ADMIN RETREAT WINE TASTING

GREAT WINES UNDER $25… AND NOT UNDER $25

OCTOBER 12, 2016

TYPES OF WINE TASTINGS BASIC WINES/REDS/WHITES

CAB, MERLOT, SYRAH, PINOT, RIESLING, SAUV BL, CHARD

REGIONAL WINES

SAME VARIETAL ACROSS MANY REGIONS - SAME REGION, MANY VARIETALS

VARIETAL WINES

SAME VARIETAL ACROSS MANY COUNTRIES

BLENDED WINES

OFTEN MEANING SPECIFIC WINES TO A REGION AS WELL

HORIZONTAL

SAME TYPE ALL FROM ONE VINTAGE

VERTICAL

SAME PRODUCER AND WINE FROM MANY VINTAGES

DESSERT

SAUTERNES, SHERRIES, PORTS, ICE-WINES

UNIQUE VARIETALS

FOOD AND WINE PAIRING

TASTING GUIDE…

• SIGHT, SMELL, BODY, TASTE, AFTERTASTE

• DISCUSS AS YOU LIKE, DON’T BE SHY

• SCORE YOUR WINES, IF YOU LIKE…

WINE TASTING BASICS

SIGHT

*CLARITY

*COLOR

*BRILLIANCE

*CLOUDINESS

WINE TASTING BASICS

SMELL YOUR NOSE IS THE KEY

*AROMA - RELATED TO GRAPE

*BOUQUET - RESULTING FROM

WINE MAKING PROCESS

*VOLATILIZE THE ESTERS OR SWIRL

WINE TASTING BASICS

TOUCH/BODY

*HOW IT FEELS IN YOUR MOUTH

*LIGHT - WATERY - THIN

*MEDIUM - 2% MILK

*FULL - CREAM

WINE TASTING BASICS

TASTE

*TAKE A SIP

*SWIRL IN MOUTH

*BRING IN AIR

*WHAT CAN YOU DESCRIBE?

WINE TASTING BASICS

THE AFTER TASTE

* SHORT - NO AFTER TASTE

* LONG - LINGERING AFTER TASTE - NOTABLE

FOR A LONG TIME

* CLEAN - PLEASURABLE, FREE FROM DEFECTS

* UNPLEASANT - TOO BITTER OR TOO SWEET

WINE TASTING BASICS

IMPRESSION

* YOUR EVALUATION

* ALL TASTES ARE DIFFERENT

* BASED ON YOUR EXPERIENCE, PREFERENCE

* NO RIGHT OR WRONG, ONLY YOUR OPINION

LEGENDS OF DISCOVERY

MANY TALES ABOUT THE ORIGINS OF WINE

LEGENDARY PERSIAN KING, JAMSHID BANISHED ONE OF HIS HAREM LADIES

SHE BECOME DESPONDENT AND WISHED TO COMMIT SUICIDE

SHE SOUGHT OUT A JAR MARKED "POISON" WHICH CONTAINED THE

REMNANTS OF GRAPES THAT HAD SPOILED AND WERE DEEMED UNDRINKABLE

THE "SPOILAGE" WAS ACTUALLY THE RESULT OF FERMENTATION CAUSED BY

THE BREAKDOWN OF THE GRAPES BY YEAST INTO ALCOHOL

AFTER DRINKING THE SO-CALLED POISON, THE HAREM GIRL DISCOVERED ITS

EFFECTS TO BE PLEASANT AND HER SPIRITS WERE LIFTED

SHE TOOK HER DISCOVERY TO THE KING WHO BECAME SO ENAMORED

WITH THIS NEW "WINE" BEVERAGE THAT HE NOT ONLY ACCEPTED THE GIRL

BACK INTO HIS HAREM BUT ALSO DECREED THAT ALL GRAPES GROWN IN

PERSEPOLIS WOULD BE DEVOTED TO WINEMAKING

MOST WINE HISTORIANS VIEW THIS STORY AS PURE LEGEND,

ARCHAEOLOGICAL EVIDENCE SHOWS THAT WINE WAS KNOWN AND

EXTENSIVELY TRADED BY THE EARLY PERSIAN KINGS

THE OLDEST KNOWN WINERY IS LOCATED IN ARMENIA.

ARCHAEOLOGISTS ANNOUNCED THE DISCOVERY OF THIS WINERY IN

JANUARY 2011. THE WINERY, WHICH IS OVER SIX THOUSAND YEARS

OLD, CONTAINS A WINE PRESS, FERMENTATION VATS, JARS, AND CUPS.

PATRICK MCGOVERN COMMENTING ON THE IMPORTANCE OF THE FIND,

SAID, "THE FACT THAT WINEMAKING WAS ALREADY SO WELL

DEVELOPED IN 4000 BC SUGGESTS THAT THE TECHNOLOGY PROBABLY

GOES BACK MUCH EARLIER.“

WINE IN ANCIENT GREECE, EGYPT, ROMAN EMPIRE, ANCIENT CHINA,

MEDIEVAL MIDDLE EAST, MEDIEVAL EUROPE AND FINALLY THE

AMERICAS…

AMERICAS… GRAPES AND WHEAT WERE FIRST BROUGHT TO WHAT IS NOW LATIN

AMERICA BY THE SPANISH. SUCCEEDING WAVES OF IMMIGRANTS

IMPORTED FRENCH, ITALIAN AND GERMAN GRAPES.

DURING THE PHYLLOXERA BLIGHT IN THE LATE 1800S, IT WAS FOUND

THAT NATIVE AMERICAN GRAPES WERE IMMUNE TO THE PEST. FRENCH-

AMERICAN HYBRID GRAPES WERE DEVELOPED AND SAW SOME USE IN

EUROPE. MORE IMPORTANT WAS THE PRACTICE OF USING AMERICAN

GRAPE ROOTSTOCKS GRAFTED TO EUROPEAN GRAPE VINES TO PROTECT

FROM THE INSECT. THIS PRACTICE CONTINUES TO THIS DAY WHEREVER

PHYLLOXERA IS PRESENT.

LABEL CONFUSION

“GENERIC” IS DEFINED AS BLENDING, BUT SPECIFIC REGIONS

TEND TO BE BLENDED WINES AS WELL

VARIETAL SPECIFIC - 75% OF A PARTICULAR GRAPE HAS TO BE IN

THE BOTTLE, MORE OR LESS DEPENDING ON

COUNTRY/REGION

LABELING:

BRAND OR PRODUCT

REGION OR ORIGIN

APPELLATION

VINEYARD

VARIETAL

VINTAGE

NEW VS. OLD WORLD WINES…

THE OLD WORLD IS CONSIDERED TO BE FRANCE, ITALY, SPAIN, AND

GERMANY

LESS COMMONLY KNOWN WOULD INCLUDE PORTUGAL, AUSTRIA,

ISRAEL AND LEBANON

NEW WORLD INCLUDES THE AMERICAS, AUSTRALIA AND NEW ZEALAND

NOTABLES IN SOUTH AMERICA ARE CHILE AND ARGENTINA, SOUTH

AFRICAN WINES ALSO CONSIDERED NEW WORLD

OLD WORLD WINES ARE MOST ASSOCIATED WITH REGION WHICH

TEND TO BE DOMINATED BY PARTICULAR VARIETALS

NEW WORLD WINES ARE TYPICALLY REFERRED TO BY VARIETAL BUT ARE

MORE AND MORE GAINING EMPHASIS ON THE REGION AS WELL

a) Grapes grown in different climates yield different styles of wine

-factors affecting wines include elevation, soil type, latitude,

bodies of water and wine making techniques

-the natural effects on a wine are known as terroir

b) 75% of wine must come from designated appellation

on label (different laws for each country/region)

c) The more specific the info on the label, the better

(and usually more expensive) the wine is

Region/Appellation

WHAT ARE SULFITES?

• SULFITES ARE NATURALLY OCCURRING CHEMICALS

FOUND IN MANY FOODS

• FOR MANY YEARS IT HAS BEEN A COMMON PRACTICE

TO ADD SULFITES TO WINE AS A PROTECTION AGAINST

OXIDATION AND BACTERIAL SPOILAGE

• MANUFACTURED SULFITES ARE ADDED AS SULFUR SALTS

OR SULFUR DIOXIDE SOLUTIONS TO THE JUICE BEFORE

FERMENTATION UNTIL BOTTLING

• UNFORTUNATELY, WINEMAKERS CAN BE EXCESSIVE IN

THEIR USE OF SULFITES

• EFFECTS ARE MASKING OF DELICATE FLAVORS, ASSAULTING THE NOSE, AND

CAUSING HEADACHES AND ALLERGIC REACTIONS TO THOSE WHO ARE

ESPECIALLY SENSITIVE

• MODERN WINEMAKING EQUIPMENT AND SANITATION MAKE IT POSSIBLE TO

PRODUCE SOUND WINES WITHOUT SUCH ADDITIVES…. STILL BEING ADDED

THOUGH?

• THE LEGAL LIMIT IN WINE IS 350 PPM, MOST WITH ADDED SULFITES CONTAIN

LESS, GENERALLY 25-150 PPM

• IF A WINE CONTAINS 10 PPM OR MORE OF TOTAL SULFITES, THE LABEL MUST

STATE CONTAINS SULFITES

• ORGANIC/BIODYNAMIC WINES WILL GENERALLY HAVE LESS SULFITES BUT

WILL NOT BE FREE OF THEM

• ONE SOURCE INDICATES THAT WHITE WINES USUALLY HAVE MORE SULFITES

THAN REDS

DOES WINE GO BAD? WITH TIME… MOST WINES WILL SPOIL AND TURN TO VINEGAR

ALL WINES ARE AFFECTED BY LIGHT, HEAT AND HUMIDITY

FOR LONG TERM STORAGE IT IS BEST TO CONTROL ALL 3 FACTORS

SOME WINES CAN BE AGED AND SOME SAY IMPROVED BY DOING SO… EVEN UP TO A CENTURY AND

BEYOND

CORK TAINT IS ANOTHER PROBLEM CAUSED BY A FAULTY SEAL

THIS CAUSES A WINE TO OXIDIZE MUST FASTER THAN IT SHOULD

I HAVE HEARD ABOUT 7% OF ALL WINE IS AFFECTED IN SOME WAY BY CORK TAINT, THAT ‘S ABOUT

ONE BOTTLE PER CASE

SCREW CAP ENCLOSURES ARE NOW BEING USED REGULARLY AND ARE ALSO MUCH MORE EFFECTIVE

COMMON WHITE WINES

CHARDONNAY (SHAR-DOE-NAY) - TYPICAL GREEN APPLE, CITRUS, SOMEWHAT FRUITY

ORIGIN - BURGUNDY REGION OF FRANCE

SAUVIGNON BLANC (SO-VEEN-YON - BLONK) - FIG, MELON SOMETIMES GRASSY, LIGHTER BODIED THAN CHARDONNAY

ORIGIN - BORDEAUX REGION OF FRANCE

PINOT GRIGIO (PEENO-GREEGIO) - VERY LIGHT STYLE, EASY TO DRINK, MELON AND CITRUS OVERTONES

ORIGIN - ALTO - REGION OF ITALY

RIESLING (REES-LING) - LIGHT WINE, SWEET WITH HINTS OF APRICOT, PEACH AND HONEYSUCKLE

ORIGIN - GERMANY

COMMON RED WINES

• CABERNET SAUVIGNON (CAB-BEAR-NAY SO-VEEN-YON) - VERY

DRY FULL BODIED WINE WITH PRONOUNCED TANNINS. FRUIT

FLAVORS OF DARK CHERRY, AND CASSIS

ORIGIN - BORDEAUX REGION OF FRANCE

• MERLOT ( MAIR-LO) - SOFTER THAN CABERNET - LESS TANNINS,

DARK CHERRY, HERBS AND BLACK BERRY

ORIGIN -BORDEAUX REGION OF FRANCE

• PINOT NOIR (PEE-NO-NWAH) - RASPBERRY AND HERBAL.

SOMETIMES EARTHY(WINEMAKER)

ORIGIN - BURGUNDY REGION OF FRANCE

• SYRAH OR SHIRAZ (SIR-AH OR SHIR-AZ) - RICH AND ROBUST

MEDIUM TANNINS, DARK FRUIT, BLACK PEPPER AND SPICES

ORIGIN - RHONE REGION OF FRANCE

BASICS OF WINE AND FOOD PAIRING SUGGESTIONS

ASK???

* WHAT DO YOU LIKE - RED OR WHITE?

* WHAT ARE YOU SERVING?

* WHAT PRICE ARE YOU COMFORTABLE WITH?

WHEN PAIRING WINE & FOOD

1. DETERMINE WEIGHTS OF FOOD AND WINE TO

MATCH AS CLOSE AS YOU CAN

2. IDENTIFY FLAVORS OF WINE, FOOD, THEN BLEND

BASED ON TEXTURE AND FLAVORS

FURTHER INTERESTS? QUESTIONS?

RESOURCES…

HTTP://WINETASTINGGUY.WEEBLY.COM/

PLEASE DRINK SAFE.