Wine Wednesday Quick Quiz Answers

Here are the correct answers for the Quick Quiz:

QUESTION 1 ANSWER

If a wine is showing sweet-sour vinegary aromas and flavours, it might contain too much of which chemical compound that is also found in vinegar?

• Acetic acid
• Resveratrol
• Lactic acid
• Capsaicin

Volatile acidity – acetic acid and ethyl acetate – occurs when a wine is exposed to too much oxygen during the winemaking process. At higher levels, this can create unpleasantly-sharp flavours, such as vinegar or even nail varnish remover, and is rightly considered a fault. At lower levels though, this volatile acidity can add favourable fruity-smelling cherry and raspberry-like flavours. Wines with long fermentations such as Ice Wine and Barolo tend to accumulate higher levels of volatile acidity.

QUESTION 2 ANSWER

When arriving at a formal tasting of Sauvignon Blancs, what might lead to a less-than-pleasant welcome from the other tasters?

• You’re wearing a lot of strong perfume
• You’re spitting wine into a spit bucket
• You’re putting your nose right into the glass to smell the wine
• You’re swirling your wine before you taste

The taste of wine isn’t just felt on the tongue; it’s also picked up by the nose. It is therefore seen as bad form for anyone at a wine tasting event to do anything that would clearly interfere with other attendees’ sense of smell.

Very strong perfume or aftershave actually affects those around you a lot more as you will have got used to your own aroma but it makes it very hard for people near you to taste.

QUESTION 3 ANSWER

You decide to cellar a bottle of Brunello di Montalcino for future enjoyment. Which of these should you avoid?

• Keep the bottle standing upright to make sure the cork stays dry
• Make sure the bottle isn’t exposed to rapid temperature swings
• Place the bottle on a shelf away from any light sources
• Store the bottle in a dry space

It is a principle of good wine conservation that wine is stored horizontally. The reason is simple: to avoid the oxidation of the wine.

For this, it is important that the cork remains in contact with the wine. The liquid moistens the cork and prevents it from drying out, shrinking and crumbling. The cork would then lose its watertightness and let too much air into the bottle. This entry of air, calledoxidation, results in premature aging and alteration of the wine.

QUESTION 4 ANSWER

To keep a bottle of sparkling wine from ‘exploding’ and spraying all over when removing the cork, it’s always best to do the following:

• Chill the bottle to 4.5° to 10° C first
• Dampen the neck and body of the bottle
• Pull the cork out as quickly as possible
• Bump the bottom of a bottle (hard) onto a table, to create a protective layer of frothy mousse

Sparkling wines like champagne should be chilled to 4.5° to 10° C before they are opened. This reduces the pressure in the bottle and prevents the geyser effect when the cork is released. You can chill your champagne in a wine refrigerator or use a wine bucket with ice and water. Try not to jostle the bottle too much before opening it to prevent the pressure from building. Make sure the bottle is dry before you start to open it to keep it from spilling out of your hands.

QUESTION 5 ANSWER

As wine lovers know, spills happen. Your first step when cleaning spilled red wine from a carpet should generally be to:

• Blot up as much of it as possible with a dry napkin or paper towel
• Brush the stain with salt
• Dilute the red stain with a white wine
• Wait for the wine to dry and then wash it out with water

1. Blot the red wine stain with a clean, dry rag to absorb any excess liquid.
2. Pour a bit of cold water onto the red wine stain to saturate it. We recommend ¼ cup or so, depending how big the stain is. The water will dilute the red wine and help with your blotting.
3. Keep blotting at the wet stain until it appears to reasonably dissolve.
4. Make a baking soda paste by mixing together 1 part water to 3 parts baking soda. It should be thick, like cake batter.
5. Generously apply the baking soda paste to the red-wine-stained carpet.
6. Let the paste sit for about 20 minutes until it dries out.
   Vacuum the baking soda residue from the carpet.

Important Note: Don’t use warm water on red wine! Cold water only. The warm water will just make the wine set, and it’ll be way harder to get out of the carpet.