By Gerd Hirschmann
updated
Wed, Nov 23, 2011 08:00 AM
When did high alcohol content and dense color become the
hallmarks of great wine? When did a sappy jammy texture of wine
become the hallmark of great mouth feel? Today's wine world
dominated by a few high profile critics seems homogeneously
following a particular taste profile in order to get high
ratings.
Today's high alcohol wines have been brought about with the
winemaker's focus on phenolic ripeness. Phenolics are a group of
compounds that contribute color pigmentation, flavor/aroma
compounds and tannin. They develop in the skin, seeds, stems and
pulp of the grape, but it is within the skin and seeds where
phenolic ripeness is most important.
During what is called 'maceration', which is the contact of grape
skins with the 'must' during fermentation, phenolic compounds are
extracted including tannins, anthocyanins, and aroma. 'Must' is the
unfermented grape juice, including pips, skins and stalks. 'Lees'
are the wine sediments that occur during and after fermentation,
and consists of dead yeast, grape seeds, and other solids. Wine is
separated from the lees by racking after fermentation and moving it
into another vessel. Fermentation is the conversion of grape sugars
to alcohol by yeast.
In the 90s, researchers discovered that phenolic ripeness and sugar
ripeness don't happen simultaneously. A winemaker could harvest
grapes that showed sugar maturity but still had green unripe
flavors, which is a phenomenon more likely to happen in warmer
growing regions rather than cooler ones.
Winemakers like to say they grow the wine in the vineyard. Growing
balanced grapes where phenolics and grape sugars mature in chorus
with the proper proportion of natural acidity is a very difficult
and detailed process. It is far easier to target a phenolic number
and then mold the juice in the winery than to address Mother
Nature's variables every year. It's the grape grower who harvests
balanced grapes that should be the celebrity, not the winemaker who
uses technology to manipulate and sculpt a wine.
Unlike wine critics, wine drinkers don't have the luxury of a few
minutes with each wine before moving to the next. They must
interact with the entire bottle of wine, which usually includes
food. Yet for every degree of alcohol over 14%, there is an
exponential drop in the wine's ability to work with food as it
becomes heavy and dominating. But they stand out in a blind
tasting, they quickly seduce the critic into giving it a high
score.
Retailers and restaurateurs can build credibility by protecting
customers from these unnatural and overly alcoholic wines. Wine
drinkers should know that excessive alcohol in a wine is a mistake
that is not recognized by most. The wine world should reject the
scores and return to appreciating the multitude of wines, light or
heavy, flavors that represent every little corner of the world, not
just made to please certain omnipotent wine critics whose score can
make or break a winery. Trust your own palate and taste as many
different wines as you can!
Tagged:
Wine Experiments
