Introducing
Your new presentation assistant.
Refine, enhance, and tailor your content, source relevant images, and edit visuals quicker than ever before.
Trending searches
Session 2 (eno): Wine features
707
The Wine
Features
Main tasting characteristics
Grape varieties
The term grape variety refers to cultivars rather than actual botanical varieties according to the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants, because they are propagated by cuttings and may have unstable reproductive properties.
The Grape Varieties
The most planted varieties around the world:
1. Cabernet Sauvignon, 840,000 acres (340,000 hectares)
2. Merlot, 657,300 acres (266,000 hectares)
3. Tempranillo, 570,800 acres (231,000 hectares)
4. Airén, 538 700 acres (218 000 hectares)
5. Chardonnay, 518,900 acres (211,000 hectares)
6. Syrah, 470 000 acres (190,000 hectares)
7. Grenache Noir, 402,780 acres (163,000 hectares)
8. Sauvignon Blanc, 299 000 acres (121,000 hectares)
9. Pinot Noir, 285,000 acres (115,000 hectares)
10. Trebbiano Toscano / Ugni Blanc, 274,300 acres (111,000 hectares)
International varieties
Red
Varieties
Spanish varieties
Red Varieties
White Varieties
International varieties
White
Varieties
Spanish varieties
Noble varieties
Noble
Varieties
Short intro about aging
Aging
Intro
During the time aging both into barrels and bottle, wine is getting oxidized. If this oxidation is too quick (too much contact between wine and oxygen), it can damage the wine (it can oxidize the wine or can became it into vinegar). Otherwise, if this oxidation is slow enough (micro-oxygenation), it changes the original features of the wine getting the proper “aging”.
So, if the latter happens, color, smell and taste evolve along the time with different results.
Visual features
Visual features
The first question you might ask yourself is: when does a wine moves from childhood to adulthood and from when does it mature? The answer is simple: it depends!
The three essential parameters to understand how a wine ages are:
1) the type of wine: we know that a Beaujolais won’t have the same evolution as a Bordeaux.
2) the vintage: a good vintage will evolve more slowly than an average one.
3) the storage conditions: wines in a cellar with high temperature variations will evolve much more quickly than a wine stored at constant temperature around 14°C.
Color in Red
Color evolution in red wine
Color evolution in white wine
Color in White
Olfactory traits
The terms wine aroma and wine bouquet are not exactly scientific but they can be useful to classify the origin of where the smells come from in wine.
A wine aroma is derived from the grape variety (primary aromas) and a wine bouquet (secondary and tertiary aromas) is derived from the winemaking process of fermentation and aging. A classic example of a wine bouquet is the smell of vanilla, which usually comes from aging wine in new oak barrels.
Primary aromas
Grape aromas
When made into wine, each grape variety offers a unique set of aromas called primary aromas. These aromas are typically in the realm of fruit smells, herb smells and flower smells and come naturally just from the grape.
There are the kind of aromas commonly found in young wines.
Primary
aromas
Aromas commonly associated with varieties:
Fruit flavors (e.g. peach, blackberry)
Herbal flavors (e.g. bell pepper, mint, oregano)
Flower flavors (e.g. roses, lavender, iris)
Secondary
aromas
Secondary aromas
From Vinification
The process of fermentation creates a group of bouquets that are commonly referred to as Secondary Aromas.
These aromas are also associated with the malolactic fermentation. Some of the most common secondary aromas are those related with bakery and lactic prodcuts (e.g. yogurt).
Bouquets commonly associated with fermentation:
Cultured Cream (yoghurt)
Buttermilk
Butter (Malolactic Fermentation)
Beer (commonly found in wines aged on the lees)
Brewer’s Yeast
Aged Cheese (Parmesan)
Sourdough
Mushroom
Grandmother’s Cellar
Horse Sweat (from Brettanomyces)
Band-Aid (from Brett)
Wild Game (from Brett)
Duck Crackling / Bacon (from Brett)
Tertiary aromas
Aging aromas
Tertiary
aromas
Bouquets commonly associated with aging:
Brown Sugar
Vanilla
Caramel
Butterscotch
Hazelnut
Walnut
Roasted Almond (different than fresh almond or bitter almond)
Toasted Marshmallow
Clove, Allspice, Baking Spices
Cedar Box
Cigar box
Smoke
Dried Tobacco
Dried Leaves
Aging wine introduces elements that add (or alter) the aroma compounds in wine after it’s fermented. The group of bouquets associated with aging are called Tertiary Aromas.
1) The most important element of aging is exposing wine to oxygen. In small amounts (micro-oxygenation), oxygen produces positive smelling bouquets.
2)The next most common element is the use of oak. Oak barrels do double-duty on a wine by slowly introducing oxygen as well as adding aroma compounds found in oak.
Gustatory features
Fundamental traits
Basic Wine Characteristics
Sweetness
Acidity
Tannin (texture)
Alcohol
Body (testure)
Gustatory
features
Learning to identify wine characteristics helps to identify what you like/look for in a wine.
Sweetness
Our human perception of sweet starts at the tip of our tongue. Often, the very first impression of a wine is its level of sweetness.
To taste sweetness, focus your attention on the taste buds on the tip of your tongue.
Sweetness
How to Taste Sweetness in Wine
- Tingling sensation on the tip of your tongue.
- Slight oily sensation in the middle of your tongue that lingers
- Wine has a higher viscosity; wine tears on side of glass slowly (also an indicator of ABV and glycerine)
- Dry red wines often have up to 0.9 g/L of residual sugar (common with cheap wines)
- A bone-dry wine can often be confused with a wine with high tannin
Acidity
Wines with higher acidity feel lighter-bodied because they come across as “spritzy.” Acidity makes wines "quickers" and freshers.
As much as modern health has demonized acidic foods, acidity is an essential trait in wine that’s necessary for quality.
Acidity is a perfect example of one of the fundamental taste traits that are affected by different climates (warm vs cool).
Acidity
Acidity Characteristics
- Tingling sensation that focuses on the front and sides of your tongue.
- If you rub your tongue to the roof of your mouth it feels gravelly
- Your mouth feels wet
Tannin
Tannin is often confused with Level of Dryness because tannin dries out your mouth. Tannin in wine is the presence of phenolic compounds (tannins and anthocyanins) that add bitterness to a wine.
Phenols are found in the skins and seeds of wine grapes and can also be added to a wine with the use of aging in wood (oak).
Tannin
How Does a High Tannin Wine Taste?
- Tastes bitter on the front inside of your mouth and along the side of your tongue
- Tannin makes your tongue dry out
- After you swallow you feel a lingering bitter/dry feeling in your mouth
- Tannin can often be confused with the term “dry” because it dries your mouth out
Alcohol
The average glass of spanish wine contains around 12–14% alcohol. In the Spanish regulation to be considered as wine, wine ranges from as little as 9% alcohol by volume (ABV) to as much as around 16% ABV.
We interpret alcohol using many different taste receptors which is why it can taste bitter, sweet, spicy, and oily all at once. Regardless, we can all sense alcohol towards the backs of our mouths in our throats as a warming sensation.
Alcohol
Alcohol Characteristics
- Wines with higher alcohol tend to taste bolder and more oily
- Wines with lower alcohol tend to taste lighter-bodied
- Most wines range between 12–14% ABV
Body
Body is the result of many factors – from wine variety, where it’s from, vintage, alcohol level and how it’s made. Body is a snapshot of the overall impression of a wine.
Full-bodied wines are recommend to match with high-intensity food. On the other hand, lighter wines are better for light food or just for a glass.
The cold maceration of wine is one of the key factor related with body.
How Does Wine Body feel?
- Full-mouth sensation
- Wine tast all around your mouth