DOL B Y CALIFORNIA WINES
WHAT TO EXPECT Hosted by: Oracle Park, Catering Director Brian Carriveau Dolby, Executive Chef, Ross Browne
How Wine Is Made Corkscrews Glassware Serving Temperature How To Taste Wine Like A Pro Food & Wine Pairings
MAKING WINE
THE PROCESS MAKING WINE.
Harvest the grapes (By hand or machine). De-Stemmin – Or not – depending on the style of wine: For Red wines: the maker can choose to do either one. For Whites: the juice is separated from the skins before fermentation. Sorting - designed to remove unwanted material: Crushing It - promotes the extraction of color and tannin for red wines. Pressing - juicing the grapes: Fermentation – The juice is then moved into fermentation vessels. Yeast is created naturally or added to boost the fermentation process. Sugar is converted to carbon dioxide and alcohol. Filtering – used to remove any sediment and ‘cleans’ the wine. Ageing - For weeks, months or years: Stainless steel, wood, or concrete. Bottling. Final Product. Cheers!
MAKING SPARKLING
THE PROCESS MAKING SPARKLING.
Harvest the grapes. Making base still wine: Light Press – to avoid color from skins and oxidation. The result is a base wine high in acid and low in alcohol. The first fermentation - It can happen in stainless steel or wood. Assembling the blend: Sparkling wine can be a blend of grapes, vintages or regions. The base wine is then added to the bottle. Adding wine, sugar and yeast to the bottle: The yeast eats the sugar and produces carbon dioxide - all inside the bottle. Second Fermentation: CO2 gas is trapped in the bottle. Yeast starts to die and the wine starts to shape in flavor. Wine starts to age resting on the lees (dead yeast). Riddling: Bottles are inverted and twisted daily to slowly move the lees to the neck. Removing Yeast(lees) from bottle: The neck of the bottle gets frozen and the sediment gets easily removed. Add Sugar and Wine mixture: By expelling the sediment, some wine gets lost. Sugar and wine mixture are added to fill up the bottle. Amount of sugar added determines the style of wine and the sweetness level. Bottling and aging.
CORKSCREWS
The Twist Corkscrew – The oldest version wine opener. The simplest in design yet takes the bluntest force to use. The Waiter’s Friend – The most widely used version of the corkscrew in the hospitality industry due to size, ease of use, durability, and cost. This corkscrew relies on leverage from the wine bottle itself when used properly. The Winged Corkscrew – The most recognized corkscrew. Easy to use, a bit bulky, but gets the job done well. The Electric Wine Opener – Super fancy, this wine opener can be quite costly, but takes the least effort to use. Batteries necessary and can have some trial and error upon first use. The Lever Corkscrew – Another fancy and costly opener, but quite easy to use. Not much strength necessary. The Ah-So Cork Puller – This lesser known corkscrew is very fun but can be tough to use upon first try. You shimmy both sides between the cork and the bottle neck, then twist gently and pull up. Great for old bottles of wine where the cork is disintegrating and cannot be penetrated with a screw. The Coravin Wine System – Extremely fancy, this corkscrew penetrates the cork and allows you to pour wine without pulling the cork out of the bottle. It also has a small nitrogen bottle inside the device which replaces the wine that has been taken out of the bottle for preservation of the remainder of the wine inside the bottle. Essentially you can try the wine in the bottle without opening it!
THE GLASSWARE SIZE MATTERS.
Aromas play a huge part in wine tasting and the smaller the bowl the harder it is for aromas to reach your nose. Why have different glasses for different wines – All grape varietals produce different characteristics in acidity, alcohol, tannin, and fruit. The different shapes of the glasses mellow or intensify those attributes.
REDS
CABERNETS, SYRASH, PINOTS Cabernet Sauvignon/Bordeaux – (Traditional red wine glass) Big red wines tend to be high in alcohol content, so the larger space between wine and the guest’s nose helps dissipate the alcohol. Syrah – This glass allows a bit more aeration to really focus on the fruit in the wine. Pinot Noir – This glass offers maximum aeration surface area for the wine, which concentrates the delicate aromas in the lighter style red varietal, ultimately focusing on the bright fruit within.
WHITES
CHARDONNAYS, SPARKLING, SWE T Chardonnay – (Traditional white wine glass) This glass is meant for young and fresh wines. The narrow rim concentrates the highly aromatic notes of the wines. White wine glasses are typically smaller than red wine glasses to help keep the wine colder than in a large bowled glass. Sparkling – The flute is all about keeping the fruit and yeasty aromas concentrated, while allowing the effervescence to remain fresh and flow longer. In modern days sparkling wine has been known to be served in a typical white wine glass to add to the aromas you may be able to smell. This does flatten the wine sooner, but who keeps a glass of sparkling around long enough for that to happen? Fortified – These wines are significantly higher in alcohol, and the smaller bowl reduced alcohol evaporation while highlighting the rich fruit and aromas.
UNIVERSAL
YOU GET A GLAS , AND YOU GET A GLAS . EVERYONE GETS A GLAS ! Universal – If you do not want to have tons of glassware in your cabinet it is also acceptable to get a few universal wine glasses. These are shaped between the chardonnay and smaller red wine glass, while still being tapered to enjoy those great aromas.
THE SERVING
THE TASTING LIKE A PRO.
THE TASTING LIKE A PRO.
THE FLAVORS
THE NOTES
THE PAIRINGS Which food goes well with which wine.