Posted on 01/10/2008 7:20:53 PM PST by blam
US winemakers seek to reduce alcohol content
By Tom Leonard, in New York
Last Updated: 2:47am GMT 11/01/2008
Winemakers in California are attempting to reduce the alcohol level in their notoriously powerful reds and whites.
Californian "monster" wines regularly contain 15% vol alcohol and some are as high as 17%, alarming some of their own producers despite the praise of critics.
The winemakers have responded by picking grapes earlier and employing other tactics designed to produce the more "balanced", lower alcohol wines that are popular in Europe.
They say the move has in part been prompted by demand from American restaurants, which often hire European-trained sommeliers who want lighter wines.
Adam Tolmach, one of the state's most celebrated winemakers, said that, at 15% or higher, the alcohol content of his wines was too high.
Mr Tolmach, who has produced Chardonnay, Pinot Noir and Syrah wines from his Ojai vineyard since 1983, admitted they had become so powerful he had stopped drinking them.
He told the Los Angeles Times: "We lost our rudder when we went for ever bolder, riper flavours. We have to do the right thing."
He is far from alone. Joe Davis, the owner of the Arcadian Winery, told the newspaper: "Take any 20 winemakers and they are all thinking about alcohol levels." Ray Coursen, a Napa Valley winemaker, said it was "very easy" to make wines of up to 16.4%
He said it was impossible for two people to share a bottle over dinner as the wines overwhelmed the meal.
Mr Tolmach and some of his peers have blamed the lurch into ever stronger wines on a desire to earn the praise of Robert Parker, America's most influential wine critic.
Parker and other critics have showered compliments on Mr Tolmach's beefy wines, making the latter's decision to change direction a particularly brave one, said rivals.
Critics complain that wine drinkers rarely pay any attention to the alcohol level in the bottle they are consuming.
California is the fourth biggest wine-making area in the world, after France, Spain and Italy. As in Australia, Californian wines tend to be stronger because they are produced in a hotter climate.
Trying to limit alcohol content while retaining flavour is an increasingly major challenge for wine producers as the effects of climate change become more marked.
Even in France, the average Bordeaux's alcohol content has grown slightly, up from 12.5% to 13%.
British retailers are starting to show signs of a backlash against high alcohol wine.
Last year, Sue Daniels, Marks and Spencer's wine technologist, said the company would be trying to find more 12% wines in future.
I am glad to learn that there is a backlash against high alcohol wines. When I started drinking wine with my dinner, many, many years ago, the alcohol content by volume for quite good French clarets was 11.5%. With the marketing of California wines, the alcohol content went up, way up. Today, even the French (who still make the best clarets in the world) have increased alcohol content to 13.5% Why? Practically speaking, wine with dinner should be enjoyed liberally, but the higher alcohol content makes such enjoyment impossible — unless, of course, you don’t mind falling off your dinner chair and chasing your tie around the floor with your tongue.
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Excellent Mosel Rieslings are usually in the 8-9% range.
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