BAR mod 1

• Sweetness


  • Sensed near the front of the mouth or the tip of the tongue
  • A lack of sweetness is described as "dry," but it's not dry in the typical sense of the word — it just isn't sweet
  • Wine tastes sweet depending on the quantity of residual sugar (or RS) within the wine
• Body


  • Describes the overall weight of the wine and its style — light to bold
  • Body refers to the amount that wine fills up your mouth (mouth feel) and sits on your tongue (weight)
  • Full-bodied wines are more upfront with their flavors. Words like big, powerful, and heavy are used to describe full-bodied wines, Words like delicate, light, and easy-drinking indicate that a wine is lighter-bodied
  • To distinguish what the body of a wine is, think of it like milk – light-bodied feels like skim milk, medium-bodied like whole milk, and full-bodied like cream
• Alcohol


  • A product of fermentation — yeast eating the grape's natural sugars — the alcohol level in a wine is detected by smell and taste
  • Alcohol in wine can be identified by the feeling of heat in the back of your throat and in the middle of your tongue
  • A higher level of alcohol will give the sensation of burning your nose or palate
  • Full-bodied wine has higher alcohol content and light-bodied wine has lower alcohol content
• Acidity


  • Acid levels are typically higher in grapes grown in cooler climates
  • In order to accurately perceive how much acidity is in a wine, pay attention to how much the wine makes your mouth water; if your mouth is watering a lot, the wine has higher acidity
  • Inversely related to Alcohol
• Tannin


  • Found in grape ligatures (skins, seeds, leaves, and stems) and oak
  • Because tannins are found on the ligature of a grape, this structural component does not typically factor into white wines because white grapes are usually pressed off their skins and stems immediately
  • Tannins are found in red wines, as these wines ferment with the skins
  • The level of tannins in a wine is measured not by how it tastes, but by how dry the wine makes your tongue feel
• amount that wine fills up your mouth and sits on your tongue

  body
• detected by smell and taste

  alcohol
• heat in the back of your throat and in the middle of your tongue

  alcohol
• product of fermentation


  alcohol
• how much the wine makes your mouth water

  acidity
• Acidity in inversely related to

  Alcohol
• found in grape ligatures 


  tannin
• how dry the wine makes your tounge feel

  tannin