Welcome to the first of a series of study guides tackling the Certified Specialist of Wines certification exam. I made this series of guides as I was having a hard time looking for content to help me study for the exam. Hope you find it useful.
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In 1855, Bordeaux red wines on the Left Bank were classified ranked and rated (primarily based on price) to form the “Grand Cru Classes en 1855”. These rankings and prices largely held up over the past 160 years with some notable exceptions (e.g. Ch Palmer, Ch. Pontet Canet, Ch. Lynch-Bages etc.) that punch significantly beyond their weight. We have put together a full list, including...
Gamay (pronounced gah-maye) is most well known for being the main grape (18,682 hectares/98% of area under vine) in Beaujolais (pronounced boe-joe-lay). For the past couple of hundred years, Gamay was primarily known to make simple, fruity red wines, especially when compared to its posh neighbour Burgundy’s Pinot Noir. Where Pinot Noir is seen as elegant, complex and full of ageing...
Why Viognier, and what is it exactly? The WSET Level 2 text describes Viognier (pronounced vee oh nyay) as famously perfumed, fruity and full bodied, potentially a rival to the great Chardonnay itself. That’s enough to pique my interest: how can such a seemingly wonderful grape be so under-represented? Thus, I started digging into its history, revealing a tale of perhaps deserved decline...
The bottle I had had medium intensity nose of strawberries, with a colour that looks like an aged Pinot Noir
Tech worker by day, geeky wine enthusiast by night.