Test your basic knowledge |

Wine Production 101

Instructions:

Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
Match each statement with the correct term.
Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.

1. Which components of white table wines 1. originate from the grapes; 2. are fermentation end products; and 3. are developed during agin?
1. color - sugar - acidity - varietal aroma and flavor; 2. alcohol and carbon dioxide; 3. malolactic fermentation and/or oak barrel and/or sur lie-aging flavors
Microbiological stability
Methode champenoise
Verbal structure

2. The concentrated alcohol used to fortify wines is called _______.
Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc
Wine spirits
False. Winetasters begin the olfactory stage of evaluating a wine by sniffing the wine without swirling and swirl 1-2 revolutions and sniff 2-3 times in the second stage.
Extracted at higher pressures

3. About how many leaves does a shoot need to mature its grape clusters?
About 10 to 20 - if they are well exposed to sunlight.
The degrees Brix does not drop because at this stage; while the yeast cells are metabolizing with the aid of the dissolved oxygen in the grape juice and increasing in number - they have not consumed enough glucose to change the density of the juice.
Hedonic quality
Dissolved carbon dioxide gas

4. Compared to a glass of plain water - an ____________ should seem sweeter - smoother - heavier - and warm.
The barrels would be sealed tight - rotated 30 degrees to wet the bung and tighten the seal - and not opened until the aging was complete.
Trap the CO2 from a second alcoholic fermentation
Alcohol solution
Sparkling and sweet wine

5. Which variety is blended with Cabernet Sauvignon to 'soften' its tannins?
Liver cirrhosis
Merlot
Botrytis infection
Grafting

6. To emulate the characteristics of grapes produced under conditions in France's Champagne district - _______ grape growing regions are preferred and the grapes are harvested ______ wherever methode champenoise wines are made.
Some exposure to air
Because they must be able to envision what the wine will be like in 2-4 years
Cool - early
Decreases light interception by the vineyard

7. Why can grapes from two vineyards with the same hot daytime temperatures have different acid compositions?
Ports of different sugar contents can be combined to give the desired final sugar concentration and varietal ports can be mixed to enhance complexity
The degrees Brix does not drop because at this stage; while the yeast cells are metabolizing with the aid of the dissolved oxygen in the grape juice and increasing in number - they have not consumed enough glucose to change the density of the juice.
Half; 75-110
On cool nights the grapes need less energy and use up less malic acid. Locations with cooler nighttime temperatures produce fruit that is higher in malic acid than that produced in sites where it stays warm all night.

8. The National Geographic Smell Survey found that _______________is reduced during pregnancy and that odor perception declines during aging.
Tranquilizers
Must
Olfactory sensitivity
Fortified dessert wines

9. What element of red wines will probably cause you to have palate fatigue? How can you minimize it?
The astringency from tannins seems to get stronger with each sip and that tires the palate. If tasters wait 40 seconds or more between sip the effect is lessened.
35-125 parts per million
Vine size
Colorless

10. There are certain conventions based on flavor and structural compatibility that are followed by many producers when making varietal blends. For example - ____________ are more often blended.
Both winemaking techniques were developed in France and both start with uncrushed - whole grape clusters - an absolute requirement for carbonic maceration and a very common practice for m
Quality will be lower
Darker colors
Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc

11. About ____% of sparkling wine made in the U.S. is produced by the methode champenoise process.
17
Warmer
Identify odors
Water evaporation

12. California wineries age their red wines ________ months in the bottle before releasing them.
One-half month to 48 months
Resist spoilage
Nodes
Monoterpenes

13. Because the conditions are so different - low sugar - high alcohol - increasing CO2 pressure - from those of the first alcoholic fermentation - yeast for the ___________ are often of a different strain or species.
Because each cluster must be smelled to be sure it does not have a secondary infection and handled carefully so it doesn't fall apart.
Prise de mousse
Non-wine drinkers
Free-run juices

14. Women are more able to learn to _________ than men.
Mesoclimate
Sulfite-sensitive - steroid-dependent asthmatics
Identify odors
Tannins

15. Quantitatively distinguish between thin and thick canopies.
When photographed - about 40 percent of the canopy surface of a thin canopy appears as light patches. The value is much lower with thick canopies. Also - the leaf layer number of thin canopies is 1.5 or lower.
Limousin forest
Dom Perignon - 1668-1715
One place

16. White varietal wine whose wines acquire 'subtle - oily scents' as they age
Botrytis cinerea
White Riesling
Dark skinned Pinot Noir grapes
It's because with repeated sniffing the alcohol will begin to interfere with your ability to smell.

17. To fully enjoy a sparkling wine it should be served in a flute so its bubbles will be displayed properly - and unlike table wine - the glasses would be filled nearly all the way to the brim.
True
Solera
The degrees Brix does not drop because at this stage; while the yeast cells are metabolizing with the aid of the dissolved oxygen in the grape juice and increasing in number - they have not consumed enough glucose to change the density of the juice.
Acetaldehyde - ethyl acetate

18. In the earliest - ancient Mediterranean civilizations wine was the drink of...
100
Grape composition - next year's crop - and grape berry health.
Black pepper
The priesthood and of the wealthy

19. Wine provides about how many calories per four-ounce serving?
100
Canopy thickness
22.9 degrees Brix - .80 total acid
The priesthood and of the wealthy

20. Fermentations of the high-sugar juices of ________ are hard to start and slow to progress.
Hydrometers
Botrytis-affected fruit
Canopy curtain
Quercus Suber

21. Region I is ______ than Region V
Cooler
Intense fruit aromas
Crop-bearing shoots
Resist spoilage

22. ___________________ is the theory that increased node number per vine - but with little change in nodes per meter of row - devigorates the vine.
Warm - dry
Sparkling and sweet wine
Sparkling wines
Big Vine Theory

23. For premium wine varietal wine production skin contact means that the chilled must is pumped into a tank to...
;lees
Sit for several hours
Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon
On cool nights the grapes need less energy and use up less malic acid. Locations with cooler nighttime temperatures produce fruit that is higher in malic acid than that produced in sites where it stays warm all night.

24. The alcoholic fermentation in red wine production is _________________ than for white wine production.
Genus Saccharomyces
Colors
Dry summers reduce vigor because they do not replenish soil water. As a consequence the vines deplete their water supply and stop growing.
Shorter - hotter - messier - more labor-intensive - more likely to occur in an open-topped tank - less likely to happen in a barrel

25. Charmat process wines have ________ yeast character compared to methode champenoise wines.
Recognition Threshold
Greater aging potential
Very limited
Sherries

26. If at low light levels a one unit increase in light intensity yields - for example - a one unit increase in photosynthetic rate - then at higher light levels a one unit increase in light intensity will yield less than a...
When photographed - about 40 percent of the canopy surface of a thin canopy appears as light patches. The value is much lower with thick canopies. Also - the leaf layer number of thin canopies is 1.5 or lower.
1. color - sugar - acidity - varietal aroma and flavor; 2. alcohol and carbon dioxide; 3. malolactic fermentation and/or oak barrel and/or sur lie-aging flavors
Carbonic Maceration
One unit increase in photosynthetic rate

27. In white table wines - this color is a sign that the wine has been exposed to too much air in production or has been bottle aged too long
Verbal structure
Odors
True
Brown

28. You are preparing a plate of appetizers for dinner. You will serve a dry Gewurztraminer with the appetizers. You do not include green apple slices on the plate because ______.
85
Eating the apple will bring out the acid in the wine.
1. color - sugar - acidity - varietal aroma and flavor; 2. alcohol and carbon dioxide; 3. malolactic fermentation and/or oak barrel and/or sur lie-aging flavors
Fining

29. Sherries referred to as ______ will have 7.5-10% sugar
Neutral
Climate.
Cream
T

30. The malolactic fermentation (MLF) is used in...
You tilt the glass so that you can look through a thinner layer of wine
Less tart
Cool-regions or cool-seasons
Harvest at 22 degrees Brix or above - no skin contact - ferment in barrels and at warmer temperatures - age in oak sur lie - and blend with S

31. Overall quality in red wines is correlated with total color and...
Browning of pigments
Pigment content
Hold the wine against a white background
100

32. Giving an odor a _____________- such as our associations with the odor and dictionary-style definitions - enhances our ability to recall its name.
Leaf pores
Verbal structure
Portugese grape varieties
Smaller barrels

33. The curve describing the relationship between light intensity and photosynthesis rate plateaus when the light is...
50% as intense as full sunlight on a clear summer day
Port
Water evaporation
Pinot Noir

34. Most ______________ sparkling wines are best if drunk within 2-3 years after they are released.
Botrytis-affected fruit
Fewer vegetative and herbaceous odors
Methode champenoise
Tannins

35. Sparkling wines made by the ____________ reflect the fruity - youthful characteristics of the grapes they are made from because the process can be completed relatively quickly.
Charmat
Chardonnay
A Burgundian-style wine
Premium winegrape vineyards

36. Leaving more nodes will increase the number of _____________ the following year - and the increased competition for resources among the more numerous shoots will decrease their growth.
Crop-bearing shoots
False. Because they are saturated with CO2 - sparkling wines don't undergo the same chemical changes as white table wines.
Purple wines
Limousin forest

37. The maximum _____________ of our sense of smell has been estimated at one part per million to several parts per trillion.
Different clones
Some exposure to air
Sensitivity
The use of solar energy to snythesize sugar from carbon dioxide and water.

38. Anosmia can refer to the loss of a person's ability to smell all odors and the term '_____________' is used when someone cannot detect a particular scent but otherwise has a normal sense of smell.
You could begin by fermenting Chenin Blanc in juice in oak barrels and add more oak by aging the wine for several months in new 60-gallon American oak barrels.
Specific anosmia
Wineries do not use these slower - 'natural' methods because the wine would be too old for contemporary tastes by the time it reached the market.
Fortified wines

39. What is photosynthesis?
The use of solar energy to snythesize sugar from carbon dioxide and water.
If the sulfur remains on the grape - it will be reduced during fermentation to stinky hydrogen sulfide
Bell pepper - eucalyptus - mint - maybe berries - cassis
Crop-bearing shoots

40. The _____________ is both more common and more crucial in premium red table wine production than in premium white table wine production.
French Colombard
The use of solar energy to snythesize sugar from carbon dioxide and water.
Malolactic fermentation
Chardonnay and Pinot Blanc

41. This group of wines is served at the coldest temperature both in the restaurant and tasting laboratory...
Riddling
True
Monoterpenes
Sparkling and sweet wine

42. A cuvee blended from white grapes only is called ______ and if only red grapes are used - it is ______.
Blanc de Blancs - Blanc de Noirs.
For two reasons: 1. The high alcohol content of wine spirits can interfere with a winemaker's odor perception. 2. Diluting a solution that has a high concentration of alcohol changes the spectrum of perceptible odors. The spirits will be diluted in t
Reduces fruitiness
FAS

43. The wines to be blended into a cuvee would not be very attractive as still table wines because they would seem too tart - too low in alcohol - and lacking in...
Yields increase
Varietal character
1. color - sugar - acidity - varietal aroma and flavor; 2. alcohol and carbon dioxide; 3. malolactic fermentation and/or oak barrel and/or sur lie-aging flavors
Alcohol solution

44. During red wine fermentation the ______ on the fermenting must be kept wet by 'punching down' or 'pumping over' in order to prevent growth of undesirable microorganisms and to promote ______ from the skins.
The use of solar energy to snythesize sugar from carbon dioxide and water.
Cap - extraction
Solera
Management of the extraction during fermentation

45. What three things happen when wines age in oak barrels?
Three things happen: alcohol and water evaporate through the sides of the container - concentrating the wine; some oxygen dissolves in the wine - allowing oxygen-dependent maturation reactions to occur slowly; and substances - color - odor - and flav
Chardonnay
Inhaled air
Pigment content

46. What is the affect of a dry summer climate on the vigor of unirrigated vines?
Dry summers reduce vigor because they do not replenish soil water. As a consequence the vines deplete their water supply and stop growing.
Strychnine
Sherries
Without perceptible sweetness and with an aroma which has an element that is like roses

47. ______________ refers to an organism's immediate neurological response to a stimulus in the environment.
Crushing
Sensation
You could begin by fermenting Chenin Blanc in juice in oak barrels and add more oak by aging the wine for several months in new 60-gallon American oak barrels.
80-90 degrees F

48. Imported sparkling wine makes up about ______% of the U.S. market.
On cool nights the grapes need less energy and use up less malic acid. Locations with cooler nighttime temperatures produce fruit that is higher in malic acid than that produced in sites where it stays warm all night.
Smooth
29
In addition to reducing acidity - the MLF causes other organoleptic changes: it produces gas and causes the wines to be less fruity and to have transient cheesy off odors - but it also allows them to develop greater complexity - including a buttery f

49. About ______ the fruit for dessert wine production goes to produce the alcohol for fortification - making the per ton yield of finished wine __________ gallons.
Low lying areas
Half; 75-110
55
Hydrometers

50. Because _____________ can spoil wine only in the presence of oxygen - winemakers minimize air contact with wines in bulk storage.
French Sauternes and German late-harvest Rieslings
A sampling of bottle-fermented sparkling wines
Vinegar bacteria
Methode champenoise