Enology Interview Questions & Answers

Question 1. Do You Know How Many Grape Vines Can Be Planted Per Acre?

Answer :

In a wide spacing of 566 vines per acre one would ask each vine to ripen 44 clusters (11 pounds) to achieve a 3.1 ton yield per acre. However, in a dense spacing of 2,723 vines per acre you would ask each vine to ripen only 9 fruit clusters to achieve the same yield per acre.

Question 2. Tell Me Where Grapes Are Grown?

Answer :

Talk to other vineyards about the availability of vineyard workers. While grapes will grow in most climate zones in the United States, the types of grapes grown for wine, eating or juices are have a much more limited growing area. Before planting any commercial vineyard, consult an expert in viticulture in your area.

Question 3. Tell Me How Do You Grow Grapes?

Answer :

Wine grapes are grown outdoors, in a warm, sheltered, sunny site, such as a south- or southwest-facing wall or fence. Grapevines grow on any soil, providing it is well drained. When planting a row of vines, a south-facing slope is desirable with the rows running north to south.

Question 4. Tell Me What Is Vinification Process?

Answer :

Winemaking or vinification, is the production of wine, starting with selection of the grapes or other produce and ending with bottling the finished wine. Although most wine is made from grapes, it may also be made from other fruits or plants.

Question 5. Tell Me What Do You Look For When You Make Wine?

Answer :

I'm looking for wines that taste good. That's obvious, but I am looking for that. I'm also looking for wines that are in balance. I want some wines to be ready to drink right away and others that can be laid down to age for awhile. I'm looking for the parameters and ingredients that can create that process and scenario.

Question 6. Explain Me What Does A Viticulturist Study?

Answer :

As a Viticulturist, you're in the business of growing grapes. The art of grape growing is part science and part intuition, commonly known as “trusting your gut.” With your knowledge and skills, you grow grape vines that produce large quantities of juicy, mouth-watering grapes.

Question 7. Tell Me What Is The Season For Grapes In India?

Answer :

Wine grapes in India are harvested during February-April, versus September-October elsewhere in the northern hemisphere, in this sense we are like the industry “down under” (the southern Hemisphere - Australia, South Africa, South America) where, too, the 2013 harvest is currently going on.

Question 8. Tell Me What Is The Meaning Of Plant Pathologist?

Answer :

Plant Pathology is defined as the study of the organisms and environmental conditions that cause disease in plants, the mechanisms by which this occurs, the interactions between these causal agents and the plant, and the methods of managing or controlling plant disease.

Question 9. Tell Me How Long Does It Take For Grapes To Ripen?

Answer :

Most grapevines give you fruit in their third season. Your backyard grapevine can take up to three years to produce viable grapes, but that timeline is based on several environmental factors as well as how you care for the plant. Sunlight and well-drained soil are key to grape production, as is proper pruning.

Question 10. Do You Know What Does Nomology Mean?

Answer :

Nomological network is a representation of the concepts (constructs) of interest in a study, their observable manifestations, and the interrelationships among and between these. The term "nomology" has been derived from the Greek, meaning "lawful", or in philosophy of science terms, "lawlike".

Question 11. Tell Me What Does An (o)enologist Do?

Answer :

Being an enologist does not necessarily indicate that that individual is also the winemaker. In the book, “How to Launch Your Wine Career,” the authors explain the two arms associated with wine production in California: the winemaker and the enologist. For a head winemaker position, one typically has to work up the ladder from assistant winemaker, and may find themselves in several assistant winemaker positions prior to holding a head winemaker position. The enologist position develops through a different ladder within the winery: from a crush (or harvest) intern to a cellar worker to a lab assistant and finally a cellar master before reaching the enologist position. Note that this development may not always be the case in smaller, commercial wineries.

Question 12. Do You Know How Much Does A Viticulturist Make A Year?

Answer :

Depending on the size of the winery, vineyard managers reported average salaries of between $81,000 and $89,000 in 2011. The highest average salary, $88,279 per year, was reported by vineyard managers working for very large wineries that produce 500,000 or more cases of wine per year.

Question 13. Tell Me How Much Do Wine Cellar Workers Make?

Answer :

Winemakers will earn average salary of $95,263 this year, according to a salary survey of the wine industry conducted by Wine business. More senior winemakers (who supervised other winemakers) will earn an average of $121,774.

Question 14. Tell Me What Are The Steps From Harvesting To Bottling?

Answer :

After harvest, once the wines ferment, the whites are either in stainless steel tanks or in barrels. The wine that's made in tanks ages for three to five months and then it gets bottled. After fermentation, the white that is in barrels, which is mostly chardonnay, gets aged from about seven to ten months before it is bottled. The red wines, right after fermentation, go into barrels. If it is a light red, like a Pinot Noir, it might get bottled as soon as just before the next harvest. If it's a bigger, heavier wine like Cabernet it stays in the barrel for about two years.

Question 15. Explain Me About The Harvest Process?

Answer :

• As a winemaker, the first thing I do during harvest is walk through vineyards where I know the grapes are starting to get close to ripeness. They are already delicious by that point but are not ready to be picked. I walk through a vineyard with a baggie and pick a random sample of the grapes, one berry at a time, until I have half a baggie full of grapes. In the meantime, as many grapes as I'm putting in the baggie, I'm eating to taste how ripe the grapes are. On any given day during harvest I eat hundreds of grapes.
• At the winery, I squeeze the baggies of grapes and analyze the juice to see what the numbers say about the acidity and sweetness. I use those numbers as guidelines and when I'm in the range of the numbers I want, I spend the last few days in the vineyard just tasting grapes. When they taste right, it's time to pick them.
• We pick the grapes on the day I feel they are ready. With white grapes, the first thing we do is get rid of the stems with a machine and then squeeze the grapes. We take just the white grape juice and it goes into either a tank or to a barrel. We then add yeast and start fermenting it.
• With red grapes, again we take the stems away and this time we pump the grapes, skins and all into a tank. The juice of red grapes like Cabernet, Zinfandels and Pinot Noirs, is clear as water so we let the juice steep with the skins. With red grapes, it's the skins that have all the color and flavor. So the skins and juice steep together and then we add yeast to that and it ferments. When it's done fermenting, we drain the wine out of the tank and squeeze the grapes to get the last little bit of wine out. The harvest is pretty much over at that point. Of course there are a lot of little details in there but that's basically what we do.

Question 16. Tell Me At What Point In The Winemaking Process Do You Decide On What You're Aiming At Regarding Style?

Answer :

In the vineyard. Taking large leaps early on in the growing process has helped shape our direction in the cellar. Going all in with a particular goal. We've found that half-assing it only leads to half a result. It starts long before pruning, but we'll start there. Don't fear the late spring frost. We train cordons to where we want to be as far as shoot positions. We prune to where we want to be. We shoot thin to where we want to be. We green harvest to where we want to be. Leaving extra stuff as back up confuses your vine.

Question 17. Tell Me How Do You Grow Grapes For Wine?

Answer :

Planting:

• Plant dormant, bare-root grape vines in the early spring.
• Construct a trellis or arbor before planting. ...
• Most grape varieties are self-fertile. ...
• Before planting grapevines, soak their roots in water for two or three hours.
• Select a site with full sun. ...
• Space vines 6 to 10 feet apart (16 feet for muscadines).

Question 18. Tell Me What Is The Difference Between Viniculture And Viticulture?

Answer :

While “viticulture” refers to the science, study and production of grapes, “viniculture” refers to the same thing, but for grapes specifically for wine. I think that the terms are used somewhat interchangeably-many schools have degrees in viticulture that are specifically geared toward wine grape production.

Question 19. Tell Me Is An Enologist The Same Thing As A Sommelier?

Answer :

• Enologists should not be confused with sommeliers, which the Oxford Companion to Wine defines as a “specialist wine waiter or wine steward.” Sommeliers are typically employed by restaurants, distributors, or other retail entities to advise consumers on wine purchases at a specific establishment. It is not uncommon for sommeliers to determine a wine list for a restaurant or to advertise food and wine pairings based on the restaurant's menu and available wine selection.
• Education in a sommelier certificate program focuses on introductory viticulture and winemaking knowledge; a broad overview of terms and basic production practices (i.e., how to make a white wine versus a red wine). Their focus will feature global wine producing regions (e.g., regions within France like Bordeaux, Burgundy, the Loire, etc.), wine styles and the characteristics associated within specific regionally (terroir-driven) produced wines. Written knowledge is supplemented with educational tastings, and most sommelier and sommelier-like programs have a unique tasting method that is taught and practiced by all pupils. Additionally, some sommelier programs feature education on the various types of spirits produced internationally and the sensory evaluation thereof. Sommeliers understand how to interpret wine regions and what to expect stylistically from a wine that is presented to them. Despite the depth of knowledge in these areas, sommelier training does not focus on actual production techniques. A sommelier is not trained in a wine processing facility, nor taught the scientific component to winemaking, and their approach to wine tasting often differs from those in production. I have often found that sommelier's evaluation of a wine can supplement that of the winemaker in a positive way, and emphasizes how varied sensory perceptions of wine truly are based on one's training and experience.

Question 20. Tell Me What Is Enology?

Answer :

Enology is the study of wine and wine making (Robinson 2006). The field of enology differs from that of viticulture, the science of grape growing, although the two are often intertwined in academic departments across the United States.

An (o)enologist is one that practices the field of (o)enology, and often understands the scientific principles associated with winemaking, including desirable characteristics associated with the grape itself. Enologists tend to understand wine analysis and can make educated decisions during wine production based on the analytical description and, potentially, sensory description of a given wine. Many enologists do not actually have a degree in “enology” per se, although enology degree programs exist throughout the world. In fact, many industry enologists have a science degree in chemistry, microbiology, biology, food science or another related field.

Question 21. Tell Me What Is Oenology The Study Of?

Answer :

Oenology is the science and study of wine and winemaking; distinct from viticulture, the agricultural endeavours of vine-growing and of grape-harvesting.

Question 22. Explain Me What Is An Enologist?

Answer :

An enologist is someone who is responsible for everything having to do with the science (chemistry and biology) of the wine. Their responsibilities vary a lot from winery to winery depending on the winery size, wines produced, and needs of the winery.

Question 23. Tell Me What Is The Name Of A Winemaker?

Answer :

A winemaker or vintner is a person engaged in wine making. They are generally employed by wineries or wine companies, where their work includes: Cooperating with viticulturists. Monitoring the maturity of grapes to ensure their quality and to determine the correct time for harvest.

Question 24. Do You Know Which Vitamin Found In Grapes?

Answer :

In addition to providing us with conventional antioxidant nutrient like vitamin C and manganese, grapes are filled with antioxidant phytonutrients that range from common carotenoids like beta-carotene to unusual stilbenes like resveratrol, and the total number of different antioxidant nutrients in grapes.

Question 25. Explain Me What Is The Most Difficult Aspect Of Making Wine?

Answer :

The most difficult aspect of making wine is the capriciousness of it and those times when you don't have control over the process. The weather is the one thing we don't have any control over and when making the wine problems can arise for seemingly no reason. Wine is a living entity and it can sometimes veer off into unplanned directions for inexplicable reasons. They don't always behave the same throughout the process, including growing the grapes.

Question 26. Tell Me What Do You Think Are The Strengths And Downfalls For Colorado Wine?

Answer :

I view the expansion of the industry as a strength. More wineries equates to more exposure. The lack of acreage to grow grapes and cold weather can hinder the industry.

Question 27. Do You Know Where Is The Origin Of Grapes?

Answer :

There are grapes native to Europe, Asia, and North America. Most Wine grapes would come from European/ Middle Eastern species. Others are for eating or juicing.

Question 28. Tell Me What Climate Do You Need To Grow Grapes?

Answer :

Grapes are the largest fruit crop on earth. The grapevine prefers the temperate climate in which it evolved, with warm, dry summers and mild winters. Winters of sustained cold kill grapevines. High humidity promotes vine disease.

Question 29. Do You Know What Is The Study Of Pomology?

Answer :

Pomology is a branch of botany that studies and cultivates fruit. The denomination fruit culture introduced from Romance languages is also used.

Question 30. Explain Me What Is Viticulture And Enology?

Answer :

Wine grapes. Vineyard in Brhlovce, Slovakia. Viticulture is the science, production, and study of grapes. It deals with the series of events that occur in the vineyard. It is a branch of the science of horticulture.