Tag Archives: Master of Wine exams

Happy World Malbec Day!

April 17th, 1853 marks the day that President Domingo Faustino Sarmiento of Argentina officially made it his mission to transform Argentina’s wine industry. Malbec has gone from the replacement for Merlot (early to pronounce, attractively fruit-forward, including a good shellac of vanilla-scented oak, produced on a massive scale and value-priced) to examples that are more focused, more site-specific, and well-crafted to show their terroir.

In honor of this holiday, I pulled a few bottles to refresh my markers. The two Malbecs I tasted were from the homeland of Malbec (Cahors, France) and the homeland in the New World (Mendoza, Argentina).

Malbec markers:
Overall, the wines are deep garnet with a distinctly pink (sometimes neon) rim and staining tears. In both examples, dark fruits lead the way with medium+ body and balanced alcohol (13.0-13.5%), and what stood out to me was the elevated levels of bright acidity that lifted the mid-palate.

Cahors markers:Southwest France wine map
Cahors is upriver from Bordeaux on the River Lot, and Malbec is a minor blending partner in Bordeaux, but otherwise, this region has nothing to do with them. Cahors has to be a minimum of 70% Malbec (called Cot here), and the rest can be Merlot and/or Tannat. I love that they “soften” Malbec here with Tannat. My example here was 80% Malbec and 20% Merlot.

Compared to the Mendoza example, the character of the dark fruits was pure, and the aromas were all about savory things: leather, bloody, bitter chocolate, and organic earth. It had bright acidity , but the tannins were more dried herbal/edgy/savory. It is definitely a wine for lovers of old world styles and would show best with food (especially something gamey).

Mendoza markers:Wine map Argentina
This region is too large to make sweeping generalizations about the climate or soils, and this is might be one of the reasons why Malbec has become a consistently successful brand it is today. With so many micro-terroirs to blend from, you can be assured that you will have a clean, varietally correct glass of wine. I have seen more of a focus on these micro-terroirs lately.

Very fruit forward (to let you know that this is from the New World), the dark fruits of plums and blueberries were cooked (almost candied) and framed by chocolate notes, violet florals, and a hint of mint (or alcohol? The label said 13.0%). But compared to Cahors, this was all about generous and attractive fruits. Again, bright acidity lifted the soft dark fruits, and tannins were more ripe/resolved tannins. Very easy to drink.

Laterals: Syrah, Merlot, and Dão
When I miss Malbec, I usually have Syrah or Merlot. I can also throw a red from the Dão in there. My tasting partner threw in Greanche, but the color and the acidity was off.

Malbec lateralsMalbec Versus Syrah: Similar color, including pink (though more purple on the Syrah) rim and staining tears. Dark fruits on the nose were also similar, but there were a lot of savory elements in the Syrah that I think are unique to it. For instance, the Cahors shows a lot of savory notes (leather/meaty), and Syrah typically shows meaty/smoky notes. But there’s an olive and mint/eucalyptus that I associate strongly with Syrah. Also, while the Syrah was leading with dark plums, there were also red fruits here.

Malbec has some tannins, but Syrah has massive tannins. The chunky tannins on the Syrah carried the fruit through to the finish while the Malbecs were more balanced between the fruits and the texture of the tannins.

In a blind situation, I would consider Syrah for the color, cooked dark fruits, savory elements, and medium+ acidity. But the tannins here are massive, and the aromas include very distinctive Syrah markers like the olive, smoke, and mint. By comparison, the Mendoza Malbec was all about fruits and spice, and the Cahors was all about savory notes and savory tannins.

Malbec Versus Merlot: The color on the Merlot, while deep, was not as inky as the Malbecs and did not have any pink or staining tears. I always get in trouble using color as an absolute funnel though. Merlot has intense dark fruits but a lot of red fruits as well. Like I said above, I don’t typically get a lot of red fruits out of Malbec but more dark plum and blueberry. That said, there was a sweetness to the Merlot fruit that harkens to Malbec, but it was not candied as in the Mendoza example. The elevated amount of tannins was similar to Malbec but had only moderate acidity in this example of Merlot.

I have often mistaken Merlot for Malbec, and I’m updating my funnel to point out that Merlot has dark and red fruits. Really pay attention to the mid-palate. Malbec has a bright acid lift across your tongue while Merlot has a plump coating of fruit across the tongue (with acidity framing that fruit on the sides). Tell me if you agree.

Malbec versus PortugalMalbec Versus Dão: This wine shares the deep ruby color of the Malbec, but the rim is also ruby (nothing pink about it). Like the Cahors, there is a strong savory and meaty note dominating the nose of the Dão, but instead of that organic earth, it was more of a stony minerality. (I typically find a lot of granite notes in all wines from Portugal.)

The Dão had the dark fruits that both Malbecs show but none of the chocolate, and I did find red fruits as well for the Dão (more dried strawberries and cherries) where there were not a lot of red fruits in any of the Malbecs. The palate on the Dão was distinctive with pronounced acidity (even higher than the Malbecs) with massive, coarse tannins. Even the Cahors with its more rustic/savory tannins were finer in texture by comparison.

My funnel will now say that there are more red fruits, pronounced acidity, and massive tannins of native Portuguese grapes in the Dão that make it different from the Malbec.

Other laterals I have written down over the years include Tannat and Petit Verdot for the inky color and massive tannins, but I am finding that Malbecs today show more resolved tannins than I had originally thought. I also have Bonarda as a possible lateral for the acidity, but Bonarda doesn’t show the purple tints of Malbec nor the candied fruit (actually, my Bonarda note reads more like Barbera!). These kinds of laterals are going down the rabbit hole… Go for the obvious.

Bright color rose of MalbecMalbec Rosé:
No need to adjust your screen. That is the correct color. Bright pink, almost cotton candy in color (White Zinfandel is a lateral on color alone). This makes sense when you remember that the two Malbecs above both had a neon pink meniscus. The rosé here had generous dark fruits, especially blueberry, and a touch of earth (though not mineral). Tried as I did, I did not get any red fruits at all. That’s a marker. Similar medium+ amount of juicy acidity found in the still red versions with a bit of dissolved CO2 to help lift the fruits. It was full-bodied for a rose and not quite bone dry. The tech sheet said 13% abv, and the bottle was printed at 14.5% (I thought it was something in between).

So, those are my markers and laterals. I hope you found it useful. Crack a bottle (or several) of Malbec tonight, and tell me what your markers and laterals are.

Why is alcohol in wine so important?

As the second most abundant component in wine (after water), understating alcohol’s role in wine is important. Alcohol is so central to the definition of wine that in many countries around the world, there are stated alcohol minimums in order for a fermented grape product to even be called wine (5.0% in the UK, 8.5% (with exceptions) in the EU, and 0.5% in United States). Alcohol is important for sensory, stability, and health reasons, but there are also important negative consequences as well.

The sensory impact is the most obvious and important role that alcohol plays in wine. Alcohol enhances perception of the body and also increases aromatics as it carries aroma molecules with it when it volatilizes. Wine is certainly more generous in weight and aromatics than grape juice. Alcohol also provides a warming sensation on the palate as well as in your skin as alcohol causes blood vessels to dilate, moving blood closer to the surface of your skin.

chemical formula for alcohol

Alcohol also enhances the stability (and shelf life) of a wine. Specifically, alcohol is toxic to wine yeasts above ~15.5%. A moderate alcohol wine (11-14%) with the smallest amount of residual sugar is subject to refermentation in the bottle unless sterile filtered (not possible until post-WWII) or fortified to 16%+ alcohol. The classic example is Port, which has high levels of sugar (around 100g/L) but remains stable in the bottle due to the 19%+ alcohol by volume. In this case, the sugar helps to preserve the Port for many years, aided by the stability and longevity that the high alcohol provides.

Alcohol plays an important role in the longevity of humans as well. For centuries, wine and beer was preferred over water because microbes could not survive in wine and beer and were, therefore, more “clean” to drink than water. More recently, studies have shown moderate alcohol consumption can decrease the chance of everything from diabetes to dementia and even reduce your risk of cardiovascular disease. Beyond diseases, Catholic University of Campobasso recently analyzed a pool of studies and concluded that moderate alcohol consumption can decrease your chance of death by 18%.

But drinking more than moderate amounts can have important negative consequences. In addition to increasing your chances of liver disease and certain types of cancer (including breast cancer), large amounts of alcohol can negatively impact your physical (inflammation, lack of coordination, slurred speech) and mental health (memory loss, poor judgement, addiction). Social consequences of alcohol are an important topic in many parts of the world with organizations like DrinkWise in Australia and DrinkWare in the UK specifically setup to reduce the misuse of alcohol.

Alcohol in wine is important. Wine would not be the same pleasurable experience without alcohol nor would it last as long in the bottle. Alcohol is important for its health consequences, and when wine is allowed to be a respectful guest at the dinner table, the health benefits and the pleasure will accrue to the drinkers as well.

Alcohol is good

The Plan Part Deux: Wine exam addictions

Hi! My name is Kristina and I’m a test addict.

In school, I would often score in the 98th percentile of tests, only to later coast through my studies and get mostly B’s on my report cards.

Fast forward to today and it’s easy to see why I’m burned out from my MW studies. Shocking, I know. Not being in the program this year is painful because I’m not getting any feedback on my progress. I still meet with my tasting group every week, but even that feels stagnant.

This is how I justify a not-so-slight change in my plans. My ego needs to pass a test.

Certified Wine Educator

I passed the Certified Specialist in Wine exam by the Society of Wine Educators about ten years ago, but I didn’t pursue the higher designation of Certified Wine Educator. I was already making some pretty good money teaching wine classes around town, so I didn’t see the need. In any case, I had some issues with the structure of the exam, plus I was working toward a WSET diploma, which is no small feat.

CWE books

Books – CHECK! Notebook – CHECK! Plan – CHECK!

Now that I’m working in my dream job, I can justify taking a crack at the CWE exam. I’m nervous because this test seems to focus more on rote memorization, whereas the MW is more about a global understanding of the business of wine. Of course, memorization may be a good thing: I struggle to name more than three subregions of South Africa. Or are they called wards? Or districts? I know, embarrassing, isn’t it?

Preparing for the Exam

Right now, I’m aiming for an exam date in August late May (I know!!  But I have some vacation time coming up!  Lemme try!!). I’m preparing for the CWE exams by working through the CSW Study Guide and Workbook (which have vastly improved since the late-2000s version), and I’m supplementing my studies with the Oxford Companion to Wine, Exploring Wine from the CIA, and GuildSomm.

I also need to get back into maps, and because the CWE exams include a teaching component, I’m going to commit to teaching you in some of the areas I’m weakest at. What are my weak points, you ask? Oh, pretty much all of the New World!
At the same time, I just completed the Italian Wine Professional Level 2 program—and passed, yippee! I’m also picking up the Italian Wine Scholar course (see comments above). I’m still meeting weekly with my MW tasting group, but my MW-specific studies are taking a backseat to my CWE studies, which will help me reground myself in the core of wine knowledge.

So that’s my new plan! Honestly, I can’t tell if I’m procrastinating or if this modified plan will actually help me, but it’s worth a shot! Wish me luck!

What are you studying for right now?