|
|
In
this issue of Taste Notes we examine wine rating. Although it is a
subject with a lot of descriptive words and phrases, we think it will be
of interest to you. During
a wine rating review the wine-tasters use an evaluation form, called
"Tasting sheet". This form defines a guideline for
the quality rating of a single wine or a series of wines. The answered form represents the wine-taster's
feelings about the wine under each rating review. The
form is divided into sections. Each section represents a rating step
grouped into categories:
-
Visual
quality
-
Nose
quality
-
Mouth
quality
-
Overall
quality
In
the following lines we will try to summarize each category's aspect
of wine rating. Reference to words or phrases used for rating is in
italics.
Visual
quality evaluation: An
examination of the color properties of the wine and how they relate
to the region produced, its grape variety, and its
vintage. The rating defines:
-
the
Appearance of wine (transparency, viscosity, effervescence, foam
formation)
-
the
Brightness in color when wine
is viewed against light (clear,
brilliant,
limpid,
and hazy).
-
the
Color intensity when wine is viewed against light (lively,
intense, correct,
and weak).
Nose
quality evaluation:
An
examination of the aroma complexity, its intensity and how both
relate to the region produced and the grape variety. The rating
defines:
-
Smell
by aroma (floral,
spicy, fruity,
earthy, vegetation,
vinegary, woody,
chemical, animal),
and
-
Intensity
(powerful, medium,
weak).
Mouth
quality evaluation:
An
examination of the flavor, its presence, strength, balance, the aroma
perceived in the nose directly from the mouth, the smoothness, tasting
temperature and the sensation left in the mouth after wine has been drunk.
The rating defines:
-
Taste
by flavor examining the wine's content. The sugar (dry,
off dry,
sweet,
very sweet), astringency (tannic,
hard,
closed ), acidity
(
green, sharp,
refreshing, balanced,
flat), body (full
body,
medium/full,
medium body, light,
very light) and length (aftertaste -
long,
medium-long,
short).
Overall
quality evaluation:
An
examination of the sensation produced by the wine as a whole and not as in
the previous evaluation steps. The wine is evaluated on how typical it is
of the region produced, its vintage and ageing. Some other points
are also evaluated like the quality of the stopper, the cork, the label
and the bottle type. The rating defines:
-
Quality
:
remarkable,
very good,
good,
fair
-
Character:
attractive,
correct,
neutral
-
General
comments and the
value for money
In
the next issue we will examine the grading system used during some wine
reviews. |
