I returned to class the following week with my six ISO glasses in tow. Having tried to hone my spitting and tasting technique at home during the previous week, I felt ready to learn about white wine varietals.
WSET Level I focuses primarily on the “noble” grape varietals: Chardonnay, Riesling, Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Noir, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Syrah/Shiraz. We began the second class tasting two examples of Chardonnay and these two wines were chosen specifically to illustrate the concept of quality. A “quality” wine will exhibit characteristics of balance (balance of flavour, acidity, sweetness and tannin, when applicable), length (length of the finish), intensity (intensity of the flavour) and complexity (the wine has layers – there’s a whole lot going on).
We tried the first two wines blind and then we were asked to determine which was the more “quality” wine. The first wine had floral and citrus aromas with flavours of green apple and citrus and lightly oaked. It was a pleasant wine with a short finish, meaning the flavours do not linger on the palate for a long time after you swallow (or spit). The second wine had a musty aroma with scents of buttered corn on the cob, wood and spice. On the palate there was vanilla, wood, green apple and pear, layers of rich flavour, and a long finish. The second wine was clearly the quality wine. Then it was time for the big reveal. The first wine was Lindeman’s Bin 65 Chardonnay from Australia; a nice little wine for $13. The second wine was Domaine Jacques Prieur, a White Burgundy from France for $138 a bottle. One of the things that sets White Burgundy apart from your average Chardonnay is that it is barrel fermented. Most wines are fermented in stainless steel tanks while White Burgundy is fermented in oak barrels adding texture to the wine and better integration of oak.
Next we tried two examples of Riesling as we learned more about sweetness and acidity in wine. I am finding it challenging to detect acidity, especially the degree of acidity: low, medium and high. Acidity is not as much about tartness or bitterness as it is about a mouthwatering sensation that occurs at the lower sides of your mouth, between your cheeks and your gums, therefore when you’re swishing wine around your mouth it’s really important the wine gets back into these areas. Acidity is important in a wine, especially when it is off dry or sweet, to help balance the sweetness. Acidity can also make a wine refreshing and can help the wine to age.
For me Riesling tends to have a very distinct aroma of petroleum jelly and often intense fruit aromas of stone fruit like apricot. The first Riesling at 12.5% alcohol was from Alsace, France which is a region that tends to produce dry Riesling. The second example, at 9% alcohol, from Mosel, Germany was a medium sweet wine. You may wonder why I am quoting the alcohol content of the wine here, that is because it can be a clue to whether the wine is sweet or not.
Wine is fermented grape juice. When yeast is introduced to grape juice it eats the sugar in the juice and a byproduct of this is carbon dioxide and alcohol. The yeast will die when all the sugar is gone or when alcohol levels reaches around 15%. If fermentation is stopped before the yeast die there will be residual sugar, resulting in a sweeter wine. Thus by looking at the alcohol content of these two wines you can feel pretty safe deducing that the Riesling from Germany will be sweeter than the one from France.
The next wines we tasted were made from Sauvignon Blanc. We compared a French Sancerre to a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. The Sancerre had delicate vegetal, grapefruit and floral aromas while the Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand had intense aromas of passion fruit and green pepper. The later wine was Kim Crawford’s Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough, New Zealand and, for $21 a bottle, it was my big find for the evening; it was delicious!
The last white varietal we tasted was Pinot Gris, otherwise known as Pinot Grigio in Italy; it is a pink skinned grape. We sampled a Pinot Grigio from Italy which had light mineral and floral aromas and the scent of green apple as it warmed-up. On the palate it was fresh and crisp with citrus flavours and it had high acidity. The Pinot Gris from France was medium bodied with a hint of sweetness. For me it had the distinct aroma of the rind from brie cheese with riper fruits on the palate; the acidity was medium.
Again we ended the class on a sweet note; we paired Dow’s Late Bottled Vintage Port with 70% dark chocolate. I’m not generally a fan of Port but it went well with the chocolate and was a good illustration of the food pairing guideline that your wine should always be as sweet as the food you are eating, if not sweeter.
We would learn more about food pairing during the fourth and final class. Next class, class number three, we will cover red varietals.