CSW Wine Tasting & Evaluation 4 â Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is 'volatile acidity' (VA) in wine, and which compound is most commonly responsible?
- Pleasant tartness from tartaric acid
- An off-aroma flaw caused primarily by acetic acid (vinegar) (Correct answer)
- Sweetness derived from residual grape sugars
- Oak-derived vanilla notes
Correct answer: An off-aroma flaw caused primarily by acetic acid (vinegar)
Volatile acidity refers to gaseous acids in wine, with acetic acid (vinegar) being the primary compound; high levels are considered a fault.
Question 2: A wine displays a 'brick-red' rim color. What does this most likely indicate?
- The wine is a young, deeply colored red
- The wine has undergone significant bottle aging (Correct answer)
- The wine was made from thick-skinned grapes
- The wine was aged in new oak
Correct answer: The wine has undergone significant bottle aging
Brick-red hues at the rim indicate that pigments have degraded over time, a classic sign of significant bottle age in red wines.
Question 3: Which of the following BEST defines 'balance' in a wine tasting context?
- A wine that contains equal amounts of each flavor compound
- When the key structural elementsâacidity, tannin, alcohol, and fruitâare in harmony (Correct answer)
- A wine without any discernible flaws
- A wine with a very long finish
Correct answer: When the key structural elementsâacidity, tannin, alcohol, and fruitâare in harmony
Balance means that no single structural component dominates; instead, acidity, tannin, alcohol, and fruit interact harmoniously on the palate.
Question 4: What does 'typicity' refer to when evaluating a wine?
- The wine's color intensity relative to its peers
- How well a wine expresses the characteristics expected of its grape variety and region (Correct answer)
- The wine's price-to-quality ratio
- Whether the wine displays tertiary aromas
Correct answer: How well a wine expresses the characteristics expected of its grape variety and region
Typicity measures how faithfully a wine represents the expected style, aromas, and flavors of its grape variety, region, or appellation.
Question 5: When a taster describes a wine as having 'green' or 'herbaceous' notes in a negative context, what is often the underlying cause?
- Too much oak aging
- Grapes harvested before full phenolic ripeness (Correct answer)
- Excessive malolactic fermentation
- High residual sugar levels
Correct answer: Grapes harvested before full phenolic ripeness
Under-ripe grapes contain higher levels of methoxypyrazines, producing green bell pepper, grass, or herbaceous characters that are considered flaws in many styles.
Question 6: Which tasting note is most associated with the secondary aroma category?
- Blackcurrant from Cabernet Sauvignon
- Cream and butter from malolactic fermentation (Correct answer)
- Dried fruit from bottle aging
- Citrus from Riesling
Correct answer: Cream and butter from malolactic fermentation
Secondary aromas develop from winemaking processes like malolactic fermentation and yeast autolysis, contributing creamy, buttery, or bread-like notes.
Question 7: In sensory evaluation, what is 'olfactory fatigue'?
- The phenomenon where the nose becomes temporarily desensitized to repeated aromas (Correct answer)
- The enhancement of aroma perception after repeated sniffing
- A fault caused by excessive sulfur dioxide
- The decay of volatile compounds in the glass over time
Correct answer: The phenomenon where the nose becomes temporarily desensitized to repeated aromas
Olfactory fatigue occurs when continuous exposure to the same aroma causes a temporary reduction in sensitivity to that specific scent.
CSW Wine Tasting & Evaluation 4
What is 'volatile acidity' (VA) in wine, and which compound is most commonly responsible?