Beth's Table: Week 2 WSET Assignments

Decoding White Wine Labels

Find 2-3 example wine labels for the white wines we have looked at in this week's activities and containing terms covered in Chapters 7, 10, 12 and 13 of the textbook, such as any of the following:

Appellation d'Origine Contrôlée (AOC), IGP, Vin de Pays, rosé, blanc, sec, demi-sec, moelleux, doux, Sur Lie, Grand Cru, Qualitätswein, Prädikatswein, Trocken, Halbtrocken, DOCG, DOC, IGT, rosato, bianco, secco, DOCa, DO, Vino de la Tierra, rosado, blanco, seco, Fumé Blanc, cuveé, oaked/unoaked, barrel/barrique-fermented/aged, organic, unfined/unfiltered, vieilles vignes/old vines, vintage

Create at least 2 discussion topics and reply to at least 5 other posts explaining what the terms listed on the label tell you about the wine in the bottle, and based on this week's reading, what you would expect the style of the wine to be. don't forget to consider what the labels tell us about the style and quality of the wine inside the bottle.

1. Label: Domaine du Tariquet 2014 Chardonnay Cotes de Gascogne 12% abv IGP Vin de Pays (country wine)

Domaine indicates that the grapes were grown on their own land. The Domaine du Tarquet winery is in the Cotes de Garcogne region and is in the quality category IGP (Indication Georgraphique Protege). The PGI designation IGP is not as restrictive as the PDO (AC or AOC) designation. I expect the quality to be good. This is a young wine with low alcohol with 100% Chardonnay grapes from a cool to moderate climate. I would expect the style to be medium body, and medium acidity with flavors that range from green apple, pear, lemon and lime to melon and peach with oak and vanilla spice.The label says it will have buttery notes and vanilla hints so I suspect the wine had spent some time in oak

it to be bight and low to medium bodies. The grapes are from a cool to moderate climate so I would expect

All of the wines are made exclusively from estate-grown fruit and are produced and bottled at the Domaine du Tariquet estate, allowing for quality control from the vine to the bottle.

France

Climate	Cool to moderate
Style	From dry, high acidity, medium body and no oak to full bodied, medium acidity and fermented in small oak barrels.
Flavours	Range from green apple, pear, lemon and lime to melon and peach with oak and vanilla spice.

The classic region for Chardonnay is Burgundy in France and the climate ranges from cool in Chablis to moderate in the Côte d'Or. The wines are priced up to premium. There is some inexpensive Chardonnay coming from the Pays d'Oc and Val de Loire which is sometimes blended with local grape varieties to produce higher volume wines.

2. Schmidt Sohne Beerenaulese Reinhessen 2004
8.5% alcohol Qualitawein Mit Pradikat

Reinhessen is the largest region for producing quality wines of the Qualitatswein and Pradikatswein designations. This is a great dessert wine, very sweet with honey and apricot overtones. It is heavy in body yet bright with moderate acidity, thanks to the Riesling grape. The Riesling grapes are hand sorted and harvested when they are overripe. Qualitawein Mit Pradikat means the wine is of superior quality. In 2017 this designation was changed to Pradikatswien. Prädikatswein must be produced from allowed varieties in one of the 39 subregions (Bereich) of one of the 13 wine-growing regions, although it is the region rather than the subregion which is mandatory information on the label. (Some of the smaller regions, such as Rheingau, consist of only one subregion.)

Riesling France

Climate	Cool
Style	Dry to off dry, medium to full bodied, with medium/high alcohol and high acidity.
Flavours	Green apple, pear, lemon and lime with peach and apricot fruit notes and a pronounced flinty mineral character.

Alsace is the key region in France for Riesling; the characteristics of this variety can differ markedly from one site to another, even when the same winemaking techniques are used. Some of the best wines can benefit greatly from bottle age and can last for decades. These wines can fetch up to premium prices.

Tasting Notes:

1. Inexpensive neutral Italian white 2014 La Mora Vermentino Maremma Toscana DOC Cecchi $18.99 12.5%abv