Wine Tasting, red and white wine of the Savoie region

Wine Tasting

The Principles of Wine Tasting

Why learn how to taste wine ?

5 Crucial things about wine tasting (according to Bernard Vissoud)

Talk about wine : It’s not important to know about wine but rather talk about it.
Bias : To make up for their lack of knowledge and due to certain snobbishness, too many wine amateurs let themselves be influenced by the name of a wine or its creator, the hardest thing in wine tasting is objectivity.
Why : why do I want to buy this wine or that one ?
Foresight : be sufficiently competent to decide whether a wine merits being purchased and to estimate how long a wine needs to be kept and the best time to consume it.
Price : does the quality of wine justify its cost ?

The Principles of Wine Tasting :

Protect the wines from temperature variation (not less than 8 degrees in winter and not more than 18 degrees in summer). Avoid any vibration, e.g. from fridge motor, water pump or nearby road traffic etc.

Cool the wine in an ice bucket, outside when the weather is cold enough, or in a special vibration free wine fridge.

Bring the wine to its optimum temperature, depending on the particular type, and allow to breathe before tasting.

Coffee, toothpaste and mint should be avoided before wine tasting. The best time is at the end of the morning.

The influence of the moon. A full moon will make the wine harsher.

The influence of altitude: wines will age more quickly at higher altitudes but this will give a much stronger taste.

The best type of wine glass is a tulip shaped one (INAO type) It should be rinsed out with clean water.

Hold the glass by the bottom. A glass is composed of the stem, the "button" , the bowl and the rim.

Several vines
and Savoy wines

Jaquère,
Roussette,
Bergeron,
Mondeuse

The different steps in wine tasting

The Eye or Appearance :

colour, brilliance, limpidity, fluidity
Don’t forget to look for the tears or the legof glycerol and alcohol.

The ‘nose’ or aroma :

Primary aromas (the grape),
Secondary aromas (fermentation),
Tertiary aromas the "bouquet" (ageing)
Flower aromas,

Fruit aromas.

The Mouth (taste) :

The tongue : Different tastes: Sweet, Salty, Acid, Bitter
Confirmation of the aroma, new tastes, the balance between acidity and -alcohol (white wine), and acidity, tannins and alcohol (red wine).
The "attack", the feeling in the mouth, final taste, caudalies- the residual taste on the palate.
L’arrière bouche, la partie de la gorge en relation avec le nez. C’est là que par rétro-olfaction on découvre la plupart des goûts et arômes. Confirmation du nez, nouveaux goûts.
Equilibre acidité-alcool (blancs), acidité-tannins alcool (rouges).

Types : Vegetal, floral, fruity, spicy, woody, balsam, empyromatic, oil of turpentine, animal, pastry, sweets, chemical.

Examples of different flavours

WHITE WINES (Jacquère, Gringet, Roussette, Molette, Roussanne, Chardonnay, Mondeuse Blanche, Malvoisie Pinot-Gris, Malvoisie Velteliner, Verdesse, Chasselas…)

Flower and herbaceous scents: Acacia, Hawthorn, Jasmine, Narcissus, meadow flowers, dandelion, alpine flowers, Iris, Lilac, Rose, lime, Violet, Camomile, honeysuckle, Fern, Mint, Moss, Sage, boxwood, green hay, dry hay, sometimes red fruits.

Fruity aromas: Apricot, dried almond, green almond, pineapple, green or black banana, lemon, stewed fruits, quince, fresh fig, candied Fruit, passion fruit, Litchi, Mango, Hazelnut, green walnut, bitter orange, grapefruit, apple, white pear, white peach, green prune… sometimes red fruits

Others: Vegetal, Mineral, metallic, beeswax, honey, Butter, blond tobacco…

RED WINES (Mondeuse, Persan, Pinot, Gamay…)

Flower and herbaceous scents: Hawthorn, Violet, blackcurrant, rosemary, peony, blackcurrant buds, clove, cinnamon, aromatic plants found in scrublands…

Fruity aromas: Blueberry, Strawberry, Raspberry, red currant, blackberry, wild berries, candied cherries, cherry stones, cherries in alcohol, blackcurrant, Prunes, quince paste, banana…

Others: Spice, Animal (cooked, smoked meat, marinated…) woody, Truffle, Mushroom, Chocolate, Caramel, English sweets, Vanilla that has been aging, liquorice, Tobacco, Empyreumatique (grilled toast, café, Cacao…), Balsamic (resin, balm, pine, glaze…)

Bernard VISSOUD - Alpes Flaveurs - Chemin des Abymes - 73800 LES MARCHES
Phone : +33 4 79 28 61 49 - Mobile : +33 6 72 72 98 42
bernard.vissoud@alpes-flaveurs.com ~ www.alpes-flaveurs.com
Siret : 451 145 007 000 14 - Habilitation HA 073 05 0004