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WSET Homework – Loire, Rhone & S.France – Part 2

Select four wines illustrating the range of styles, quality and price amongst the wine of the Rhone, giving reasons for each selection.

Wine 1
Cotes du Rhone AC.
A basic level AC, Light bodied Grenache based blends from the southern Rhone. Can vary in price but generally inexpensive. Carbonic maceration is used.

Wine 2
Hermitage AC Rouge.
Syrah Grape. Up to 15% blending with Marsanne or Rousanne is permitted. Northern Rhone and premium priced. Good ageing potential, very small production of outstanding quality.

Wine 3
Condrieu AC
Northern Rhone, white wine from the Viognier grape, full bodied aromatic, floral and fruity. Premium priced. Fry good quality. The use of oak is widely used. Cn also be made in an off dry style.

Wine 4
Tavel AC, rose wine from the southern Rhone using cinsault and Grenache grapes. The production is 100% rose. They are full bodied and fruity and are mid priced and can develop a savoury quality with age.

WSET Homework – Wine Production part 3

Oxygen is considered beneficial in the ageing of good quality wines as it adds interesting aromas through the porous nature of barrel fermentation and ageing. It also adds oxidation in fortified wines such as sherry.

A wine is oxidised (faulty) when there is a degree of damage from ageing in bottle due to a faulty closure, be it screw cap or cork, and the wine lacks flavour and can smell stale, even gives the wine a vinegary taste and aroma.

Sulphur dioxide has a vast array of uses within the winery, but can be summed up with two categories. Antioxidant, preventing the effects of oxygen. Antiseptic, preventing the effects of bacteria.

Must enrichment is a practice of adding sweetness to the must, and is also know as chapitalisation.
Tartaric Acid and Potassium Bicarbonate are used for controlling acidity. In cooler climates KHCO3 is used to de-acidify and Tartaric Acid is used in hot climates to add acidity to a wine.

Saccromyces Cerevisiae is the most common and commercially used yeast strain for wine production. It tolerates high alcohol, SO2 levels and creates pleasing flavours.

Extraction is the process of extracting colour and tannin from the skins of black grapes into the wine.

There are various methods that aid extraction as the skins and pulp would normally form a layer on the top of the fermentation at and extraction would be much slower. These process ensure a sufficient and controlled extraction takes place.

Carbonic maceration is where the primary crushing of grapes occurs through an initial fermentation process started off in a carbon dioxide rich environment in which the grapes effectively crush themselves and subsequent grapes.

Saigneé is a way of making rosé wine where a portion of liquid drawn off during red wine production to increase the extraction and intensity of the red wine is kept and fermentation is completed with no skin contact to produce a rose. Effectively making two batches of wine from one batch of grapes. Clever.

Passerillage is the process of leaving ripe grapes to dry out while still on the vine in order to make sweet wines.

Süssreserve is a sweet liquid derived from unfermented grape juice and is added to fermented grape juice to sweeten it prior to bottling.

White wines are fermented at lower temperatures than reds to retain their lively fruit flavours and freshness. Red wines are fermented higher in order to aid extraction of colour and tannin.

MFL is Malolactic fermentation, it is the process after initial fermentation where the malic acid is conerted to lactic acid and is started by a rise in temperature of the post ferment wine after racking. It gives the wine more dairy and creamy textures.

Racking is the process of removing the gross lees and effectively the initial clarification of a wine. Usually done after sedimentation where the wine is left to settle and the gross lees sink to the bottom of the fermentation vessel.

Fining is a chemical process to stabilise and remove unstable colloids from a wine, the tiny bacterial particles.

Many winemakers choose not to filter a wines as, opposed to fining, it removed physical particles from a wine and debate rages about wether this affects the texture and taste of a wine. Some top produces choose not to in order to retain any influence these partially may have on the resultant wine. Some do.

The white crystals often found in white wine are most certainly not glass but instead a perfectly harmless crystal called tartrate crystals. They form naturally in acid wines kept a cool temperatures (German Rieslings…) but can often be removed through a process of cold stabilisation where the wine is chilled quite cold quite quickly in order to force the crystals to form in a controlled and then are filtered out.

Microbiological spoilage is anything in the wine that may caused an unintentional secondary fermentation in bottle. Wines that haven’t undergone MLF or are low in acidity and alcohol and little residual sugar are prone. Most wines undergo cold bottling to prevent this.

There is a large and ongoing debate about the benefits and disadvantages of cork and screw cap closures. Corks are better for ageing as they let a tiny amount of oxygen in, but can also suffer from a host of natural effects such as cork taint, but are still favoured by most top wine producers. Screw caps are virtually (99%) fault free, also nobody really knows the effect on ageing potential so are still mainly used for the ‘consume now’ category of wines.

WSET homework – Loire, Rhone & S.France

The Central Valley rejoin on of the Loire has a cool continental climate, with severe winters and hot summers. Chalky soils. This with a plantation of mainly unoaked Sauvignon provide crisp and dry styles of wine with green fruit flavours and high acidity.

‘Tuffeau’ is the soft chalky limestone, well draining soil in the banks of the river Loire, the soil has excellent drainage due to the chalk and it’s very porous. It retains the acidity in the grapes.

The reds of Chinon and Bourgueil are light bodied reds made from mainly Cabernet Franc and a little Cabernet Sauvignon with a dry herbaceous finish.

Grolleau is the main grape used to make Anjou rosé.

Botrytis prefers the sheltered south side of the Loire in the Coteaux du Layon rather than the open and dry and airy north side in Savennieres.

The vines in Muscadet are now more commonly wire trained to aid machine harvesting.

Condrieu is a region in the northern Rhone producing white wines from the Viognier grape. They tend to be low in acidity, high in alcohol medium bodied and with a floral, spicy palate.

Cote Rotie can have up to 20% white grape Viognier blended (typically around 5%), compared to Hermitage which can have up to 15% Marsanne or Rousanne, but rarely does. Also Cote Rotie is 100% red wine whereas Hermitage can be either red or white wine. The reds of Cote Rotie are characterful, aromatic and elegantly full bodied where hermitage can be more robust and the fullest bodied of the northern Rhone.

In the AC of St Joseph there is relatively flat and fertile soil and uses carbonic maceration to produce large volumes of relatively light bodied wine for the Northern Rhone.

The wines of Cornas, the most southern AC of the northern Rhone is therefore the warmest and is also the only AC that are 100% Syrah, deeply coloured and full bodied.

Grenache dominates the southern Rhone because it it tolerant to drought, strong winds and lots heat that are common there.

A village may gain Cru status by applying and adhering to more strict appellation controls. Including higher alcohol and maximum yield and a higher percentage of Grenache, Syrah and Mourvedre.

The wines of chateauneuf du Pape can vary massively due to the number of permitted grapes and the quality of winemaking. It can be an incredibly complex blend of singularly vinified grapes, a co-fermented blend or a simple 100% Grenache.

AC Tavel is famous for its rosé production from the cinsault and Grenache grapes. The AC Lirac also produces similar rosés alongside its red and white wines. Tavel can only produce rosé wine.

The Rhone satellites are noticeably cooler due to either altitude or latitude. The wines are generally lighter, excepts Costières du Nîmes which can be similar to the rest of the Rhone.

The warm climate of the south of France is very consistent and offered ideal conditions for growing, long sunshine hours, warm temperatures and low rainfall. Although altitude and proximity to the coast can all have further effects on specific sites as well as the large array of soil types.

Langedoc Rousillon has a massive diversity in climate and soil and consequently a vast array of style s of wine are produced. It is also difficult to assign a typical style to one AC due to grower and winemaking styles of permitted grapes. AC’s such as Fitou ae almost split in two with the coastal vineyards producing full bodied wines and the inland areas producing lighter wines. Also, Minervois AC has significant changes in altitude so quality can also vary.

IGP wines in the south of France are important as they give the option for producers to play with international grape varieties and experiment with blending outside of the AC rules. In southern France they account for 60% of all IGP wine produce in France and lots of them consist of Cabernet Sauvignon as it isn’t permitted in any of the AC’s.

Bandol AC is in Provence in the south east of France producing bold tannic long live wines from the Mourvedre grape which age very well.

The grape variety Cabernet Sauvignon accounts for up to 30% of production in the Provence region and makes red, white and rose wines.

WSET Homework, Burgundy and Alsace Part 2

Short answer, 4 wines for a wine list all from Burgundy. One must be affordable, house wine, all must be different in style and price.

Wine 1:
Bourgogne AC Chardonnay
This wine will be a inexpensive or reasonably priced house style and value for money as it it one of the widest AC’s with grapes being grown virtually all over the Burgundy region and therefore can vary in quality. Generally accessible, clean and un-oaked Chardonnay.

Wine 2:
Chablis AC
Clean, crisp and often with a high minerality from soil type and high acidity from the cooler climate in Chablis, from northern Burgundy, these wines are often regarded as some of the best examples of un-oaked Chardonnay and often command a high price.

Wine 3:
Chambertin AC, Rouge
A top quality, premium priced, incredibly complex red wine made from the Pinot Noir grape in the northern part of the Côte d’Or, the Côte de Nuits. These wines are generally oaked and produce some of the more powerful and intense examples of Pinot Noir in Burgundy.

Wine 4
Puligny-Montrachet AC Blanc
From the southern part of the Côte d’Or, the Côte de Beaune, this AC is one of the finest and most expensive examples of the Chardonnay grape, fermented in old oak barrels and then aged in new French oak, alongside near perfect growing conditions and locations gives the wine a full body and can be increased with malolactic fermentation and lees stirring.

WSET Burgundy Alsace Part 1

1.The 4 main grape varieties of Burgundy are:
-Pinot Noir, black thin skinned delicate grape, medium tannin, preferring cooler climates.
-Chardonnay, grows in all climates to varying qualities,
-Gamay, red/purple skinned grape, easily grown and very fruity with low tannins.
-Aligoté – a fairly bland and nondescript white grape, generally used so simple fresh white.

2. The main districts, north – south in Burgundy are: Chablis, Côte d’Or (inc. Côte de Nuits & Côte de Beaune), Côte Chalonnaise, Maconnaise, and Beaujolais.

3. All except the Macon AC’s the regional AC’s of a burgundy are known as or include the word Bourgogne. ie: Bourgogne Blanc AC or Bourgogne Aligoté AC.

4. The primary hazards to a vineyard in burgundy are spring frosts (especially in Chablis) and Summer Rain causing Grey Rot and Summer Hailstorms.

5. The grape varieties used in the wines of Bourgogne Grand Ordinaire AC and Bourgogne Passetoutgrains AC are a blend of Pinot Noir and Gamay. Although they are relatively uncommon.

6. The soil in Chablis is primarily called Kimmeridgian Soil and is made up of a layer or a limestone on top of the mineral rich Kimmeridgian Clay. Although recently expanded the area may now include some Portlandian Clay underneath the Limestone.

7. The vines of Burgundy are generally trained using the replacement cane system known as Guyot, which has a low wiring to benefit from the heat of the soil.

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9. The communes of the Cote de Nuits include; Vosne-Romaneé, Chambertin and Nuit-St-George, the communes of the Côte de Beaune include; Pommard, Corton and Le Montrachet.

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11. The finest whites are made from Chardonnay from low yields with strict selection and perfect growing conditions. Then fermented in new French oak and then aged in new French oak as well. Can take 10 years to reach their potential.

12. Chassagne adds the famous Village of Montrachet to its AC name, and Gevrey does the same with Chambertain.

13. Of the villages within in Maconnaise, many of them, including the towns of Chardonnay and Lugny can append the word Macon to their names. ie: Macon-Chardonnay.

14. Beaujolais, especially Nouveau, may be fermented using the Carbonic or Semi-Carbonic Maceration. Which uses whole bunches and vats filled with carbon dioxide, using the pressure of the grapes to begin a fermentation within the grapes, so essentially they crush themselves, the grapes are then pressed and the yeast fermentation process begins as normal. It is a very gentle way and keeps the wine style light and fresh.

15. The dry sandy, granite soils of Beaujolais restrict vigour enough in the Gamay grape to produce excellent quality Beaujolais.

16. Alsace is one of the driest parts in Europe with a cool continental climate. It is protected from westerly winds and rain by the Vosges Mountains.

17. Generally the Double Guyot system for pruning is used in Alsace, it’s a double replacement cane system. The vines are trained differently depending on aspect. Those on the slopes are trained low to benefit from the heat and these on the plains are trained higher to protect agains spring frosts.

18. Alsace wines are typically made after a September harvest, with a gentle pneumatic pressing and generally very little interference with the fermentation process. The wines are fermented in large, very old oak casks, many of which have thick tartrate deposits that prevent any influence from the oak on the wine, although more modern co-operative wineries have implemented the use of stainless steel vats. MLF I’d not generally used except with Pinot Blanc. The wine is bottled young and fresh in the spring following harvest, and most wines are ready to drink on release.

19. In Alsace there are only two levels of AC. Alsace AC and Alsace Grand Cru AC. The Grand Cru AC was introduced in 1975. If it is a Grand Cru, they must come from one of the specified vineyards and stricter controls on production must be adhered to. They must be 100% varietal and be one of the four ‘noble’ varieties, maximum yield is lower and sugar ripeness is higher than Alsace AC.

20. The terms Vendage Tardive (VT) and Selection Grains Nobles (SGN) are both terms for Alsace sweet wines.
-VG meaning ‘Late Harvest’ so will have slight influence from Botrytis, made from 100% varietal from one of the four ‘noble’ varieties, and have higher potential sugar ripeness than Grand Cru AC and Alsace AC wines, around 14-15% abv. They roughly translate to the German Auslese classification.
-SGN will have definite influence from Botrytis, again made from 100% varietal from one of the four ‘noble’ varieties, and have higher potential sugar ripeness than VT, Grand Cru AC and Alsace AC wines, around 16.5-18% abv. They roughly translate to the German Beerenauslese classification, and won’t be made each vintage, only inn years where the ripeness is possible and then only in small quantities.