Wine Tasting

Instructions

In this activity, you will be sampling wine and learning a bit about wine criticism.  In order to do this, you will need the following:

• A wine glass with a stem (can be found in many stores)
• 1 red wine and 1 white wine of your choice (no rose wines!)

After you get the required materials, follow the directions below to fill out your tables. Make absolutely sure you use the white wine table for the white wine and the red wine table for the red wine. Follow the following directions for each wine.

1. Record the name, varietal (or appellation/type) and ABV of the wine in the appropriate spaces.
2. Pour the wine into the glass.  Pour directly into the bottom of the glass to help release aromatics. Take a picture of the wine in the glass and paste the photo (along with a piece of paper with your name on it) at the bottom of the form for verification/validation. NOTE: THIS IS VERIFICATION/VALIDATION IS VERY IMPORTANT. DO NOT LEAVE THIS OUT!!!
3. Write down the color of your wine.  Refer to the chart below.

• Do you see legs/tears?  Highlight “yes” if you do or “no” if you don’t. Refer to the notes if you are unsure what tears of wine are.
• Take a sip of wine and hold the liquid in your mouth for a while. Then breathe in through your mouth and out through your nose.  Highlight the flavors that you can detect.
• Pick the most intense flavor in 5). Type/write in the taste and note the level of intensity on a scale from 1 -5 in the next cell over. The intensity is really subjective, and it should be based on your past experiences. You can use any food or beverage as a reference for this, not just wine.
• Take another sip of wine.  Mark all the mouthfeel descriptors that apply under “Carbonation”, “Body”, and “Astringency”.
• On the bottom cell, write your personal impressions. You should answer the following:
  • Did you enjoy the wine?
  • What did you like the most about the wine? The least?
  • Was the wine true to the varietal/appellation? In other words, if the wine was a Riesling, did it taste like a Riesling “should”?
• Repeat all the above directions with your remaining wine. If you plan on sampling multiple wines in one sitting, it is best to eat or drink a palate cleanser (bread/crackers and water work well) between wines. Remember that you do not have to drink all of the wine, and it is not advisable to complete this activity in one sitting if you plan to!

When you are done, save your document and submit it via Carmen. Make sure that you upload this activity to the “Unit 3 Activity” folder. If you do this work with your friend, do not pool/share your answers. I want to know about your own experiences, not yours and your friend’s!

Scoring

Each completed wine information sheet (with verified/validated photo) is worth 20 points

WHITE WINE SHEET

Student Name ____________________                              Date: ____________________
Name (brand)
Varietal/Appellation
ABV
Color (write in)
Tears?	Yes               No
Flavor (circle all that apply)	White Grapes: apple, pear, citrus, tropical, peach, apricot, melon, kiwi, banana, mango, pineapple, florals, honey   Barrel Aging: cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, vanilla, woody, nutty   Other: sauerkraut, sherry-like, wet cardboard, bell pepper, cut grass, butter, burnt matches, rotten eggs, solvent, diesel, earthy, candy
Intensity of taste	Most intense taste: ________________	Level of intensity (relative to past experience): 1             2             3             4            5
Mouthfeel (circle one in each cell)	Carbonation none     slight     heavy	Body light          medium          full	Astringency none          mild          high
Personal Impressions	Did you enjoy the wine?
What did you like the most about the wine? The least?
Was the wine true to the varietal/appellation?

Paste photo below or on a page after the tables. If you opt to do the latter, make sure I know what wine goes with which table.

RED WINE SHEET

Student Name ____________________                              Date: ____________________
Name (brand)
Varietal/Appellation
ABV
Color (write in)
Tears?	Yes               No
Flavor (circle all that apply)	Red Grapes: cherry, cranberry, raspberry, strawberry, blackberry, blueberry, plum, raisin, fig   Barrel Aging: cinnamon, clove, nutmeg, vanilla, woody, nutty   Other: sauerkraut, sherry-like, wet cardboard, bell pepper, cut grass, butter, burnt matches, rotten eggs, solvent, diesel, earthy, candy
Intensity of taste	Most intense taste: ________________	Level of intensity (relative to past experience): 1             2             3             4            5
Mouthfeel (circle one in each cell)	Carbonation none     slight     heavy	Body light          medium          full	Astringency none          mild          high
Personal Impressions	Did you enjoy the wine?
What did you like the most about the wine? The least?
Was the wine true to the varietal/appellation?

Paste photo below or on a page after the tables. If you opt to do the latter, make sure I know what wine goes with which table.