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FOOD SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY 170 - Wine and Beer in Western Culture

2005 Study Questions

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Lecture 1. Definitions and Worldwide Alcohol Use

1. What must happen to the starch in grain before fermentation can occur?

2.  What must happen for grapes to ferment?

3. A person who studies wine making and grapes would be a 

4. You are most likely to find wine drinkers in what country based on per capita consumption data?                    .

5. You are most likely to find beer drinkers in what country based on per capita consumption data?

6.  What countries produce the most wine?

7. What countries produce the most beer?

8. How many breweries are responsible for the bulk of the world’s beer production?

9. T or F. A bottle labeled wine is by definition made from grape juice.

10. Why is beer more popular than wine in cooler climates?

11. Who consumes 90% of the alcohol consumed?

Lecture 2. History of Wine and Beer Production

1. What do Jamsheed, Noah and Orestheus have in common?

2. In what part of the world did wine making likely begin?

3. What is the origin of wine making in CA?

4. List three things the ancient Egyptians contributed to wine making.

5. How did wine making aid the Romans in capturing and keeping conquered territory?

6. What problems were encountered with early wine containers?

7. What culture contributed the oldest detailed writing on beer?

8. In Sumerian culture, how was beer traditionally drunk?

9. Of beer and wine, which was considered a luxury and which a commodity?

10. What gives the Greek wine retsina its characteristic taste?

11. What impact did the Catholic Church have on wine making?

12. Which wine making powers brought wine making to Ca? to Australia? to East coast? to OH?

13. Who developed barrel making?

14. Which culture was responsible for adding hops to beer? When?

15. What contributions did the Egyptians make to beer?

16. Who was the most colorful character of the WCTU? What does WCTU stand for?

17. How did prohibition change the drinking patterns of Americans?

18. What exactly did the Volstead act prohibit?

19. How did prohibition impact the American palate?

20. What was the main reason prohibition lost support?

Lecture 3.  Alcohol and Health

1. Two males of equal weight but different body fat content (15 and 20%) drink the same amount. Which will have the higher blood alcohol level all other things being equal?

2. A person drinks 10 oz of wine on a 95° day after 18 holes of golf and on another day 10 oz of wine after relaxing in 72° air conditioning all day. All other things being equal, which condition would give the highest blood alcohol level?

3. A male and a female of equal weight drink the same amount. Which will have the higher blood alcohol level all other things being equal?

4. What is fetal alcohol syndrome?

5. Light beer is lower in calories largely because it contains less of what?

6. Which has more calories: 12 oz beer or 12 oz red wine?

7. What disease related to alcohol use causes jaundice?

8. Where is alcohol absorbed? Where is it metabolized?

9. If alcohol is a depressant, why do some people get silly when they are drunk?

10. If you eat a large meal before drinking, what effect will that have on blood alcohol levels?

11. How was alcohol used in ancient times?

12. What is the J-shaped curve?

Lecture 4. Grape Growing

1. In what part of the grapes is the sugar?

2. What components are in grape skins?

3. How many vines are needed to make 200 gallons of wine?

4. How many standard bottles are there in 200 gallons of wine?

5. At a typical USA planting density, how many acres are needed for 3000 bottles of wine?

6. What depth of soil do grape vines need?

7. Which type of grapes will do best in a cold northern area, red or white?

8. How much rainfall annually do grapes need?

9. Where on a hill will it be the coldest?

10. Why is a large grape yield not desirable?

11. Why is CA experiencing a new phylloxera epidemic?

12. When is it the worst time of the year for it to rain in the vineyards?

13. How are heat degree days used?

14. How do wines grown in Region I compare to those grown in Region V? Which region is cooler?

15. An area with 50 days of 75° F and 60 days of 85° F would have how many heat degree days?

16. What is the purpose of pruning old wood in a vineyard?

17. Where does the sugar in grapes come from? Where does the sugar reside in the grape?

18. What is phylloxera and how does it damage a grape vine?

19. What grape disease is considered a positive? Why? How does it impact the quality of the grape juice?

Lecture 5. Wine Nomenclature and Categorization

1. What color(s) of grapes give white wine?

2. What color(s) of grapes give red wine?

3. What color(s) of grapes give pink wine?

4. What is the difference between champagne and sparkling wine?

5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of varietal nomenclature?

6. What are the advantages and disadvantages of geographic nomenclature?

7. What are the advantages and disadvantages of proprietarily nomenclature?

8. In general, which wine has more alcohol, red or white?

9. What is the alcohol content of natural wine compared to dessert wine?

10. Which organization sets the rules for geographic designations in the USA?

11. What are the legal geographic designations in OHIO for wine regions?

12. Name 2 red wines and 2 white wines (spelled properly).

 13. What distinctions are made in classifying wines by alcohol?

14. What distinctions are made in classifying wine by sweetness level? Gassiness? Flavor?

Lecture 6. Basic Wine Making

1. What color wine would be produced from red grapes which were crushed, pressed and fermented? Crushed, fermented and pressed?

2. What color wines can you get from white grapes?

3. If fermentation proceeds to completion, what type of wine will you have?

4. What organism is responsible for anaerobic fermentation in wine to make alcohol?

5. What organism is responsible for aerobic fermentation in wine to make vinegar?

6. If fermentation is conducted in air, what is the likely outcome?

7. What is one compound that stems, skins and seeds contribute to wine, what is its function and how does it taste?

8. What are the products of anaerobic fermentation?

9. What are the products of aerobic fermentation?

10. Why is sulfite added to wine?

11. What will likely happen to the alcohol content of wine if damaged grapes are added to the must?

12. If grapes are picked too early, how will the wine taste?

13. If grapes are picked too late, how will the wine taste?

14. If grapes are picked after a rain, how will the wine taste?

15. What will long fermentation on the skins do to the keeping properties of wine?

16. Which acidity component is regulated by law?

17. What are the consequences of allowing fermentation temperatures to get too high?

18. What is the addition of sugar to wine called?

19. The rules for which is less flexible? Vineyard designated or Estate bottled?

20. Why do banks prefer wineries make white wine?

21. Why do white wines tend to be lower in alcohol than red wines?

22. What happens if you wait to press the grapes from a fermenting wine?

23. What flaws does an excess of sorbate, volatile acidity, and sulfite create in a wine?

24. What bacteria and process gives rise to a geranium smell? A vinegar smell?

Lectures 7 & 8. White Wines

1. What are the most popular white wine cultivars in the US?

2. What white wine cultivars are grown in the Eastern US? Western US?

3. How soon should white wines typically be drunk? How does this compare to red wines?

4. What is the difference between Pinot Gris, Pinot Grigio, and Rϋlander?

5. What is the difference between Sauvignon Blanc and Fumé Blanc?

6. Which are European grapes and which are American grapes?  

7. Why white wine is more difficult to make than red wine?

8. What is the name of the French organization that regulates wine? What factors does it regulate?

9. What are the white wine regions of France?

10. Which region of France has the most variability in white wine styles?

11. Which region of France is the most modern and innovative?

12. Which regions of France grow Chardonnay?

13. Which region of France makes the driest whites?

14. What year did CA wine beat French wines in a blind taste test?

15. What type of German wines can be chaptalized? What types can have Susse Reserve added?

16. What names are given to German wines made with Botrytis infected grapes?

17. How is Eiswein made?

18.  What factors do the Germans regulate?

19. Fill in the following table:

Lectures 9 & 10. Red Wines

1. What are some factors that influence the consumption of wines?

2. What are the most popular red wine cultivars in the US?

3. What cultivar has the most acreage in the US? In CA?

4. What is the difference between Syrah, Shiraz, and Petite Sirah?

5. How do red wine French-American hybrids compare to white wine French-American hybrids?

6. Which red wine cultivar is genetically unstable?

7. Which cultivars are better-suited to hotter climates?

8. Which cultivars are grown in the Eastern US? Which in the western US?

9. How do wine making practices in Australia differ from the rest of the world?

10. What is the name of the Spanish organization that regulates wine?

11. What are the three climate regions in Spain? Which is the highest quality? Which is lowest quality? Which is rarely found in the US?

12. In which grape-growing country is there currently no phylloxera?

13. In which countries do Malbec do the best?

14. What are the main red wine cultivars in Italy?

15. What is the name of the Italian organization that regulates wine? What factors does it regulate?

16. What designation is given to the highest quality wines in Italy?

17. What are the main export regions of Italy?

18. What are the three grades of Chianti, from lowest to highest quality?

19. What are the main red wine regions in France?

20. What cultivars are grown in Burgundy? In Beaujolais?

21. What is the highest quality designation in Burgundy? In Bordeaux?

22. What cultivars are grown in the Rhône Valley?

23. What cultivars are grown in Bordeaux?

24. What are the 5 Premiere Grand Crus? When was this designation made?

25. What area is the largest fine wine district in the world?

26. Fill in the following table:

Lecture 11: Sparkling and Dessert Wines

1. What are the steps for producing sparkling wine?

2. What is the difference between natural wine, fortified wine and distilled wine spirits?

3. What is another name for fortified wine?

1.  What are the steps for producing sparkling wine?

2. How are the steps for making sparkling wine similar to making still wine? How are they different?

3. How are the steps for making port similar to making still wine? How are they different?

4. How are the steps for making sherry similar to making still wine? How are they different?

5. How are the steps for making maderia similar to making still wine? How are they different?

6. Port, Sherry, and Madeira were each first made where?

7. What is the difference between Champagne and sparkling wine?

8. What is the name of sparkling wine made in France outside of Champagne? Made in Italy? Made in Germany? Made in Spain?

9. What is the difference between the traditional method, transfer method, Charmant (bulk, tank), and the injection method?

10. What is a place that produces sparkling wine (especially Champagne) called?

11. What are the sweetness levels in sparkling wines called, from driest to most sweet?

12.  What did the following people contribute to sparkling wine production technology? Dom Perignon, Madame Clicquots, Jean-Antoine Chaptal, Pharmacist André Francois

13. What distinguished the following types of sparkling wine? Nonvintage, Vintage, Late Disgorged, and Cuvée Prestige

14. What traits are desired in a sparkling wine glass?

15. What is the defining characteristic of dessert wines?

16. What is the difference between Dry and Sweet Vermouths?

17. What is the difference between nonvintage and vintage ports?

18. What is the difference between ruby and tawny ports?

19. What are the different types of sherry and how do they differ from one another?

20. Explain how the solera process works. To what does age on a sherry bottle refer?

21. What are the different types of maderia and how do they differ from one another?

22. What can be used to make sherry more quickly? To make maderia more quickly?

Lecture 12: Beer Ingredients

1. What is the definition of beer?

2. What location seems to be the earliest place beer was made?

3. What is the main grain used for beer making?

4. List 4 qualities of a grain that make it suitable for beer.

5. What would the consequences be of using a high-protein grain for beer making?

6. What grains are often used as adjuncts to barley?

7. When did the use of hops come into common practice?

8. Which is used for the best beers: hordeum distichon or hordeum vulgare?

9. What property of water greatly affects the quality of beer?

10. Should you wish to make some beer, what organism would you use?

11. What part of the hops plant is useful in beer making?

12. Describe the geographical regions where hops grow best.

Lecture 13: Beer Making

1. Where were the earliest written references to beer making found?

2. Describe Rheinheitsgebot.

3. List the major steps in beer making.

4. Before malting, how was grain starch converted to sugar?

5. What is the purpose of malting and how is it accomplished?

6. How do you get dark beer?

7. What are the different malt types?

8. Describe what happens in mashing, lautering and kettle boiling and the purpose of each step.

9. What yeasts would you use to make lager; ale?

10. What role do hops play in beer making?

11. How is beer carbonated?

Lecture 14: Types of Beer and Nomenclature

1. Which brewery in the US holds the largest market share? How much?

2. Describe the differences between lager and ale.

3. List the different ale styles and the different lager styles. What are the distinguishing features of each?

4. How does India Pale Ale differ from pale ale?

5. What are the standards for color and bitterness in beer?

6. What are the characteristics of true lambic beers?

7. Describe the typical (most common) lager produced in the US.

8. Based on color, what are the appropriate serving temperatures for beer?

9. Describe 3 off-flavors in beer and how they arise.

10. What typically causes beer haze and how can the problem be corrected?

Lecture 15: Sensory Evaluation and Food Pairings

1. What is the difference between smell, taste and flavor?

2. If a wine is said to have raspberry notes, through what sense are these notes being detected?

3. What is the purpose of eating bread between tasting several wine samples?

4. What is a likely problem with a beer that smells skunky?

5. What is a likely problem with a rose wine that has an orange tint to it?

6. What is the problem with a beer that smells fruity?

7. What is wrong with a wine that smells like vinegar?

8. What is wrong with wine that smells like a wet shower curtain?

9. What flaw is a beer in a green or clear bottle likely to have?

10. What is the only firm rule about wine drinking?

11. What type of wine typically works well in warm weather? In cold weather?

12. What are the consequences of serving wine too hot? too cold?

13. In cooking with wine which is likely to change the least in taste, a light white

wine or sherry?

14. When you concentrate wine by boiling it, which flavors will become stronger? weaker?

15. When you concentrate beer by boiling it, which flavors will become stronger? weaker?

16. If you are serving a 9% alcohol white German table wine and a 13.5% alcohol red French table wine, which should you serve first?

17. What is the purpose of a stem on a wine glass?

18. What would be better with Texas chili, a light sauvignon blanc or a hearty red zinfandel?

19. What would be better with fish served with butter and lemon, a weizen or a stout?

Lecture 16: Collecting, Storing, and Serving Issues

1. What should you consider when assessing you collection goals?

2. What single factor is most important in wine storage?

3. How does light alter wine?

4. What wines should you buy for long term cellaring?

5. What sources of information could you use to determine what wine to cellar?

6. Why is it important to keep cellar records?

7. What are the characteristics of a wine that is over-the-hill?

8. What kinds of glasses do you need to serve wine and beer?

9. Where is the worst place in a house or apartment to store wine?

10. If your storage conditions are 10 degrees warmer than recommended, how does that alter keeping time?

11.  What are the desired characteristics of wine glasses?

12. What are the relative merits and limitations of wine bottle openers?

Lecture 17: Distilled Spirits

1. Which boils first: water or alcohol?

2. How much impact does the quality of the starting wine have on distillation?

3. How did building city water systems change wine making?

4. Where is cognac made?

5. Which is of higher quality- VSOP or Napolean cognac?

6. How many distillations are made in Cognac making?

7. What still is used in Cognac making?

8. How is cheap brandy made?

9. Where does Armangnac come from?

10. What is an Italian distilled spirit made from sweet pomace?

11. How many distillations are used to make Armangnac?

12. What is the fruit requirement for brandy?

13. What do the words "grand fine champagne" have to do with cognac?

14. What are the names of 2 apple brandies?

15. Once opened, how long will brandy keep?

16.  What are the five top whisky producing countries?

17. How is single malt Scotch made? Vatted malt? Blended?

18. What is distinct about bourbon? Tennessee sour mash? Irish whiskey? Canadian whiskey?