Colour or Appearance: Still White

For all those with the rousing love for it, the enjoyment of wine starts way before it makes any contact with their tongue. The entire chain of events from purchase (and in some cases even earlier) leading up to the last drop rolling into your throat, all adds to this distinct thrill.

The appearance of the wine is one such pre-drinking merriment that is often overlooked, save for by wine judges and critics. There’s actually a lot to it that helps you assess the presence of (or lack thereof) faults; provides clues to grape variety and winemaking techniques (and therefore, by extension, the flavour profile); and finally acts as a visual stimuli often giving a sense of pleasure and anticipation of what is to follow.

As there is so much to it, I shall start off explaining still white wine [still as opposed to sparkling. This visually translates to wine that has no bubbles emerging from solution] in this article.

 

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Tell me this doesn’t make you want to wrap your lips around it

The general indicators to look out for when tasting wine are highlighted below:

White wines should always be bright and clear; almost shinning. Any hazy, cloudiness or milky streaks are considered faults arising from protein instability in the wine. They don’t affect the flavour profile of the wine in anyway (so I read), but merely give an incomplete or flawed impression of the winemaking. Fortunately, through the advances in technology the hazy flaw is virtually unobserved in any commercial wines.

Next is the colour/hue and its depth. White wines can take any of the following hues:

 

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1. Pale straw almost colourless, 2. Pale straw with green tinge, 3. Either mid straw or pale golden, 4. Mid to deep golden, 5. Dull tawny or brown, 6. Tawny or amber

The differing colours arise from either the grape variety, style of wine, age or sugar content.

Pale wines such as 1 and 2 are indicative of youth, light body, no oak contact or very low sugar content. These styles of wine are commonly made from specific grape varieties due to the actual grape characteristics, tradition, legislature or consumer demand. Thus the grape varieties generally exhibiting this colour (and style) are Sauvignon Blanc, Pinot Gris, Reisling, unwooded Chardonnay and Chenin Blanc, and Sémillon to name a few.

Colours 3 and 4 show medium to full bodied wines that either have higher sugar contents, are older or have had some contact with oak. Based on this you can make educated guesses as to the grape variety (as above) most likely to be Chardonnay, Chenin Blanc, Gewürztraminer, and Viognier, for example.
Number 5 is an example of a considerably aged wine. With whites the colour deepens with age ending in this dull tawny hue. 6 on the other hand shows dessert wines (fortified wines included) and sherries. The vibrant dark colour stems from the sugar content, high skin extraction and extended barrel contact.

Sediments forming are in no way a fault (naturally within reason- half a bottle of sediment is in no way fit to consume, but in reality would never happen). They either denote light filtering, or in aged wines simply particles precipitating out of solution. Unfortunately, it is sometimes perceived as a flaw but should rather come off as being a purist.

Last on the analysis check list is viscosity. This term expresses a wine that is thick and doesn’t flow as freely. As this is either caused by high residual sugar or alcohol content, it isn’t given much thought as it doesn’t offer much else.

… Next time you find yourself with a glass of white in your hand give it a quick look… It makes the wine last longer 😀

Yours in Wine…

 

Sources other than personal experiences:

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