WSET
Wines and Spirits: Looking behind the label
, 1. Tasting and evaluating wine (WSET Approach)
1.1 Preparation for tasing
- Odor free room (cleaning products, smoke, perfume, food)
- Natural light
- White surface
- Clean tasting palette (i.e. chew on a piece of bread)
- No hay fever, cold or fatigue
- Appropriate tasting glasses (use same type of glass for all wines)
1.2 Appearance
- Out of condition - dull in appearance, a hint of brown (not always bad), haziness
- Can be because the wine is too old, badly stored, failed cork seal, air damage
- Note the colour and intensity
- Red wines:
- Ruby (purply red) - indication of youth
- Garnet (orangey red) - indication of age
- Red wines with dominant colours of orange, amber, and brown colours
are called “tawney”
- White wines:
- Lemon (green hint) - hint of youth
- Gold (orange hint) - hint of age
- Rose Wines
- Bright purply pink - indication of youth
- Orange and brown - indication of age
- Wine colour depends on age of wine and winemaking techniques. It is impossible to
generalise the appearance so the following categories were made:
- Clear, deep ruby
- clear , medium-intensity, garnet
- Clear, pale gold
- Hazy, dark brown
1.3 Nose
- Swirl the glass to release the aromas
- The “condition” of the nose
- Out of condition wines will smell dull and stale, may have excessive oxidative
aromas (toffee, caramel, sherry), but this does not necessarily mean the wine is
bad, some wines deliberately have these scents.
- Cork taint
- Low levels - strips the wine of fresh fruity aromas
- High levels - pungent, damp cardboard, musty smells
- Intensity of aromas - pronounced or light and hard to detect
,Aroma and flavour characteristics
- Floral/fruit (are the flavours simple/generic or specific? Fresh or cooked ripe or unripe?)
- Floral - blossom, rose, violet
- Green fruit - green apple, red apple, gooseberry, pear, grape
- Citrus fruit - grapefruit, lemon, lime
- Stone fruit - peach, apricot, nectarine
- Tropical fruit - banana lychee, mango, melon, passion fruit, pineapple
- Red fruit - red currant, cranberry, blueberry, cherry
- Dried fruit - fig, prune, raisin, kirsch, jamminess, cooked, baked, stewed fruits,
preserved fruits
- Spice /vegetable
- Under ripeness - green bell pepper, grass, white pepper, leafiness, tomato,
potato
- Herbaceous - Grass, asparagus, black currant, leaf
- Herbal - eucalyptus, mint, medicinal, lavender, fennel, dill
- Vegetable - cabbage, cloves, peas, beans, black olive, green olive]
- Sweet spice - cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla
- Pungent spice - black/white pepper, liquorice, juniper
- Oak/other
- Simplicity/neutrality - simple, neutral, indistinct
- Autolytic - yeast, biscuit, bread, toast, pastry, lees
- Dairy - butter, cheese, cream, yogurt
- Oak - vanilla, toast, cedar, charred wood, smoke, resinous
- Kernel - almond, coconut, hazelnut, walnut, chocolate, coffee
- Animal - leather, meaty, farmyard
- Maturity - vegetal, mushroom, hay, wet leaves, forest floor, game, savoury,
tobacco, honey, cereal
- Mineral - earth, petrol, rubber, tar, stoney/steely, wet wool
1.4 Palate
- Use sense of taste for sugar, acid, and bitterness
- Take a small sip, then draw in air through your lips so that the wine coasts all parts of the
mouth and vapours are carried to the back of the nose to ensure the clearest possible
impression of the wine
- Sweetness - Wines made with very ripe grapes can have a slightly sweet flavour
with no sugar added, white wines with a slight sweet taste are described as “off
dry”
- Acidity - its presence makes wine taste vibrant and refreshing. Levels are usually
higher in white wines. Cool climates result in higher acidity. If acidity is too low
the wines are too sweet and cloying.
, - Tannin - bitter and astringent. Present in grape skin (depends on how long
contact with skin during wine making). White and rose rarely or do not receive
contact. Thick skinned varieties (cabernet sauvignon, syrah) have higher tannin
than thin skin grapes (pinot noir, grenache). High levels of soft ripe tannins may
indicate hot climate. Astringent tannins from unripe grapes can cause a strong
mouth drying sensation even with low levels. Soft, ripe tannins contribute to the
viscosity and body of the wine.
- Body - described as “mouth feel”. It is the sensation of richness, weight, or
viscosity and is a combination of the effects of alcohol, tannins, sugars and
flavour compounds extracted from the skin.
- The finish - how long the desirable flavours linger in the mouth after the wine has
been swallowed or spat out. A long, complex finish indicates quality.
1.5 Conclusion
- Balance
- In a good quality wine, the sweetness and the fruitiness will be in balance with
the tannin and acidity
- Finish
- A balanced, pleasant finish where the flavours linger for several seconds is an
indicator of high quality
- Intensity
- Dilute flavours can indicate poor wine. However, extreme intense flavours are not
a sign or quality as they can upset the balance of the wine
- Complexity
- The greatest wines usually have many different flavours
- Expressiveness
- Great wines express characteristics of their grape variety and/or/ region of
production
Wines and Spirits: Looking behind the label
, 1. Tasting and evaluating wine (WSET Approach)
1.1 Preparation for tasing
- Odor free room (cleaning products, smoke, perfume, food)
- Natural light
- White surface
- Clean tasting palette (i.e. chew on a piece of bread)
- No hay fever, cold or fatigue
- Appropriate tasting glasses (use same type of glass for all wines)
1.2 Appearance
- Out of condition - dull in appearance, a hint of brown (not always bad), haziness
- Can be because the wine is too old, badly stored, failed cork seal, air damage
- Note the colour and intensity
- Red wines:
- Ruby (purply red) - indication of youth
- Garnet (orangey red) - indication of age
- Red wines with dominant colours of orange, amber, and brown colours
are called “tawney”
- White wines:
- Lemon (green hint) - hint of youth
- Gold (orange hint) - hint of age
- Rose Wines
- Bright purply pink - indication of youth
- Orange and brown - indication of age
- Wine colour depends on age of wine and winemaking techniques. It is impossible to
generalise the appearance so the following categories were made:
- Clear, deep ruby
- clear , medium-intensity, garnet
- Clear, pale gold
- Hazy, dark brown
1.3 Nose
- Swirl the glass to release the aromas
- The “condition” of the nose
- Out of condition wines will smell dull and stale, may have excessive oxidative
aromas (toffee, caramel, sherry), but this does not necessarily mean the wine is
bad, some wines deliberately have these scents.
- Cork taint
- Low levels - strips the wine of fresh fruity aromas
- High levels - pungent, damp cardboard, musty smells
- Intensity of aromas - pronounced or light and hard to detect
,Aroma and flavour characteristics
- Floral/fruit (are the flavours simple/generic or specific? Fresh or cooked ripe or unripe?)
- Floral - blossom, rose, violet
- Green fruit - green apple, red apple, gooseberry, pear, grape
- Citrus fruit - grapefruit, lemon, lime
- Stone fruit - peach, apricot, nectarine
- Tropical fruit - banana lychee, mango, melon, passion fruit, pineapple
- Red fruit - red currant, cranberry, blueberry, cherry
- Dried fruit - fig, prune, raisin, kirsch, jamminess, cooked, baked, stewed fruits,
preserved fruits
- Spice /vegetable
- Under ripeness - green bell pepper, grass, white pepper, leafiness, tomato,
potato
- Herbaceous - Grass, asparagus, black currant, leaf
- Herbal - eucalyptus, mint, medicinal, lavender, fennel, dill
- Vegetable - cabbage, cloves, peas, beans, black olive, green olive]
- Sweet spice - cinnamon, cloves, ginger, nutmeg, vanilla
- Pungent spice - black/white pepper, liquorice, juniper
- Oak/other
- Simplicity/neutrality - simple, neutral, indistinct
- Autolytic - yeast, biscuit, bread, toast, pastry, lees
- Dairy - butter, cheese, cream, yogurt
- Oak - vanilla, toast, cedar, charred wood, smoke, resinous
- Kernel - almond, coconut, hazelnut, walnut, chocolate, coffee
- Animal - leather, meaty, farmyard
- Maturity - vegetal, mushroom, hay, wet leaves, forest floor, game, savoury,
tobacco, honey, cereal
- Mineral - earth, petrol, rubber, tar, stoney/steely, wet wool
1.4 Palate
- Use sense of taste for sugar, acid, and bitterness
- Take a small sip, then draw in air through your lips so that the wine coasts all parts of the
mouth and vapours are carried to the back of the nose to ensure the clearest possible
impression of the wine
- Sweetness - Wines made with very ripe grapes can have a slightly sweet flavour
with no sugar added, white wines with a slight sweet taste are described as “off
dry”
- Acidity - its presence makes wine taste vibrant and refreshing. Levels are usually
higher in white wines. Cool climates result in higher acidity. If acidity is too low
the wines are too sweet and cloying.
, - Tannin - bitter and astringent. Present in grape skin (depends on how long
contact with skin during wine making). White and rose rarely or do not receive
contact. Thick skinned varieties (cabernet sauvignon, syrah) have higher tannin
than thin skin grapes (pinot noir, grenache). High levels of soft ripe tannins may
indicate hot climate. Astringent tannins from unripe grapes can cause a strong
mouth drying sensation even with low levels. Soft, ripe tannins contribute to the
viscosity and body of the wine.
- Body - described as “mouth feel”. It is the sensation of richness, weight, or
viscosity and is a combination of the effects of alcohol, tannins, sugars and
flavour compounds extracted from the skin.
- The finish - how long the desirable flavours linger in the mouth after the wine has
been swallowed or spat out. A long, complex finish indicates quality.
1.5 Conclusion
- Balance
- In a good quality wine, the sweetness and the fruitiness will be in balance with
the tannin and acidity
- Finish
- A balanced, pleasant finish where the flavours linger for several seconds is an
indicator of high quality
- Intensity
- Dilute flavours can indicate poor wine. However, extreme intense flavours are not
a sign or quality as they can upset the balance of the wine
- Complexity
- The greatest wines usually have many different flavours
- Expressiveness
- Great wines express characteristics of their grape variety and/or/ region of
production
