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Wine evaluation | The wine evaluation workshop
By Tamara Breytenbach
“Life is too short to drink bad wine”
The first workshop of the Stellenbosch University Wine Evaluation course took place last month. The 3-hour workshop was held in Cape Town and Johannesburg, with Course Convener and wine guru Charl Theron taking the students through every step of wine evaluation and through a whole range of wines, from white and red to port and even faulty wines.
The workshops were a great success. The students learned a lot about evaluating wines and the GetSmarter team learned a lot about pouring wine correctly (into the wine glass, not onto the table). Did you know that mouldiness in wine is not only caused by bad corks, but can also be caused by humidity in your bottle cellar if you have wooden racks? Wine tasting, like many other arts, requires the willingness to embark on a comprehensive learning journey. When a wine is evaluated, it is first judged visually, then sniffed (or “nosed”) and eventually tasted.
Wine colours
 The colour of wine covers a wide spectrum from water-white to nearly black and is a good indication of individuality.
White wines can range from very pale (indicating a watery character) to shades of straw, and from light green to amber.
Wines made from overripe grapes, like noble late harvest wines, will be much darker in colour.
The colour of red wines ranges from lively light red to ruby red, pomegranate red and nearly black. Did you know that milk can be used to soften red wine? Sensory evaluations
 Wines are sensorially evaluated for mainly two reasons: - To describe the wine.
- To differentiate between wines of different quality or style.
Sour, sweet, bitter and salty are the four basic taste characteristics.
Did you know that grape sugar is the only source of sweetener that is allowed in sweetish wine production?
 “When you raise your glass of wine and wish someone good health, the gesture is by no means meaningless. You may not think about it but you are really affirming what millions of members of the human race have known for at least six thousand years: that wine, used sensibly as most people use it, promotes health and is a medicine in ill-health.”
Anonymous medical doctor
 
The Cape Town workshop and the Johannesburg workshop.
Tamara is a Course Coordinator for GetSmarter.
Click here if you would like to learn more about the Stellenbosch University Wine Evaluation Course.
Back to SmartyPants Newsletter - May 2010 Edition
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