What are the four primary categories to describe when tasting a wine?
APPEARANCE
NOSE
PALATE
CONCLUSIONS
What are the 4 sub-categories to consider within a wine’s APPEARANCE
- Clarity: Clear –– hazy
- Color
- Intensity: Pale –– Medium –– Deep
- Other Observations: bubbles, deposits
What is the spectrum of color for a white wine, lightest to darkest?
lemon-green lemon gold amber brown
What is the spectrum of color for a red wine, lightest to darkest?
Purple Ruby Garnet Tawny Brown
What are the 4 sub-categories to consider within a wine’s NOSE?
- Condition: clean or faulty
- Aroma intensity
- Aroma characteristics
- Development: youthful, developing, fully developed, or tired
What is the spectrum of aroma intensity?
Light Medium - Medium Medium + Pronounced
What are the 9 sub-categories to consider within a wine’s PALATE?
- Sweetness
- Tannins
- Acidity
- Balance
- Finish
- Flavor intensity
- Mousse
- Alcohol
- Flavor characteristics
What are the sub-categories to consider when making a CONCLUSION about wine?
Readiness to drink: too young, can drink now but has aging potential, drink now cannot be aged, past its prime
Quality: Faulty, poor, acceptable, good, very good, outstanding
What are the 12 categories of primary aromas?
- Red fruit: strawberries, red cherries, red currant, cranberry
- Black fruit: black currant, black cherries, blackberries, blueberries
- Stone fruit: apricots, peach
- Citrus fruit: Oranges, lemons, limes [peel or zest], grapefruit
- Tropical fruit: melons, bananas, mangos, pineapple
- Cooked fruit: figs, prunes, baked fruits
- Green fruit: green apples, pears
- Floral: roses, violets
- Herbaceousness: asparagus, tomato leaf, grass
- Other: flint, wet stones, wet wool
- Herbal: Dried mint, eucalyptus, fennel, dill
- Pungent spice: Liquorices, black/white pepper
What are the 3 core categories of secondary aromas?
Oak –– Vanilla, charred wood, smoke, cloves
Yeast –– Bread, biscuit, pastry
MLF –– Butter, cheese, cream
