Wine is a complex beverage and the impression it makes in our palate depends on multiple variables: aromatic composition, alcohol content, acidity, tannin profile, residual sugar, carbon dioxide, temperature, and even our mood. Before a wine is bottled, a winemaker has one last opportunity to try to achieve the best possible balance by making small adjustments to some of these variables. How alcohol, acid, tannin, sugar, and carbon dioxide contents affect our sensory experience will be discussed. A methodology to set up trials to find out how a base blend can be adjusted to have a more pleasant sensory balance will be presented. Guided wine tastings will allow the attendees to experience this process.

Moderator:
Leticia Chacón-Rodríguez, Safe Harbor Wines, California

Speakers:
Adolfo Alarcon, Trinchero Family Estates, California
Federico Casassa, California Polytechnic State University, California