Wine Quality (eBook)

Keith Grainger, Wine Educator, UK

Series Editor's Foreword.

Preface.

Acknowledgements.

Introduction.

CHAPTER 1 Wine Tasting.

1.1 Wine tasting & laboratory analysis.

1.2 What makes a good wine taster?

1.3 Where and when to taste -suitable conditions.

1.4 Appropriate equipment.

1.5 Tasting order.

1.6 Temperature of wines for tasting.

1.7 Tasting for specific purposes.

1.8 Structured tasting technique.

1.9 The importance of keeping notes.

CHAPTER 2 Appearance.

2.1 Clarity.

2.2 Intensity.

2.3 Colour.

2.4 Other observations.

CHAPTER 3 Nose.

3.1 Condition.

3.2 Intensity.

3.3 Development.

3.4 Aroma characteistics.

CHAPTER 4 Palate.

4.1 Sweetness/bitterness/acidity/saltiness/umami.

4.2 Dryness/sweetness.

4.3 Acidity.

4.4 Tannin.

4.5 Alcohol.

4.6 Body.

4.7 Flavour intensity.

4.8 Flavour characteristics.

4.9 Other observations.

4.10 Length.

CHAPTER 5 Tasting Conclusions.

5.1 Quality.

5.2 Reasons for quality.

5.3 Readiness for drinking/potential for ageing.

5.4 Price/value.

5.5 Identification/true to type?

5.6 Grading wine - the award of points.

5.7 Blind tasting.

5.7.1 Why taste blind?

5.7.2 Blind or sighted?

5.7.3 Tasting for quality.

5.7.4 Practicalities.

5.7.5 Examination tastings.

CHAPTER 6 Wine Faults and Flaws.

6.1 Chloroanisoles and bromoanisoles.

6.2 Fermentation in the bottle & bacterial spoilage.

6.3 Protein haze.

6.4 Oxidation.

6.5 Excessive volatile acidity.

6.6 Excessive sulphur dioxide.

6.7 Reductivity.

6.8 Brettanomyces.

6.9 Dekkera.

6.10 Geraniol.

6.11 Geosmin.

6.12 Ethyl acetate.

6.13 Excessive acetaldehyde.

6.14 Candida acetaldehyde.

6.15 Smoke taint.

CHAPTER 7 Quality - Assurances and guarantees?

7.1 Compliance with 'Quality Wine' legislation as an assurance of quality?

7.11 The European Union and Third Countries.

7.12 Table Wine and QWPSR.

7.13 The concept of Appellation Contrôlée.

7.2 Tasting competitions as an assessment of quality?

7.3 Classifications as an official assessment of quality?

7.4 ISO 9001 Certification as an assurance of quality?

7.5 Established brands as a guarantee of quality?

7.6 Price as an indication of quality?

CHAPTER 8 Quality - The Natural Factors and a Sense of Place.

8.1 Typcity and regionality.

8.2 The impact of climate upon quality wine production.

8.3 The role of soils.

8.4 Terroir.

8.5 The vintage factor.

CHAPTER 9 Constraints upon Quality Wine Production.

9.1 Financial.

9.2 Skills and diligence.

9.3 Legal.

9.4 Environmental.

CHAPTER 10 Production of Quality Wines.

10.1 Yield.

10.2 Density of Planting.

10.3 Age of vines.

10.4 Winter pruning.

10.5 Stressing the vines.

10.6 Green harvesting.

10.7 Harvesting.

10.7.1 Mechanical harvesting.

10.7.2 Hand picking.

10.8 Delivery and processing of fruit.

10.9 Selection and sorting.

10.10 Use of pumps/gravity.

10.11 Control of fermentations.

10.12 Use of gasses.

10.13 Barrels.

10.14 Selection from vats or barrels.

10.15 Storage.

CHAPTER 11 Selection by Buyers.

11.1 Supermarket dominance.

11.2 Price point/margin.

11.3 Selecting for market and customer base.

11.4 Styles and individuality.

11.5 Continuity.

11.6 The place of individual wines in the range.

11.7 Exclusivity.

11.8 Specification.

11.9 Technical analysis.

Glossary.

Bibliography.

Useful Websites.

Exhibitions

"A detailed consideration of tasting including a chapter on wine
faults as well as looking at production and the notion of quality
plus the sorts of criteria professional wine buyers use when
selecting wine." (Circle Update, March 2009)

"Keith Grainger's Wine Quality: Tasting and Selection is
an ideal book to accompany a WSET course." (Harpers Wine and
Spirit Weekly, February 2009)

"I really enjoyed this book ... .A constant feature of this
book is how well Keith balances his mastery of the technicalities
with a certain "common touch", the ability to explain
sometimes complex issues in easy-to-understand terms."
(Association of Wine Educators, January 2009)