Wine Course Overview
Part 1: what is wine anyway
See how grapes become wine in your glass.
Part 2: Basics
Learn about colors, sweetness levels, main grapes, and key wine regions.
Part 3: its all about the Aroma
Discover the different smells in wine and how to spot them.
Part 4: how to taste Wine
Learn the 5 S's: See, Swirl, Smell, Sip, Savor to taste wine properly.
Part 5: The art of Selling Wine
Simple ways to suggest and serve wine to customers.
Part 6: Why Wine?
Learn why wine matters in the restaurant business.
Bonus: Fun Facts
Cool wine facts to share with guests.
part 1
what is wine ?
Wine is an alcoholic drink made by fermenting fruit juice, although wine can refer to many fruits like plums, apricot, pomegranates and so on, the term wine stands alone to grapes wines.
During its process, yeasts eat the natural sugar of the fruits, making out of them alcohol and deoxidated carbon CO2, residual sugar, alcohol and CO2 can all be part of the finished wine in different levels, depending on the wishes of the wine maker and usually in correlation to the area traditions and grapes variety…
Part 1
Why wine
Well, the first answer should be of course…. Wine not.
But here are some serious answers:
1
Freedom
Having wine makes us feel free.
2
Appetite Stimulation
White wine, rosé, light red and sparkling wines are acidic in a way that makes our mouth produce saliva, which automatically tells our brain: find food, we are hungry, or in our words: "can we please see the food menu?"
3
Sensory Enhancement
Wine awakens all our smell and taste receptors, making them more sensitive to the food we are eating.
4
Emotional Opening
The above also makes us more emotional, which means we are more likely to be open to a friendly or intimate experience.
5
Festive Association
Wine is festive and connected in our mind to good culinary experiences, which opens our mind to a better dining experience.
6
Personal Expression
We associate the wine we drink with our personality or our mood at the moment, from easy going to sophisticated it is all there. Use it to make your guests feel as they wish to be. (Pair the right wine to the right moment, and the food will match itself)
7
Knowledge Display
Wine can easily make you look smart and knowledgeable in front of your guests (yes, even with very little knowledge). Once you've done it, they are yours.
8
Alcohol Effect
Alcohol, it works 😊
And why not other drinks?
Beer
- Beer is not festive; we connect it to sports watching, buddies hanging out, not for culinary experiences. It's not where you want your customer's mind to be.
- Beer is not aromatic, and its flavor palette is much less diverse and complicated. Also, its flavors are intense and will usually cover and eliminate small flavor nuances.
- Beer makes us full and less hungry.
Soft drinks
- Soft drinks are sweet. Very sweet. Sweetness covers almost all our taste buds and overpowers them, making us feel less of other flavors (the opposite of salt which enhances flavors). That is why we are offered these drinks with fast food dishes that we better not taste well. When you taste a good, flavorful dish with a soda or lemonade, you experience about 30% of its flavors.
- Sweetness makes us want more sweetness. People that have sweet drinks will move much faster to skip more food and jump to desserts, skipping your great menu and shortening the experience in your restaurant. Wine-drinking people will most likely ask for the menu again, looking for your other hidden gems.
When people don't want alcoholic drinks and insist on soft drinks, try to sell them sparkling or still water; it's much better than sweet drinks.
Part 2
Wine Basics - colors, dry levels, grapes, areas
Understanding the fundamentals of wine is essential for anyone working in hospitality. Let's explore the basic elements that make up the world of wine, from colors and sweetness levels to grape varieties and growing regions.
Colors
Wine comes in various colors depending on the grape variety and production method. The main colors are red, white, rosé, and orange.
Dryness Levels
Wines range from completely dry (no residual sugar) to sweet dessert wines. The perception of sweetness is influenced by acidity, alcohol content, and aromatic compounds.
Grape Varieties
There are thousands of grape varieties used for winemaking, each with unique characteristics. Some of the most famous include Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Chardonnay, and Sauvignon Blanc.
Wine Regions
Wine regions or "terroirs" significantly impact wine character. Famous regions include Bordeaux, Burgundy, Champagne, Tuscany, and Napa Valley.
Colors:
True colors
In addition to its labeled color (red, white, rosé, orange), every wine has its real color. No wine is white. 😊
The true color of the wine can tell us a lot about it even before tasting.
Red wine signs
- Shiny shades of red (from black strong red to light purple) – young healthy wine.
- Mat vivid red that goes transparent at the edges – mature aged wine.
- Rusty, brownish – oxidized over the hill wine.
White wine signs
- Very light transparent green to yellow – young healthy aromatic wine.
- More yellow deep color – aged white, usually Chardonnay.
- Orange shade, a bit brownish – oxidized over the hill wine.
These signs can help us evaluate the wine but must have correlation with the wine itself. Brownish colors in red wine aged for 10 years can be great, while in a young wine can tell us it's a dead wine.
Dryness levels:
Dry wine is not tannin wine (the feeling we get from red wines, the same as from unripe bananas, dates or pears, coming from the tannin acid in the fruit). Dry in wine is the opposite of sweet.
Although sugar can be measured easily, wine is labeled by the experience in the mouth and not by its sugar level, because acidity, alcohol levels and even specific aromas can affect the sweetness experience.
For example:
What makes the difference in this case? Acidity!
1
Dry
Most of the wine we serve and drink
2
Semi dry
Usually white wines from Alsace, Mosel, Rieslings, Gewürztraminer
3
Semi sweet
Can be found in red German, Slovenian, and East or North European wines or inexpensive bubbly wines like Moscato d'Asti, Lambrusco, etc.
4
Sweet
Dessert wines, Tokaji, Southern wines
Terroir
People love to say that wine is a reflector of place and time. The place where the grapes have grown and the year they were harvested. That is why many wines are labeled and categorized by the name of the region and sometimes even the exact plot of vineyard they come from, alongside the harvest year. Whether it was a hot summer or a snowy winter, these changes affect the wine.
Terroir is a French word that captures all of that.
There are thousands of different Terroirs in the world, controlled by different associations, each with its different rules of traditional wine making, grape varieties that are allowed to be used, and characters related to the wines.
1
Sancerre
Located in the eastern part of the Loire Valley in France, it is known for its light, crisp, mineral white wine, made of Sauvignon Blanc grapes.
2
Chablis
Located in the northern part of Burgundy, France, it is known for its well-balanced, rich and unique white wines, made of Chardonnay grapes.
3
Burgundy
Located in east-central France, it is one of the most important wine regions in the world, home of some of the most expensive wines ever made, all produced from Pinot Noir grapes, creating medium to light-bodied wines that can age for many years.
4
Bordeaux
Located in the southwest of France, it is also one of the most important wine regions in the world, home of the most famous châteaux. Bordeaux wines are deep and full-bodied with many years of aging potential. Bordeaux grapes are among the most famous in the world, including Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec.
5
Champagne
Located in northeast France, Champagne is the home and origin of the most famous sparkling wines. Spanish Cava, Crémant de Loire or Italian Prosecco are great sparkling wines from other regions.
Key Grape Varieties
While some wines are labeled by their Terroir, many wines are labeled (and being purchased) by the grape they are made of. Wine can only be named by its grape if it has at least 75%-85% of it, depending on the area rules. Here is a short list of the most relevant grape varieties:
Cabernet Sauvignon
A deep purple-red grape originated in Bordeaux, France, usually becomes a full-bodied wine with red fruit aromas and strong tannins when young.
Merlot
Also originated from Bordeaux, Merlot is the more rounded, medium-body brother of the Cabernet, making its wine smooth and velvety yet flavorful.
Syrah/Shiraz
One of the oldest wine varieties, originated in Syracuse and Persia, it has been cultivated in southern France where it can make deep, peppery, fruity, colorful wines in the northern Rhône region, or be a part of light wonderful blends in southern France. Syrah is also a very good variety for Provence Rosé wines. It's also known by the name Shiraz in Australia and New Zealand (probably coming from its Persian origins in the old city of Shiraz).
Pinot Noir
Light, velvety red grape, it is the star of Burgundy wines. Its "quiet" character enables the terroir to speak above it through medium to light-bodied wines with more flowery and earthy aromas.
Chardonnay
The king of white wines, Chardonnay is the best grape for medium or even full-bodied white wines, with fruity aromas dominated by apples from fresh green to mature red. It also has a great ability to age in oak and develop pastry, vanilla and buttery aromas.
Sauvignon Blanc
The second most important white grape is the opposite of its big brother, capable of making crisp, hay-grassy wines in cold areas like Sancerre or displaying tropical characteristics in hot areas like Australia and New Zealand.
Also good to know "wine words":
Riesling
Green grape widely grown in Alsace, France and Germany's Mosel, it is a very aromatic grape with notes of citrus blossom. Can come in dry and semi-dry versions and can surprisingly age well.
Rosé
Unlike red and white wine, which only tells us the color of the wine our guest is looking for, almost everyone that orders Rosé wine is looking for Rosé wine. As simple as that - no region, no grape varieties, no body, just rosé. Know the best rosé in your wine list and sell it.
Natural / Biodynamic Wine
A trendy ideology in the wine industry of producers who aim to challenge the classical wave with a "less intervention" approach.
Have a tip: sell wines you like; there is nothing more natural in natural wines.
Part 4
It's All About the Aroma
Taste
A sensory experience that our brain processes through signals from specialized receptors on our tongue.
The human palate can distinguish five classical taste sensations: salty, bitter, sweet, sour, and umami (savory).
Recent research suggests we may also have specific receptors for detecting fat and metallic sensations, potentially expanding our understanding of taste.
Interestingly, what most people describe as "the taste of lemon," "the taste of coffee," or "this wine tastes like red plums" is not actually taste at all—it's aroma.
Aroma
A complex sensory experience that our brain interprets through signals from receptors inside our nasal cavity.
The human olfactory system is remarkably sophisticated, capable of identifying thousands of distinct aroma molecules. The challenge lies in naming and categorizing these aromas, as many are either unfamiliar or lack specific terminology in our vocabulary.
go back to the first image but change the colors so they fit the new th
Wine aromas:
1. Primary
These aromas come from the grape variety and the fermentation process, especially in young wines.
2. Secondary
These aromas develop during fermentation and maturation processes like malolactic fermentation, lees aging, and oak aging.
3. Tertiary
These develop over time, often in aged wines, due to oxidation or bottle aging.
4. Wine Faults
These indicate wine is faulty, due to poor storage, winemaking errors, or contamination.
Part 5
Wine Tasting – The 5 S's
1. See
Hold the wine glass by its stem and look at the wine in a white light on a white background.
2. Swirl
Place the glass on the table and "draw circles" with its stem, making the wine swirl. This helps release aroma molecules from the liquid and allows oxygen to enter the wine, awakening more chemical changes in the wine's aromatic compounds.
3. Smell
Smelling the wine is the most important part of wine tasting. After swirling the wine a few times, bring the glass as close as possible to your nose and take a good sniff. Usually, the first sniff will reveal only the "strong" aromas like fruitiness, tropical notes, or even just alcohol. Our nose is very sensitive and needs a few seconds to adjust to the concentrated wine aromas. Repeat this 3 or 4 times; with each sniff, you will notice more delicate and quiet aromas. Give the wine time to open up for you. Literally.
4. Sip
The final part of the tasting is sipping the wine; this is when the tastes and aromas combine to create the experience we call flavor.
Swirl the wine over your tongue so it reaches as many taste receptors as possible. This also allows the aroma molecules to evaporate from your tongue's heat and reach the inner part of your nose, where more olfactory receptors are located.
5. Spit
This step only counts if wine tasting is your job, or if you're going to taste more than 6 or 7 wines. Alcohol has a cumulative effect, and we don't want it to impair our ability to evaluate the wine. If you're only going to taste 4 or 5 wines, you can enjoy them and change the last S to "Swallow."
Part 6
The Art of Wine Selling
1. Your Guest Doesn't Know
He is looking for an answer; a good service is a good suggestion.
(The customer that knows doesn't ask questions but does look for signs of good wine service).
2. The 2 Questions and 4 Options Trick:
Q1: Do you like red or white?
Q2: Would you prefer a light wine or a full-bodied, interesting wine?
- Unless, of course, you read the situation yourself and can make a good suggestion on your own.
Suggesting is Service
Suggesting wine is not pushy, it's good service (remember the big Y)
- Which wine can I offer you today?
- Would you like to see the wine list or its human version? Me 😊
- Would you like me to bring you some wine? Decisions like what you're going to eat are taken much more easily with wine in your hand 😉
Bubbles are Versatile
Bubbles go with everything!!!
Upsell Bottles
Always suggest a bottle with a smile when glasses are ordered.
Elevate the Experience
If people are OK, suggest to them how to be Great.
Distract While Opening
Chat while opening the bottle; it keeps their eyes on your face and not on the bottle.
Monitor Consumption
Keep an eye on empty glasses, always suggesting another one or pouring more wine from the bottle.
part 7
So, what is wine anyway?
Wine is an exquisite alcoholic beverage created through the careful fermentation of fruit juice. While the term "wine" can encompass varieties made from plums, apricots, pomegranates and other fruits, when used alone, it traditionally refers to the timeless elegance of grape wines.
During the fascinating production process, yeasts consume the natural sugars present in the fruits, transforming them into alcohol and carbon dioxide (CO₂). The finished wine may contain varying levels of residual sugar, alcohol, and CO₂, carefully calibrated according to the winemaker's artistic vision and typically reflecting regional traditions and the unique characteristics of specific grape varieties.
Bonus part: Wine Trivia Challenge!
Test your knowledge with these fun facts about wine. Click on the question to reveal the answer!
Question 1: Ancient Origins
How far back does winemaking date, and where did it originate, according to archaeological discoveries?
Reveal Answer
Winemaking dates back 8,000 years, originating in the South Caucasus region (modern-day Persia and Georgia, around 6000 BC), with evidence found in ancient pottery shards.
Question 2: Top Producers
Which three countries consistently rank as the top wine producers globally, and what unique characteristic distinguishes each one?
Reveal Answer
Italy (volume), Spain (vineyard area), and France (revenue from high-value wines) are the top global wine producers.
Question 3: Consumption Leaders
Which two countries consistently lead in wine consumption per capita, showcasing a strong cultural connection to wine?
Reveal Answer
Luxembourg (67.2 L/person) and Portugal (52.3 L/person) lead in per capita wine consumption, deeply rooted in their cultural traditions.
Question 4: Largest Winery
Where is the world's largest winery located, and approximately how many bottles does this massive operation produce annually?
Reveal Answer
Ernest & Julio Gallo (Modesto, California) is the world's largest winery by volume, producing nearly 1 billion bottles annually.
Question 5: Glass Shape
Does the design and shape of a wine glass truly impact the tasting experience, and if so, how does it influence aroma and flavor perception?
Reveal Answer
Yes, glass design influences aroma and flavor. The bowl concentrates aromas, and the rim directs wine to specific tongue areas, affecting taste perception.
Question 6: Most Valuable Wine
What is widely considered the most valuable single bottle of wine ever sold at auction, and what was its approximate record-breaking price?
Reveal Answer
A 1945 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti sold for $558,000 USD in 2018, making it the most valuable single bottle due to its legendary vintage and extreme rarity.
Question 7: Boxed Wine Preservation
Why does boxed wine often stay fresh significantly longer than a traditional bottled wine once it has been opened?
Reveal Answer
Boxed wine uses a vacuum-sealed bag that collapses as wine is dispensed, preventing oxygen exposure and maintaining freshness longer than bottled wine.