SOMM Wine Production and Winemaking Techniques 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: What is the primary benefit of aging wine 'sur lie' (on its lees) after fermentation?
- It adds deep color and more tannins to the wine
- It clarifies the wine faster than filtration
- It adds complexity, creamy texture, and autolytic notes such as bread and biscuit (Correct answer)
- It reduces the wine's alcohol level
Correct answer: It adds complexity, creamy texture, and autolytic notes such as bread and biscuit
Sur lie aging keeps wine in contact with spent yeast cells, which undergo autolysis and release compounds that add creamy texture, complexity, and toasty, brioche-like aromas.
Question 2: Which fining agent, derived from fish bladders, is traditionally used to clarify white wines and lagers?
- Bentonite clay
- Egg whites (albumin)
- Isinglass (Correct answer)
- Gelatin
Correct answer: Isinglass
Isinglass is a fining agent derived from dried fish swim bladders that effectively clarifies white wines by attracting and precipitating haze-forming particles.
Question 3: In winemaking, what does 'assemblage' refer to?
- The mechanical process of pressing grape clusters
- The blending of different grape varieties, regions, or barrel lots into a final cuvée (Correct answer)
- The addition of oak alternatives such as staves or chips
- The disgorging of lees from sparkling wine bottles
Correct answer: The blending of different grape varieties, regions, or barrel lots into a final cuvée
Assemblage is the art of blending different components — grape varieties, vineyard blocks, or barrel selections — to create a balanced, complex final wine.
Question 4: Which stabilization process removes tartrate crystals from wine before bottling by chilling the wine near its freezing point?
- Cold stabilization (Correct answer)
- Sterile filtration
- Bentonite fining
- Reverse osmosis
Correct answer: Cold stabilization
Cold stabilization chills the wine to near freezing, causing potassium bitartrate (cream of tartar) crystals to precipitate out before bottling, preventing their formation in the bottle.
Question 5: What is 'pigeage' in red wine production?
- Pumping fermenting juice over the floating cap of grape skins
- Manually or mechanically punching down the cap of skins into the fermenting juice (Correct answer)
- Pressing grapes before fermentation to collect free-run juice
- Adding nitrogen gas to prevent oxidation during aging
Correct answer: Manually or mechanically punching down the cap of skins into the fermenting juice
Pigeage is the technique of punching down the floating cap of grape skins back into the fermenting juice to extract color, tannins, and maintain even fermentation temperature.
Question 6: Which technique, known as 'délestage' or rack-and-return, involves draining fermenting juice from a tank, pressing the skins, then returning the juice?
- A method of adding acidification before fermentation
- A gentle extraction technique that also aerates the juice and breaks up the cap (Correct answer)
- A process of removing excess sugar from must
- A sparkling wine production method for secondary fermentation
Correct answer: A gentle extraction technique that also aerates the juice and breaks up the cap
Délestage drains the tank, allows skins to press under their own weight to break the cap, then returns the juice, resulting in aeration, gentler extraction, and breaking of seeds from skins.
Question 7: What does the French winemaking term 'élevage' refer to?
- The annual grape harvest and crush period
- The aging, maturation, and development of wine from end of fermentation to bottling (Correct answer)
- The legal classification and appellation system for French wines
- The pressing of grapes to extract juice before fermentation
Correct answer: The aging, maturation, and development of wine from end of fermentation to bottling
Élevage literally means 'raising' and describes the winemaker's work of nurturing and developing wine from the end of fermentation through to bottling, including barrel aging and blending decisions.
SOMM Wine Production and Winemaking Techniques 2
What is the primary benefit of aging wine 'sur lie' (on its lees) after fermentation?