INTENSIVE WINE COURSE

Lesson 1: Basic wine knowledge

HCMC, April 2015
 INTRODUCTION

LESSON 1: BASIC WINE KNOWLEDGE

LESSON 2: OLD WORLD WINES – FRENCH

LESSON 3: OLD WORLD WINES – ITALY AND OTHERS

LESSON 4: NEW WORLD WINES

LESSON 5: WINE SERVICE & FOOD AND WINE PAIRING

LESSON 6: SPARKLING, SWEET WINES & SPIRITS

LESSON 1: BASIC WINE KNOWLEDGE

WINE MAKING

TASTING AND EVALUATING WINE

FACTORS EFFECTING WINE STYLE, QUALITY AND PRICE

UNDERSTANDING THE LABEL

CLASSIC GRAPE VARIETIES

WINE MAKING
 WINE MAKING

• Wine is from fermented grapes juice

Sugar (in grapes) + Yeast Alcohol + CO2

• What do we get from grapes to wine?

– Color
• The flesh of almost grape varieties is white
• Colors of red and rose wines are from the skin
• White wines can be made from green/dark skin grapes
• Red, rose wines must have dark skin grapes
– Liquid
– Yummy flavors
– Alcohol
 WINE MAKING
White wine
Destemming &
Crushing

Pressing to remove skins and

seeds (also destemming)

Alcoholic fermentation (at 15-20°C)

Malolactic fermentation
might be applied

Racking & Blending

Maturation in oak
barrels/stainless tanks

Filtering then Bottling

 WINE MAKING
Red wine
Destemming & Crushing

Maceration & Alcoholic fermentation

At 25-30°C

Free-run wine are transferred to

tanks, the must then will be pressed
to produce pressed wine

Malolactic fermentation

Racking & Blending

Maturation in oak
barrels/stainless tanks

Filtering then Bottling

 WINE MAKING
Rose wine
Destemming &
Crushing

Maceration (shorter than red wine 12-36 hours)

Alcoholic fermentation 15-20°C

Free-run wine are

transferred to tanks

Malolactic fermentation might be

applied

Racking & Blending

Maturation in oak
barrels/stainless tanks

Filtering then Bottling

TASTING & EVALUATING WINE
 PREPARATION FOR TASTING

• Odour-free tasting room: no smells of cleaning

products, tobacco, food, perfume

• Good natural light

• White surfaces (to judge the appearance of wines)

• Our tasting palate should be clean (chewing a piece of

bread)

• Tasting glasses: 1 type of glass in order to make fair

comparisons between wines

ISO glass: rounded bowl, large enough to swirl the wine; tulip shape to

concentrate the aromas; and stem to hold

COLORS AND FLAVORS OF LIFE
 THE WAY OF TASTING WINE...
Children state what they like
and dislike naturally based on
WE APPRECIATION their own tastes, regardless
brands and prices
OUR LIFE

Look, smell, taste as we eat

and drink everyday. Like what LOVE AND HATE LIKE
really make us feel delicious. CHILDREN DO
THE WAY OF TASTING WINE...

For professionals, sommeliers, they have to

learn, experience and practice a lot.

Either you want to be just a wine lover,

consumer or a wine expert, ...

MOST IMPORTANT THING: BEING YOURSELF

 WHEN YOU TASTE A WINE...
Don’t be hurry! Smell the Feel the wine in
Stop, and look NOSE of the your PALATE
the wine slowly
APPEARANCE (15 seconds)

- Appearance can warn us of - Take the 1st sniff before - Tasting is subjective
FAULTS swirl the glass - Our sensitivities to
- The colour of a wine from - Then swirl to release aroma sweetness, acidity, tannins
any particular region or molecules and certain aroma
grape variety depends compounds differ
greatly on the age of the - In common: compare wines
wine and the winemaking - It requires experience to
techniques used. say whether a wine has
medium or high or low
levels of these components
WINE TASTING: APPEARANCE
Clarity
Dull – Cloudy/Turbid –Clear

Why faults? Wine is too old, or has been badly stored, failed
cork seal : out-of-condition.

Intensity:
pale – medium – deep

Color
White: lemon – gold – amber − brown
Green indicates youth, orange and brown indicates age

Rose: raspberry – pink,rose – salmon – orange − onion skin

Purple-pink indicates youth, orange and brown indicates age

Red: purple (violet) –ruby – garnet (fire tone) – tawny

Purple indicates youth, orange, amber and brown indicates age

Viscosity: from sugar – glycerol content, alcohol content

Little value for judging quality of the wine

Tears (Legs): alcohol content

 WINE TASTING: NOSE
CLARITY
The wine is: Clean or Unclean
Faults:
Cork taint: LIGHT: not fruity & fresh; HEAVY: pungent, damp cardboard, musty smell
Out-of-condition: dull, stale, oxidative smells – but not all oxidative aromas indicate faults (Oloroso Sherry)

INTENSITY
Light – Medium – Pronounced
Other words: Boring, Sharp, Feminine, Elegant, Clumsy

TYPES OF AROMAS
Fruit (Citrus, Berries, ...) Buttery Mineral (flint, chalk)

Flowers (rose, orange blossom, Burnt (café, cacao, caramel, burnt Earth (mushroom, wet ground)

violet) oak) Spices (cinnamon, pepper,

Sweets (candies, chocolate, honey, cloves,...)
Vegetal (Olives, Asparagus)
vanilla...)
Animal (leather, musk,...)

Complexity: Poor, Average, Good, Exceptional

 WINE TASTING: PALATE
Swirl the wine around the mouth so every part is exposed to it!

• Sweetness: dry – off-dry – medium – sweet – luscious.

Wines made from very ripe grapes can have a slightly sweet flavor even no

sugar.

• Acidity: flabby/low – medium – high.

Acidity makes wine vibrant and refreshing

Certain grape varieties like Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc: high acidiy

Cool climates results higher acidity than hot climates

• Tannin: (astringency) : low/soft – medium – high/tannic

Different parts of the mouth
Tannin is what makes strong tea taste bitter and astringent have different levels of
sensitivity to sweetness,
From skin: thick skin grape variety (Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah) have much acidity and tannins

higher tannin levels than thin skin ones (Pinot Noir, Grenache)

Hot climates : soft, ripe tannin – contribute to the body of the wine

Unripe grapes: strong, mouth-drying sensation

• Bitterness: the wine can be slight bitter at the end

 WINE TASTING: PALATE
• Body: light – medium – high

“Mouth feel”: richness, weight or viscosity.

Combination of alcohol, tannins, sugars and

flavours compounds

• Flavours: detected when aroma

components in the wine evaporate off the

tongue and rise up to the back of the nose

Many tasters draw air in through their lips while

tasting to feel more flavours

• Length: how long the flavours linger in the

mouth after the wine has been swallowed or

spat out
 WINE TASTING: CONCLUSION
Close your eyes and ask yourself
How much do you like it? What do you like about it?
Why you did not like?
Is it a good example of its type? (even you don’t like)

Balance: Complexity:
Great wines have many different flavours
Fruitiness – Tannin Expressiveness:
Sweetness – Acidity Express grape varieties, regions, “terroir”

Intensity:
Dilute flavours can indicate a poor wine but intense flavours are not necessarily a sign of
quality, because it can upset the balance.
Length:
Good quality: Balanced, pleasant finish with flavours linger for several seconds
Inferior wines: flavours may disappear, no lingering impression or unpleasant
SELECTING AND RECOMMENDING WINES
• Tastes
• Preferences
Of those who will be consuming
the wine
Large numbers of people with diverse or
unknown taste: avoid extreme wines
(Alsace Gewurztraminer) or Barolo

• Occasion
Except the themes are for wine, wine
should not be the centre of attention
Special occasion: premium wines
Fine, rare, special bottles: modest occasion

• Food pairing
 DO YOU KNOW?
SWISH THE WINE IN THE SPIT OR NOT?
MOUTH TO FEEL MORE

USE THE SUITABLE GLASS TO

APPRECIATE MORE
QUALITY FACTORS
 QUALITY FACTORS
GRAPE VARIETY GRAPE GROWING

ENVIRONMENT WINE MAKING

MATURATION

FACTORS AFFECTING COST

 QUALITY FACTORS: GRAPE VARIETY
Different grape varieties
has different sizes, skin
thickness, yields,
resistance to disease, etc.
so then the wines have:
- Different aromas
- Different levels of
sugar, acidity, tannin
Quality depends on
- What grape variety
- Where it has ripened
- How it has been grown
 QUALITY FACTORS: ENVIRONMENT
The grapes needs: Air
Climate ffects the ripeness of grapes, CO2
thus the flavours of the wines.
Hot climate: more alcohol, fuller
body, more tannin, less acidity Sunlight
Cool climate: less alcohol, lighter Produce sugar
body, less tannin, more acidity

CLIMATE Water
Temperature Affect the intensity SOIL
Rainfalls
Sunshine
The weather changes year to year Warmth
Important in Bordeaux, For production of Compositions of soil:
Champagne... sugar
- Drainage
Modern techniques and blending of - Nutrients
varieities are useful to keep - Absorb or reflect
consitency Nutrients
warmth
Small amount
Poorer soils result
better quality grapes
 Champagne

Old world
China, Japan

California

South Afica

South
Aus + NZ
America
 QUALITY FACTORS: GRAPE GROWING
Main factors:
Vineyard acitivities
- Pruning
- Controlling the number of brunches
- Positioning of the leaves
- Manual care or mechanisation

Yields
- Lower yields or generally result in riper grapes, more concentrated
flavours, but higher price
- High yields produce cheaper but not very interesting wines

Harvest
- Hand harvest or machine
- Time and weather

Also: pets and diseases are bad for production of health grapes (animal
pets – birds, insects; fungal diseases – mildew, rot; fungi, bacteria,
viruses,etc.
 QUALITY FACTORS: WINE MAKING
- Choosing of yeasts

- Types of fermentation vessels: stainless steel tank,

oak barrels, open-topped concrete, wooden

fermenters, etc.

- Length of maceration (for red and rose wines)

- Temperature during fermentation

- Types of oak: oak chips or staves, oak flavours (very

cheap production), or oak barrels (expensive)

• French oak: give more subtle, toast and nutty flavours

• American oak: sweeter notes of coconut and vanilla

 FACTORS AFFECTING COST
In the vineyards:
- Cost of land
- Degree of vineyard work
- Cost and availability of labour and/or equipment
- Yield size
In the winery
- Equipment
- Cost of barrel, ageing (storage facilities)
- Transport cost
- Distributors & Retailers
- Taxes
- Packaging
- Exchange rates
- Market demand
UNDERSTANDING THE LABELS
 IMPORTANT INFORMATION
PRODUCERS & BRANDS
- Famous brand: most prominent term
- Others: small print
- Can be château or estate names, or large-scale brand like Concha Y Toro,
Trivento
VINTAGE
- Vintage: harvested year
- Usually stated on label, sometimes non-vintage
- To know good/average/bad vintage
- To know if the wine is young/mature/old
- Notice: southern hemisphere wines are half year older
 IMPORTANT INFORMATION
CLASSIFICATIONS & REGIONAL LABELLING
European
- Quality wines produced in specified region:
• Unique flavour that can not be copied
• Name on label: wine must be made within laws of that area
• In France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and some others countries are
developing (Germany – with sugar levels)
- Table wines
• Non-traditional varieties
• No name of variety or region on the label
(But export table wines can have geographical description)
 IMPORTANT INFORMATION
CLASSIFICATIONS & REGIONAL LABELLING
European
 EXAMPLES
CLASSIFICATIONS & REGIONAL LABELLING
European

REGION OF ORIGIN
VINTAGE

CLASSIFICATION
AOC

PRODUCER

Alcohol content

CAPACITY (750ml, 1.5L,etc)

BOTTLER: mis en bouteille...
 IMPORTANT INFORMATION
CLASSIFICATIONS & REGIONAL LABELLING
Other countries
- More freedom to name regions on label
- Vintages and varieties are named – easier to understand
- Permission to blend small proportion of wine from other regions, vintages
and varieties
- Each country has their own way of dividing its vineyards area into regions,
zones, districts,; has their own legislation covering production techniques
and use of label terms to prevent consumers from being misinformed
 EXAMPLES
CLASSIFICATIONS & REGIONAL LABELLING
Other countries

PRODUCER

GRAPE VARIETY

VINTAGE

REGION OF ORIGIN
RANGE OF PRODUCT

Back label:
CAPACITY (750ml, 1.5L,etc)
Alcohol content
 IMPORTANT INFORMATION
STYLE AND PRODUCTION TECHNIQUES
• Oak aged
• Aged in new barriques
• Barrel-fermented (white only)
• Oaked
• Unfined/Unfiltered
• Vegetarian/Vegan
• Organic (and Biodynamic)
• Characteristics: dry, off-dry, demi-sec (medium dry)
• Spain & Portugal: Reserve, Riserva, Reserva
This is
not

the end
CLASSIC GRAPE VARIETIES
 Chardonnay
Not an aromatic grape variety PREMIUM CHARDONNAY REGIONS
Delicate and suitable to express oak and • Chablis
yeast -derived flavours & mineral from • Côte d’Or : Meursault, Puligny-
soil Montrachet
• Mâconnaise: Pouilly Fuissé
• Australia: Hunter Valley Region,
COOL CLIMATE (Chablis, Californian Central Valley)
Victoria, Limestone Coast Zone
Green fruits: apple, pear (including Pathaway) & Adelaide
Citrus Hills, Margaret River Region in
Vegetal notes: cucumber Western Australia
• New Zealand: Hawkes Bay,
MODERATE CLIMATE (Burgundy, some New World) Gisborne & Marlborough
Stone fruits: peach • California: Coastal Range and the
Citrus & hint of lemon Pacific
• Chile: Central Valley, Casablanca –
Argentina: Mendoza
WARM CLIMATE (most New World sites) • South Africa: Walker Bay
Tropical fruits: peach, banana, pineapple, mango, fig
Citrus & hint of lemon

From wine making techniques & ageing

Malolactic: dairy (butter, cream)
Oak: vanilla, toast, coconut
Aged: honeyed nutty, creamy texture, complexity
 Sauvignon Blanc
Ability to create clear expectations PREMIUM SAUVIGNON REGIONS
(clean, crisp, refreshing, unoaked) • Loire Central vineyards,
However, Sauvignon is capable of more France: Sancerre, Pouilly-Fumé
than one style • Bordeaux, France (Cru Classé
wines from Pessac-Léognan or
Graves)
COOL CLIMATE (Loire, Bordeaux)
• New Zealand: Marlborough –
Green fruits: lime capital of Sauvignon Blanc
Vegetation: gooseberry, elderflower, green bell pepper,
• South Africa
asparagus
• California: (labelled Fumé
MODERATE CLIMATE (some New World) Blanc)
Lack the intense pungent vegetal complexity • Chile: Casablance – vegetal,
fruit led wines

SPECIAL SITE (New Zealand)

Aromatic and fuller bodied

From wine making techniques & ageing

Oak: (rarely oaked) toast, spice –vanilla, liquorice
Aged: do not benefit from bottle age, lose their
freshness. Only with Sauternes (sweetwines) its acidity
will balance and keep the wine aged.
 Riesling
Aromatic, pronounced fruity, varietal PREMIUM RIESLING REGIONS
character expressing location, style, • Germany: home of Riesling –
soils Mosel, Rheingau, Pfalz
It is common : bottle their wines with • Alsace, France
name of the vineyard on the label • Austria
COOL CLIMATE • Australia: Clare Valley, Eden
Green fruits: green apple, grape Valley
Floral notes • New Zealand: South Island
Hints of citrus: lemon, lime

MODERATE CLIMATE
Citrus
Stone fruits
Very strong smell of fresh lime and white peach

STBALE, DRY, SUNNY AUTUMN REGIONS

Late harvested: dry, medium or sweet
Stone fruits & tropical fruits: peach, apricot, pineapple,
mango

From wine making techniques & ageing

New oak: never used
Aged: high acidity helps ageing potential, creates
wines with honey, toast, smoky petrol-like
 Pinot Noir
Difficult variety to grow PREMIUM PINOT NOIR REGIONS
Very easy to drink: soft, light tannins, • Burgundy: Grevey-Chambertin,
Nuits-Saint-Georges, Beaune and
enjoyable to drink at all stages of their
Pommard
life
• New Zealand: Martinborough and
Central Otago
COOL & MODERATE CLIMATE (Burgundy, New • Germany: named Spatburgunder
Zealand)
• California: Caneros, Russian River
Unripened: vegetal flavours - cabbage, wet leaves Valley in Sonoma County
Balanced: • Oregon
- Fresh red fruits: strawberry, rasberry, cherry • Australia: Yarra Valley
- Vegetal and animal : wet leaves, mushroom, gamey, • Chile: Casablanca Valley
meaty aromas
• South Africa: coastal sites

WARM CLIMATE (most New World sites)

Lose delicate flavours
Excessively jammy

From wine making techniques & ageing

Oak: vanilla, toast
Aged: velvety, complexity
 Cabernet Sauvignon & Merlot
Often blended together PREMIUM CAB SAU & MERLOT
REGIONS
Merlot produces more easily drinkable
• Bordeaux: Medoc, Hau-Medoc,
wines, with softness
Pauillac, Margaux, Graves, Pessac
Cabernet adds tannin, acidity, aromatic Leognan, Saint-Emilion, Pomerol
fruit • California: Sonoma & Napa Valley
CABERNET SAUVIGNON • Chile: Maipo Valley, Rapel Valley
• Lots of tannin, acidity, and strong aromas • Argentina: Mendoza
• Black fruits (blackcurrant, black cherry) • Australia: Cooawarra, Margaret
River
• Vegetal notes (bell pepper, mint, cedar)
• New Zealand: Hawkes Bay
• Needs moderate & hot climates to have fuller bodied,
more black fruits and less harsh, pungent, and • South Africa: Stellenbosch
herbaceous notes.
MERLOT
• Less aromatic, less intense flavours and lighter
tannins
• More body, higher alcohol
• Hot climates: black fruits, full body, gentle tannin
• Cool climate: red fruits, cedar, more tannins, higher
acidity
From wine making techniques & ageing
Oak: smoke, vanilla, coffee
Aged: softening tannin & acidity, oaky flavours
 Syrah & Grenache
Syrah: international reputation. Shiraz PREMIUM G-S REGIONS
plantings are increasing in New World • Northern Rhône: Côte-Rôtie,
Hermitage, Crozes-Hermitage
Grenache is the third mostly planted
black grape variety, but most of the vines • Southern Rhône: Châteauneuf-
du-Pape, Côte du Rhône, Côte du
are in France and Spain for blending
Rhône Villages
SYRAH/SHIRAZ
• Australia: Hunter Valley, McLaren
• Thick dark skin offers full bodied wines with high
Vale, Barossa Valley, Western
level of tannins and acidity.
Australia, Coonawarra, Central and
• Black fruits (blackberry)
Western Victoria
• Dark chocolate
• Spain: Priorat (usually Garnacha
• Moderate climates: mint, eucalyptus, smoked meat,
blended with Tempranillo,
spices (black pepper)
sometimes Cabernet Sauvignon,
• Aged: animal, leather, wet leaves, earth
and Syrah)
GRENACHE/GARNACHA
• High sugar level, low acidity, full bodied
• Red fruits: strawberry, raspberry
• Spicy: white pepper, liquorice, cloves
• Aged: toffee, leather

From wine making techniques & ageing

Blending: balance the fruits characters, tannins, colours
and acidity
Oak: smoke, vanilla, toast, coconut
THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!