Level 2 wine exam practice · Learning outcome 6
Storage, service and food pairing: practice questions
24 original multiple-choice questions on this chapter, each with an explanation. Five are below; the rest, plus timed mocks, are in the app.
Sample questions
Why are bottles sealed with a cork stored lying on their side?
- To let a small amount of air reach the wine as it ages
- To keep the sediment settled on one side of the bottle
- To keep the wine from touching and tainting the cork
- To keep the cork moist so it does not shrink and let air in
Answer: To keep the cork moist so it does not shrink and let air in. A cork that dries out shrinks, the seal loosens and air gets in, so the wine oxidises. Lying the bottle down keeps the wine against the cork and the cork swollen. Letting air in is the opposite of the aim, and sediment is dealt with by standing the bottle up before decanting, not by storage position.
At which temperature should a full-bodied, oaked white wine be served?
- Well chilled
- Chilled
- Lightly chilled
- Room temperature
Answer: Lightly chilled. Full-bodied whites are served lightly chilled, so their richer aromas and texture can show. Chilled is the band for light and medium-bodied whites and rosé; well chilled would mute an oaked wine almost completely. Room temperature belongs to medium and full-bodied reds.
A guest says a fine oaked Chardonnay tastes bland and has little aroma. The bottle has just been taken from a bucket of iced water. What is the most likely cause?
- The wine is corked, so its aromas are masked
- The wine is far too cold, so its aromas are suppressed
- The wine is oxidised, so its fruit has faded
- The wine is too young, so its oak dominates
Answer: The wine is far too cold, so its aromas are suppressed. A full-bodied white should be lightly chilled; served from iced water it is well chilled, and at that temperature its aromas and texture barely register. Cork taint would add a musty, damp-cardboard smell rather than simple blandness, and oxidation shows as nutty, stale flavours and a deeper colour. Letting the glass warm a few minutes is the fix.
A restaurant has half a bottle of each of these wines left at the end of service. For which one is a vacuum pump the wrong preserving tool?
- An oaked white wine
- A sparkling wine
- A dry rosé wine
- A tannic red
Answer: A sparkling wine. Pumping air out of a sparkling wine pulls the dissolved carbon dioxide out with it, so the wine goes flat faster than if it were simply stoppered and refrigerated. For still wines, white, rosé or red, removing air is exactly what slows oxidation, so the pump is the right tool.
Salt in a dish has which effect on the wine drunk with it?
- It makes the wine seem drier and more acidic
- It makes the wine seem more tannic and bitter
- It makes the wine seem softer and fruitier
- It makes the wine seem hotter and more alcoholic
Answer: It makes the wine seem softer and fruitier. Salt is one of the wine-friendly food components: it lowers the perception of bitterness and acidity, so the wine seems softer, rounder and fruitier. Drier, more acidic and more bitter are the effects of sweetness and umami in food, and heat from chilli is what makes alcohol more noticeable.