The Rise and Fall of Cabernet

[wineglut]

Tastevin – Who needs to rant when around you guys. Your doing it for me.

Bucko – regarding global warming, I read the “research” where an investigator compared wine scores over a period of time and concluded that the world was getting warmer because there were more 90 point wines. This might have a glimmer of significance if:
1) The 100 point scoring system had any reproducibility
2) The 100 point system was based on 100 real points of measureable quality rather than a rating system based on high school testing (90’s = A, 80’s = B)
3) The scoring in wine publications was related to the taste of the wine and not its effect on the marketing of the publication.
4) Wines get better the warmer it gets.
5) That global warming is happening so fast that we can taste the change in our food products over a decade of time.
6) That chaptalization, reverse osmosis, new clones, and better farming could not be more significant or at least muddied the results.

Innskeeper, Foodie – you are spot on about how screwed up state law is regarding wine sales. The wine institutes site on interstate shipping makes for interesting reading. Foodie, what was so ridiculous was that the primary interest in much of the post Prohibition legislation was about getting more taxes. There was some interest in keeping the mob out of distribution, but you only have to look at who is distributing wine in the US to see that the mob kept their political powerbase. Try selling wine in Florida, New York, New Jersey and Nevada and not deal with a distributor whose ownership is “once removed” from the mob.)

Tastevin - my understanding is that in the cellars of classified Bordeaux you will find reverse osmosis equipment in the same room they hide the filters from Parker. That isn’t to say I think removing water from must is the wrong way to increase sugars and alcohol. It is the preferred method because it also increases the density of the flavors and aromas. You will note how the wines of Bordeaux have more consistently resembled California wines over the last two decades.

I think that the use of RO on French wines is more justifiable that the use of RO or the cone to reduce excess alcohol created when grapes are allowed to raisin on the vine. This practice is screwing up the balance in wines. You extract more tannin and color from the skins and seeds with higher alcohol fermentations., and this has somewhat of a natural balance with the sweet character of ethanol cover the harshness of the excess tannins. But when you suck out the alcohol with the cone it creates an unnatural flavor profile that bothers me. I’d rather they just used water. (Winemakers used to say, “ I blended that wine with a little Eau Municipal or Chateau La Pompe.”) What really think is silly is called “breaking back” by the need breed of winemaker. Here you let the grapes raisin, you pick them, then you add water back at the fermenter. In this way you can assure you wine will not have any of that nasty varietal character.