The Road to Weinakademiker, Part 7 (Sparkling & Fortified Exam)

It's time for a new article in the series "The Road to Weinakademiker." My current score is that I've completed 5 of the 7 exams. That was almost one less, because I was this close to cancel the Fortified exam, but I'm very glad I was persuaded not to.

I'll tell you more about the past few weeks and the exams below. Want to read the other parts? Check them out here .

Exam time

Over the past few weeks, I've been focusing mainly on Unit 5 Sparkling Wines. Although there was quite a bit of time between exams, I still didn't have enough time. I find it hard to get started when I'm not really feeling the pressure yet. The final score: I started too late and got a terrible headache the weekend before the exam (probably because the pressure was just a tad too much). Hey, good work!

Unit 5 Sparkling Wines

Let's get straight to the point: it could freeze, it could thaw. Maybe I'm hoping it freezes, because then I'll have a chance to improve. It went horribly wrong. Something you should NEVER do is wait to write your conclusion after the tasting. I tasted the wines, wrote notes, but skipped the "quality assessment" and continued with the theory questions. Dumbest choice ever. Because then you have no idea (anymore) what to write. That combined with time pressure is guaranteed panic. I don't even understand why I went about it that way.

If you ignore the panic, the exam wasn't even that difficult. The format: three sparkling wines and three theory questions.

The wines

• Redbank 'Emily' Brut Cuvée NV, Victoria
• Charles Heidsieck Brut Millesimé 2006, Champagne
• Fontanafredda Asti

Only the last two wines needed contextualization. Luckily, not the random Australian sparkling wine – it could have been anything. All I knew was that it had to come from a warm climate because: low acidity and, in my opinion, a bit of residual sweetness.

By glass two, I knew immediately it was champagne, and what do I write? Franciacorta. Because I didn't find the acidity that high. Have I ever tasted such a beautiful Franciacorta? No. Have I ever detected so many autolytic notes in a Franciacorta? No. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Glass 3 was a breeze. Thirty seconds before the time limit, I decided to change my conclusion (from very good to good, because, duh, it's Asti). Unfortunately, there was only time for scratching, not for writing a new story. Sigh.

Theory

• Write about the traditional method from riddling onwards
• Write about the viticulture in DO Cava
• Write about Saumur

The first question was my favorite. My mind went back to my Champagne trip last year, where I traditional method from close experienced at Billecart-Salmon. I could rattle off a few facts about Saumur and winemaking in the DO Cava, but I didn't have much more to offer.

Fingers crossed. Or not. I'll just make it again.

Newsflash: I made it! Well, I tend to look at it negatively. Still, I'd have just given this one a "merit" shot. Delicious!

Unit 6 Fortified Wines

At Fortified Wines, I pulled myself together. The tasting went smoothly, except that I mistook the Oloroso for Madeira. I hesitated, but found the acidity a bit high, so I chose Madeira. Well, if you were to put them side by side, they're a world of difference, but when you're staring at one of them blindfolded, doubt quickly sets in.

Wines

• Domaine de Durban Muscat de Beaumes de Venise 2016
• Williams & Humbert Olorosso 12 years old
• Bodegas Hildagos La Gitana Manzanilla

The first and last were easy. For both, we had to re-contextualize the wine. For the first, I'd neatly noted Vin Doux Naturel and Muscat de Beaumes de Venise from the Rhône. For the last, I wrote down "fino sherry." Manzanilla is a fino sherry, but it comes from Sanlucar de Barrameda and therefore has a different name. So, I'm actually right, but maybe they specifically want to hear manzanilla.

Putting the wine in context is also The least of your worries . There are 25 points to be earned with a tasting note; correctly guessing the wine is only worth 2 points. Describing the aroma, taste, and quality is much more important.

Theory

• Write about the viticulture in Madeira
• Write about the fermentation and fortification of sherry
• Write about Late Bottled Vintage

Madeira was another lucky one as was the Armagnac question about spirits . I'd also reread this at the last minute, so it was still fresh in my short-term memory. My classmate Cas had shared a hilarious mnemonic the day before for remembering grape varieties and their characteristics, so all in all, I managed to write a page and a half about Madeira, including poios – the tiny, terraced vineyards. Score.

Not so long ago we had to write a case study for Unit 1 Global Consumption and Production about The ins and outs of the sherry world . That helped me answer question 2. Sherry is also part of the wine courses I teach – WSET2, SDEN2, and SDEN3. For extra bonus points, I added that in recent years, sherry has become increasingly popular. unreinforced 'sherries' are made.

Late Bottled Vintage is also a regular feature of wine courses, but try writing a full page about it. It's quite a challenge.

On to the next one

The Big Exam is coming up in October, but I'll skip that for now. The big exam involves: all the wines of the world. So, it's quite possible that something will be asked about Colchagua Valley (Chile) or Russian River Valley (California). In short, that will require a few more hours of study. Since October is already full of wine courses and other plans, I'm postponing the exam until early 2020... (I think).

So now for a bit of rest. Nice!