WSET Wine Level 3 Questions and
Correct Answers
racking
✓ ~~~ Gross lees settle at the bottom due to gravity and the clean wine is
slowly and gently pumped into a different vessel.
Requirement for age-able wine
✓ ~~~ sufficient level of tannin, acidity and/or alcohol
What does fining accomplish
✓ ~~~ Clump together wine constituents so they become visible and filterable.
Help ensure wine stability
What are the methods of clarifying a wine?
✓ ~~~ Sedimentation, fining and filtration.
What are the two methods of filtration?
✓ ~~~ Depth Filtration using a thick layer of material and surface filtration using
a very fine sieve.
What is tartrate stabilization?
✓ ~~~ Chill the wine to below 0C for a short period of time so that tartrate
crystals will form and be removed prior to bottling.
What wine is susceptible to yeast or bacteria spoilage?
✓ ~~~ Wine that hasn't undergone MLF, and wine with low to medium alcohol,
low acidity and some residual sugar.
Flushing bottle with CO2 or N can...
✓ ~~~ eliminate O2 and reduce oxidization
What is gross lees
✓ ~~~ dead yeast cells and grape fragments
What is malolactic fermentation?
✓ ~~~ Secondary fermentation that breaks down tart malic acid into softer lactic
acid.
How does MLF affect wine
✓ ~~~ It softens and reduces acidity, creating buttery flavors and producing
CO2.
How can MLF be avoided
✓ ~~~ Storage at cool temperature, the use of SO2 and filtering out the
bacteria.
,What is chaptilization?
✓ ~~~ Adding sugar from sources other than grapes to a wine.
What aromas and flavors does oak provide?
✓ ~~~ Toast, vanilla, smoke and cloves.
Which climate requires more spraying of fungicides
✓ ~~~ Maritime due to the high rainfall during growing season.
How can you cure vine viruses
✓ ~~~ No cure, eradicate by digging up vines and sanitizing the land. Spread
through cuttings or nematodes.
What is a nematode?
✓ ~~~ Microscopic worms that attack the roots of vine, interfering with water
and nutrient uptake. It can also transmit vine viruses.
What is green harvesting?
✓ ~~~ It is a technique to managing yields by removing immature grapes
shortly after veraison.
What is the suitable planting density for very fertile soil with sufficient rainfall?
✓ ~~~ Low density planting using vines with multiple cordons or canes.
What is the suitable planting density for low level of soil nutrients and sufficient
rainfall?
✓ ~~~ High density with pruning to control the number of buds.
What is a spur?
✓ ~~~ Short sections of one-year-old wood that have been cut down to only two
or three buds.
What is a cane
✓ ~~~ Also called Guyot, it is a longer section of one-year-old wood with
between 8-20 buds.
What is vertical shoot positioning?
✓ ~~~ The vine's shoots are trained vertically and tied onto trellis to form a
single narrow canopy. This system keeps the canopy open, well aerated and
shade free.
What is the serving temperature of sweet wines?
✓ ~~~ Well chilled at 6-8C
What is the serving temperature of medium/full-bodied red wines?
✓ ~~~ Room temperature at 15-18C
,What components in food makes a wine taste harder (more astringent, bitter, acidic,
less sweet and fruity)?
✓ ~~~ umami and sweetness
What does salt and acid in food do?
✓ ~~~ Makes a wine taste softer (less astringent, bitter, less acidic, sweeter,
more fruity)?
What is reduction?
✓ ~~~ A wine flaw when a wine doesn't get enough air, volatile sulfur
compounds begin to form. Smells of burnt matches, rotten eggs and old
cabbage.
What is volatile acidity?
✓ ~~~ Caused by various yeasts and bacteria during winemaking and gives a
vinegary taste. Small amounts of VA can add subtle sweet and tangy
balsamic qualities that bring complexity to red fruit notes.
What is Rectified Concentrated Grape Must?
✓ ~~~ RCGM is added during fermentation to increase sugar/alcohol levels.
How do you clarify wine before bottling?
✓ ~~~ Settling, centrifugation, fining and filtration
What is the optimal temperature for white wine fermentation?
✓ ~~~ 12-22C
High volume, inexpensive whites are usually made with what varieties?
✓ ~~~ Chardonnay and Pinot Grigio
What is the most common adjustment made to high-volume, inexpensive whites
grown in warm or hot region?
✓ ~~~ Acidification
Why are some whites fermented at cool temperature?
✓ ~~~ To retain as much primary fruit aromas and flavors as possible.
Characteristics of Sauvignon Blanc
✓ ~~~ Highly aromatic, high acidity, early ripening.
Aroma characteristics of Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand
✓ ~~~ gooseberry, elderflowers, grapefruit and passionfruit.
Regions known for high quality Sauvignon Blanc
✓ ~~~ Loire Valley (Sancerre & Pouilley Fume);
Marlborough NZ;
Margaret River, West Australia;
Chile;
, South Africa
What is the style of Sauvignon Blanc in Margaret River, West Australia?
✓ ~~~ Blended with Semillon to give a slightly less aromatic but fuller bodied
wine.
What is the style of Sauvignon Blanc in Bordeaux?
✓ ~~~ Fermented and matured partly in oak, and blended with Semillon, to add
richness, bodies and spicy toasty notes.
Why is Riesling a good wine for colder regions?
✓ ~~~ It is very tolerant of cold weather and buds late so avoids spring frost.
The aroma notes of Riesling
✓ ~~~ Green fruits and floral in colder climate, citrus and stone fruit in warmer
climate.
Why is Riesling a good choice for sweet wines?
✓ ~~~ Riesling maintains its acidity levels while accumulating sugar
What are the ways to concentrate grape sugars to make sweet wines?
✓ ~~~ Noble rot, drying grapes on the vine, drying grapes after picking, freezing
grapes.
Name some of the wines made using noble rot:
✓ ~~~ Sauternes, tokaji, beerenauslesen and Trockenbeerenauslesen from
Germany and Alsace
What are the conditions for noble rot?
✓ ~~~ Fully ripen grapes, humid morning mists, sunny dry afternoons.
What are the aromas of wines made from noble rot?
✓ ~~~ Honey, apricot, citrus zest and dried fruits.
What is passerillage?
✓ ~~~ Drying or shriveling on the vine of healthy grapes
What is passito?
✓ ~~~ The drying of grapes for a period of time prior to fermentation
What style of riesling does Alsace specializes in?
✓ ~~~ Dry
Which regions in Australia are known for their riesling?
✓ ~~~ Clare and Eden Valleys, for their bone dry, high acidity rieslings with
aromas of lime.
What is a foudre?
