other side of the scale, there are heavy wines, or full-bodied wines. These wines are going to have intense, bold flavours, with a rich, thick texture and a rather high sweetness and alcohol level.
The world of wine has its very own vocabulary, its own jargon. Understanding it means you will be able to both understand people describing a wine but it also means you can be very descriptive when you talk about wine.
Discover our collective spirit at VinoVista Vineyard
Learn about the philosophy and the efforts that make wine special
White Wine - - - - x
You can use almost any of the white wine oriented grape varieties to make a modest wine; but when we get into the premium category where you might spend eighty dollars or more on a bottle, we tend to choose grape varieties that are well suited to making premium wine.
Within the world of white wines, the majority are made from Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio.
These four grape varieties are preferred because they have such an excellent track record for quality.
Generally speaking Riesling tends to be on the lighter end of the body spectrum, whereas Sauvignon Blanc hangs out in the middle more often medium bodied than either light or full. Chardonnay tends to give us quite a lot more richness of texture. while Pinot Grigio can be all over the map..
Riesling is a grape variety as one that's native to Germany and suited to very cool climates. It gives us a bright refreshing aromatic nose full of things like green apple and lime and citrus. We often get a touch of floral aromatics as well.
When we're shopping for Riesling, we want to think about whether we're shopping for a dry Riesling or one that has a little sweetness. The way to tell is to look at the alcohol content. The lower it is below 13, the more likely there is to be a little hint of sweetness on the tip of the tongue.
Riesling can be made dry but it is less commonly found that way. Most of the time when we see Riesling on the shelf we can expect a sweet tart wine with just a hint of sweetness. Not enough for dessert, but perfect for things like chips and salsa and appetizers.
When we look at Sauvignon Blanc on the other hand; The question is never really if it's sweet or dry. This is because it's always made in a dry style with no noticeable sweetness on the tip of the tongue.
Sauvignon Blanc does vary in style though, based on where it's grown:
Cooler places in the world like New Zealand tend to make it in an embracing style that's got a kind of white grapefruit and lemon quality to it that serves to brighten almost anything you would serve with it. This style of Sauvignon Blanc makes the mouth water, it's not particularly heavy, but delivers a huge amount of flavor.
There are premium Sauvignon Blanc styles though that come from warmer parts of the world that might be barrel fermented. They are the exception to the rule, but sometimes when we look at Sauvignon Blanc from places like Bordeaux in France, or in California we do occasionally encounter barrel fermented styles.
The 600 pound gorilla in the white wine world; Chardonnay, is really the grape we associate with that “Oaky” vs ‘Butter” quality that we get from either fermenting or aging a wine in new oak barrels.
That flavor comes through almost as if we've added a splash of bourbon or cognac to the wine, because it comes from the exact same source Aging in barrels.
This is the single most popular premium grape variety in the World. White or Red.
Chardonnay can be grown in almost any region, from the very cool parts of northern Europe to very warm parts of California,and as a result has a huge stylistic range.
Last but not least, there's a grape variety that I think has joined these three in the last few decades as being sort of in the major leagues of importance in the wine world.
When it's grown in the Italian style we call it Pinot Grigio,when we make it in the French style though you might see it labeled as Pinot Gris - ” G R I S ”
The Italian variation is by far the most popular. It is done in a lighter, brighter, crisper style. With a weight that's closer to that of Riesling or Sauvignon Blanc, and rarely with any noticeable sweetness on the tip of the tongue.
Generally speaking these are easy going wines, perfect forsummer afternoons. They're not terribly high in alcohol and they're not terribly pungently flavored either.
They are wines to relax with on the patio. These simple flavors tend to be more like golden apple or simple poached pear.
French style Pinot Gris tends to taste a little peachyer ,seem a little heavier, and sometimes has a touch of residual sweetness on the tip of the tongue as well.
Red Wines - - - - X
In the world of red wine grapes there's a little more competition for the top slot than with whites; so therefore, a little less agreement about which one is at the top of the food chain.
There are definitely four red grape varietals to know. Pinot Noir, Merlot, and Cabernet Sauvignon that come from the Burgundy and Bordeaux regions of France. These three are the absolute icons of classic style.
There is one more grape to be added to this major-league list though, because of the importance that it's picked up just in the last 10 or 20 years; That's a grape called Syrah. The Syrah Varietal is from France as well, but also know in other parts of the world where the call it Shiraz.
Let's go to the beginning and look at the lightest one of these wines.
Pinot Noir is the grape variety that has been grown in Burgundy since the 12th century, and this style is on the lighterend of the red wine spectrum.
Looking at it in the glass we can see it has a translucency to it; that is because the grape has relatively thin skins and so it's delivery of color and flavor intensity to the wine is on the lighter end of the Spectrum, however the flavors that it does give are so seductive and desirable. Pinot Noir is one of the most desired styles of wine on earth, it is coveted and collectible.
It is a cool climate style that is a little brighter a little bit more in the red fruit aromatic spectrum; things like cranberries and strawberries come to mind.
This is a lighter style of red that works well with some foods that you might normally think of pairing with a white wine seafoods and white meats for example
Next we have the kissing cousins that come from Bordeaux. We have Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. Two grapes that are planted in the same region and that are distantly related.
When they're grown in cold places like France and Italy they often have a little bit of aromatic resemblance to them. Once we plant them in sunnier warmer places like Chile or here in California; we get a little more divergence in their aromatics, and it gets easier to tell them apart.
On the nose Merlot tends to give us a little bit more of a herbal quality to it, a little bit less of the earthiness that we find in Pinot Noir.
Its flavor seems to be a little bit darker in its fruit range; a little bit more like blackberries and plums, and a little bit less like strawberries and cranberries when we encounter it from a cool place.
We often get a woodsy character to it; almost like cedar or even roasted bell peppers. It is very well-suited to food.
Its distant relation Cabernet Sauvignon is definitely among the most famous and well-known grape varieties in the world. It makes some of the finest wines of Bordeaux, and is known for the long term aging potential that it can have.
This is due to the fact that Cabernet Sauvignon is a grape that has smaller berries and thicker skins than Merlot; so when we ferment it in the tank, that gives us a double dose of all of the sources of color and flavor that we get in the wine.
Aromatically Cabernet Sauvignon has some resemblance to Merlot in its fruit; definitely in the dark fruit blackberry and cherry range, but it adds to that herbal quality; flavors that remind me of darker foods like liquorice and chocolate and coffee. Cab is very much an intense powerhouse of a wine that will deliver a big “oof” of flavor.
If I was going to add another grape certainly my choice would be a grape called Syrah that also comes from another region of France called the Rhone. In the southern hemisphere we often encounter it these days under another name where it's called Shiraz.
Shiraz is the name given to the Syrah grape when it's grown in places like Australia and South Africa in the southern hemisphere. It is genetically identical to the grape we call Syrah in places like California and France.
Syrah has similar thick skins and density of color to what we find from Cabernet Sauvignon, but usually does not quite have as much tannic structure. As a result it is more often made in a more “Drink Me Now” style with a little bit more emphasis on forward fruit.
This style has a kind of blackberry pie and black pepper quality to it that makes it very appealing and friendly, and delivers a lot of flavor when you serve this as a sauce on the side.
wine EDUCATION
Zinfendel
This refined blush wine features bright fruity notes and a fresh floral aroma. Perfect for romantic dinners or evening gatherings.
cabernet
This bold and rich red wine exhibits blackcurrant, tobacco, and vanilla flavors. It pairs nicely with meat dishes and cheeses.
chardonnay
This crisp and fruity white vintage has hints of green apple, citrus, and minerals. Perfect with seafood and light appetizers.
Merlot
The red wine exhibits aromas of ripe cherries, chocolate, and spicy notes. Ideal for dinners and special occasions.