Wine Clock

about
Key & Swirl's

Wine Clock

The Wine Clock is a tool to help you better understand and communicate about wine. The clock doesn't rate the day, it tells you what part of the day you are experiencing. There are so many different varietals, so many different regions and so many different styles, having a framework to identify what is in the bottle before you pull the cork is a valuable tool for wine drinkers.

On Wine Bros Uncorked

We will often use the wine clock to identify a wine we're drinking to better communicate about the wine for viewers.

It doesn't rate, it identifies

The Wine Clock was not built to identify a wine as "good" or "bad." (We do not need another rating system.) This is a tool to identify a type and style of wine for better understanding, dialogue and sharing.

Level 1 • Wine Identification

Structure
The clock is organized with white wines from 12:01 – 5:59 and red wines from 6:01 – 11:59. Wine varietals are placed on the clock from lightest to boldest using their typical and most common stylistic expression. 

Reason
Once a wine is identified as white or red, the clock helps identify the boldness of that wine. Not all red wines are like Cabernet and not all white wines are like Chardonnay.  The clock helps identify the typical expression of a wine with a very light style on one end of the spectrum and a very bold style at the other.

Process
Find the wine you are interested in and note it’s place on the clock. That placement shows the typical and most likely style of that wine. The next step is to compare wines to develop an understanding of lighter wines vs bolder wines.
[Example: Cabernet Franc is a 9:00 wine and Malbec is just past 11:00.]
Compare how they are the same and contrast how they are different.)

Goal
Help wine drinkers better assess what their palate likes and doesn’t like as well as learn more about different wines when you explore.

the digital wine clock

Levels of the Wine Clock

The Digital Clock

The digital clock expands the number of wine variables described from only the varietal in the analog clock to a deeper description of 4 other characteristic represented in the digital clock.

  • HOUR: Describes the varietal/style.
  • MINUTES: Describes aging and alcohol content.
  • SECONDS: Describes acids and tannins.
The game plan

But must explain you how all this mistaken idea denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you complete account the system and expound the actual teachings

  • Announcing Smashing Online Workshops
  • Design Decisions With Otto Storch When Idea Copy
  • Smashing Podcast With Conversion Optimization
Read More
The game plan

The digital clock expands the number of wine variables described from only the varietal in the analog clock to a deeper description of 4 other characteristic represented in the digital clock.

    HOUR
The game plan

But must explain you how all this mistaken idea denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you complete account the system and expound the actual teachings

    HOUR
Read More
The game plan

But must explain you how all this mistaken idea denouncing pleasure and praising pain was born and I will give you complete account the system and expound the actual teachings

  • Announcing Smashing Online Workshops
  • Design Decisions With Otto Storch When Idea Copy
  • Smashing Podcast With Conversion Optimization
Read More

Level 2 • add some depth

Not Minutes: 2 variables – each a different wine characteristic
The two numbers represent two wine characteristics.
• The tens place represents vessel aging.
• The ones place represents Alcohol level (ABV.)

Vessel Aging – Minutes/Tens Place
• 0 = “Pure AF” (Stainless)
• 1 = “Soft Echo” (Neutral)
• 2 = “Warm Croissant” (Neutral/Light Oak)
• 3 = “Balanced Flex” (Moderate Oak)
• 4 = “Vanilla Thunder” (Heavy Oak)
• 5 = “Bourbon Jacket” (New Oak)

Alcohol (ABV) • Minutes/Ones Place

• 0 = No Alcohol
• 1 = less than 12%
• 2 = 12.0% – 12.4%
• 3 = 12.5% – 12.9%
• 4 = 13.0% – 13.4%
• 5 = 13.5% – 13.9%
• 6 = 14.0% – 14.4%
• 7 = 14.5% – 14.9%
• 8 = 15.0% – 15.4%
• 9 = 15.4% +

Level 3 • dig deeper

Not Seconds: 2 variables – each a different wine characteristic
The two numbers represent two wine characteristics.
• The tens place represents the wine’s acidity.
• The ones place represents the wine’s tannins.

Acidity – Seconds/Tens Place
• 0 = “Mellow Drag” – Zero Acid
• 1 = “Smooth & Chill” – Low Acid
• 2 = “Low-Key Tang – Low/Medium Acid
• 3 = “Wake-Up Call” – Medium Acid
• 4 = “Crispy” – Medium-High Acid
• 5 = “Nervy Electricity” – High Acid

Tannin • Seconds/Ones Place

• 0 = “Soft & Snuggly” – No Tannin
• 1 = “Lo Fi” – Low Tannin
• 2 = Adult Fruit Punch – Low+ Tannin
• 3 = “Hoodie Weather” – Low/Med Tannin
• 4 = “Silky Vibes” – Medium Tannin
• 5 = “Balanced Bite” – Medium+ Tannin
• 6 = “Sassy n Struttin” – Med/High Tannin
• 7 = “Firm Handshake” – High Tanning
• 8 = “Textured AF” – High+ Tannin
• 9 = “Mouth CrossFIT ” – High AF Tannin