Wine Dimensions November 2007 |
Dear Friends of Monolithos |
| High alcohol wines have recently become a hot topic in the wine domain. The debate involves different sectors of the wine world including journalists, researchers, sales, health scientists, food and drink professionals, wine enthusiasts and consumers. Here are some of the pros and cons stipulated. |
| Proponents attribute high alcohol wines (above 13% ABV) as being more complex, having a better taste, fuller flavoured and generally a sign of wine quality. In a recent Wine Intelligence's Wine Consumer Access Survey (WCAS) study, 42% of consumers said they were likely to buy wines with a "high" alcohol, and only 14% said they would buy wines at lower alcohol levels (11% ABV) or lower. Such trends show that high alcohol levels are seen as a positive thing amongst the vast majority of consumers. The increase in wine alcohol levels are due to a number of factors, including improved techniques in viticulture, rising average temperatures and consumer preferences for riper, easy-drinking styles. |
| Proponents say that the alcohol level is irrelevant, as long as the wines are balanced and taste good. The presence of alcohol with sugars, phenols and tannins define the balance of wine, which is diagrammed below: |
Sweet Taste (sugars + alcohols) <= => Acid Taste (acids) + Bitter Taste (phenols) |
| In other words, the key aspect is balance between alcohol on the one hand, and acidity and astringency on the other. This is obviously most relevant to red wines. Too little alcohol will cause the acidity and astringency to dominate, making the wine harsh and thin. Too little acid and astringency will cause a wine to taste overly soft, heavy and flabby, with the quality of the alcohol playing too much of a role. According to Emile Peynaud, "a wine tolerates acidity better when its alcohol content is higher". A considerable amount of tannin is more acceptable if acidity is low and alcohol is high. |
| Winemakers produce wines with high alcohol and low acidity. Not that long ago, 13.5% was considered high. Now, it is very common to find all kinds of wines, red and white, with alcohol levels up in the 14% range and higher. The alcoholic component is an important ingredient in the overall taste of wine, and its absence or removal is not easy to substitute. It is important to recognise that low alcohol wines (on the basis of experiences to date) will appeal only to a niche market. Higher-alcohol wines tend to taste bigger, jammier and richer. Wine makers say this is what the public is demanding, so that is what they are producing. The popularity of ripe wines is clear; if consumers didn't like this style of wine, it wouldn't sell. |
| It is also a fact that over the last 15 years, wine enthusiasts are drinking wine with meals, but they are also drinking it without food, in the same way they might previously have consumed cocktails. And high alcohol red wines taste better in the absence of a meal. Such wines are smoother, because the alcohol creates an unctuous sensation. The tannins in the grape skins, which contribute to that gritty sensation that we call texture, are softer too when grapes are riper. |
| Opponents of high alcohol have called them "wines on steroids", and insist that the qualities of elegance and delicacy, and the ability to evolve gracefully with age, are completely lost. The wine's place on the dinner table, they say, is also in danger. These wines, they argue, overwhelm food instead of enhancing it. High alcohol can create the impression of sweetness, which can clash with food. High alcohol red wines and overdone white wines have become problematic for beverage directors trying to keep the wines on the list and pair with the menu. All wines with high alcohol, except for a few exceptions, are intrinsically "repugnant". |
| One of the major starting points of the alcohol debate is that it tends to get people drunk. They also claim that many wines now leave wine consumers with little more than a headache, not to mention the issue of driving. If you expect to drive home after dinner at a restaurant or a friend's home, you'll have to drink much less of a 15% alcohol wine than a 12.5%. |
| Not long ago, wine was a refreshing beverage that enhanced a meal while improving one's spirit and digestion. Sipping between bites was an essential part of the overall dining experience. High alcohol wines, that are 15% to 16%+ in strength, usually lack acidity which is the primary key in food and wine harmony. Textures or weight need to be matched when pairing food and wine, so high alcohol wines need very rich weighty foods. About the only dish that seems to put them in their place is a good hot, spicy dish. |
| Furthermore, they point out that the alcohol content of wines could have a huge impact on your wine cellar because at 15% alcohol or more, wines won't last since acid is the single most important element that contributes to the longevity of a wine. |
| They maintain that the current trend for higher and higher alcohol wines should be stopped. Wines that are around 15% alcohol tend to lose their varietal character and all taste alike. In other words, Cabernet and Syrah are likely to be indistinguishable from one another. Distinct varietal taste is evident only at lower alcohol levels. So they argue that if you love Cabs, you'll get more Cab flavour at 13.5% than you will at 15%. According to the opponents, the finest wines are those where you are not conscious of drinking large amounts of alcohol. Wines that are at 14.9% to 15.6% alcohol are completely undrinkable. High alcohol is the curse of this business. |
| In addition, relatively new consumers are seduced by the big, ripe flavours of high-alcohol wines. What sells wine today is "bigness". And big wines are not for drinking - they are for sipping and spitting out. |
| Many winemakers are working to bring levels down. It's not as simple as just picking the grapes earlier, though. Full flavours seem to come later and later, when sugars are extremely high. The good news is that there are techniques to reduce alcohol levels without sacrificing quality. Recently, there has been a push for lower alcohol wines through the dealcoholization process. The people who remove the alcohol insist that the flavours of the wine remain intact, but opponents are quick to point out that taking alcohol out of the wine is stealing its natural character and personality and that the production of low alcohol wine is essentially an exercise of wine manipulation. It involves breaking the wine down and then rebuilding it with some of the available material (i.e. the alcohol) being left out. |
| The fact is that higher alcohol wines have gone in and out of fashion ever since wine popularity hit the average consumer. At the moment, they are controversial because they cross varietal lines, and have a strong hold of the market because many are high quality, highly priced and hedonistic - all at the same time. |
| There are many theories as to why alcohol levels have become so popular. Some people blame the tyranny of wine critics, who have certain tastes that winemakers seek to satisfy. Another theory is that weather has changed since the 1970s, and that improved plant material (free of disease) and viticulture techniques accelerate sugar maturation, which affects alcohol levels. Climate change, young vines, virus-free stock, more efficient rootstock, the search for physiological ripeness and consumer preference - it was important to remember how alcohol levels affect sensible drinking guidelines. |
| There are also those who point out that restaurant menus today are overflowing with fusion foods, combining the culture, ingredients and flavours of Asian cooking with Western cuisine. Not many years ago, the only Asian restaurants in town were Chinese and Indian; now you can choose from Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Malaysian, Vietnamese, Mexican, Indian and others. Most of these ethnic cuisines, with heavy emphasis on full flavour, come from non-wine cultures. Yet, because of the rising popularity of wine in restaurants, the demand is for riper, flavour-packed wines to match such intensely flavoured dishes. |
| However, the issue is not simply about alcohol as such, but about its sensory impact. If the alcohol is perceived as excessive, there is a heat or burn in the finish. In addition to physical perception, there is the mental-perception-versus-reality factor. Many wines are judged by an alcohol number on the bottle, instead of by how they taste. The core of the issue is balance. This is a concept that on the surface seems very simple, but that turns out to be quite challenging. |
| Quality is always related to a certain harmony of tastes, where no one taste dominates another. High alcohol (above 14%), will give a wine a certain "hotness" and it will taste slightly sweeter. Although not the death knells of a wine, high alcohol is a major concern. It is not intrusive as long as there is a lot of fruit to go with it. In evaluating young wines, we may come across and be impressed by a wine sporting 14.5% alcohol that seems to have enough fruit to age for six to eight years. If we are wrong, however, the fruit will diminish in a few years, but the alcohol will still be 14.5% and the wine will be out of balance. |
| Certain decisions (like how to tend the vines, when to harvest the grapes and when to bottle the wines) are directly related to the alcohol content. For example, how you manage the vines' canopy of leaves affects how much sun the grapes receive, and can help to determine how ripe they get and the sugar level, which translates into alcohol. Ripeness, of course, is a subjective notion, and different growers will decide this issue in different ways. |
| At Monolithos, we acknowledge the need for managing ripeness while keeping alcohol at acceptable levels. We believe that high alcohol shouldn't be viewed automatically as an evil. Wine quality should only be judged on its balance - not on the number that is printed on the label. It is vital that we do not overreact. Wineries can still easily deliver to the consumer a mouth-filling and delicious wine that is both flavourful and balanced. These wines can also have structure and acid to go with many dishes. They are not inherently flabby. There are many other components that carried those wines, and the alcohol factor is a non-issue. |
| Monolithos red wines have tannins that are round and smooth and their alcohol has a positive synergistic effect on them, thus creating a mouth-filling sensation. Their acid is also kept moderate, consequently avoiding high acid and high alcohol which may have a pronounced negative effect. On average, we are striving towards a 13.5% to 14% alcohol level for reds and 11.5% to 12% for whites. White grapes are typically harvested as soon as the sugars develop enough to produce wines of 11%-12% alcohol. Alcohol makes young red wines seem riper and more appealing. These wines are fuller, richer, and feature more concentrated flavours. Our reasoning is to produce on the one hand, red wines that are mouth-filling, flavourful and balanced, and on the other, whites with elegance and grace where the fine flavours of the wine are not overpowered by alcohol. |
| We pick physiologically ripe grapes, in which the seeds have turned from green to brown and yield softer, more supple tannins with less astringency, making traditionally long-lived wines easier to drink at an earlier age. Whereas red wines are not always required to taste of the grapes from which they are made, and can very well be dominated by secondary aromas produced during fermentation, in whiter wines fresh, fruity flavours are always desired - that is, the grape's primary aromas. These aromas are localised in the skin and underlying cells and appear before complete maturity, so early picking can result in finer wines than late picking. |
| To avoid wines too high in alcohol, some winemakers add water to their grape juice before fermenting it into wine, resulting in less alcohol by volume. Others employ more advanced methods, like reverse osmosis or spinning cone columns, which can remove alcohol from wines after they are made. At Monolithos, we keep away from such practices because we believe that they have adverse effects on the wine's natural character and personality. |
| Undoubtedly, a major factor in the increased popularity of high-alcohol wines is fashion. Today's consumer favours deeply coloured, full-bodied, rich red wines and fruity whites with elegant flavours - two styles that entail different alcohol levels. The Cyprus climate is conducive to maturing grapes thoroughly, but along with it comes high sugar and, thus, high alcohol. Proper vineyard management and timely harvesting can provide the raw material required for premium wines. |
| The bottom line is that we cannot generalize across the board about alcohol levels in wines. Each wine is a stand-alone package. Each wine must be evaluated on its own merit and components, of which alcohol is only one. Consumers should decide themselves exactly how much degree of alcohol they wish to buy - that's their choice. Those who attempt to influence fashion should respect that. Don't try to take this right away from them. |
Wine News and Information |
| The chemical compound found in red wine is to be used in a pill developed by scientists to help stop cancer, it has emerged. The compound, resveratrol, is one of the ingredients of four pills currently being tested by boffins at the University of Leicester. Other chemicals include tricin from rice, anthocyanins (antioxidants from bilberries, but also found in red wine) and curcumin, from curry spices. UK newspaper, the Daily Mail, says that scientists are looking to use food compounds to prevent the onset of breast, colon and prostate cancers. The pills are predicted to be on the shelves by 2010 and the researchers say they could be "highly effective" as a means of preventing human cells from becoming malignant. |
| California's Wine Institute has received a US$50,000 grant from the US government in order to study the emerging wine market in India. A growing market with high wine tariffs, India has proved challenging to US, European and Australian wine exporters. Year on year figures show that US wine exports to India, which are 90% Californian, jumped 111% and are now worth US$792,000. India is a notoriously hard market for wine exporters. Import duties and government surcharges reach 550% in some states, while others ban all alcohol sales. |
| Recently, the names of the world's most renowned wine-producing areas have been officially redrawn to include countries such as China, India, Georgia, Canada, New Mexico and Belgium. Authors of "The World Atlas of Wine", Jancis Robinson and Hugh Johnson, included these countries because of the significant change in wine-producing areas in just a few years. Reasons for the change include global warming, better irrigation techniques and the global expansion of viticulture skills. |
Monolithos Monthly News |
| By 23 September, all Monolithos grapes had been picked and delivered to the winery. Currently, the vineyards are fertilized with the remains of the skins, seeds, and stems, and prepared for winter. During November, the vines' leaves turn brown and fall off. The vines are at the point of entering the dormant stage. |
| At the winery, fermentation of the 2007 harvest has been completed and wines have been racked twice in order to remove solid sediments. |
| We thank you for your continued support. If at any time you are passing near the village of Pachna and wish to visit the winery or purchase any of our products, Martin Wood will be pleased to meet and assist you at his "Fig Tree Villa" in Pachna, so do not hesitate to phone him at 25-816212 or 99-165995. |
| Take care, and always remember: |
"A bottle of wine begs to be shared; I have never met a miserly wine lover." - |
Clifton Fadiman, New York Times, 8 March 1987 |
| Regards from all of us here at Monolithos |
