When the controversy over elevated levels of alcohol in wine erupted recently — following a stinging rebuke from Napa Valley winemaker Randy Dunn — I was unaware of the depth of emotion wine enthusiasts harbored on the issue.
Readers of my nationally syndicated “Wine Talk” column bombarded me with so much mail that I devoted two subsequent columns to letters on the issue. Readers were overwhelmingly appalled (by about 20-1) at the stampede of winemakers toward more concentrated, jammier, high-alcohol wines, particularly from California.
There are a number of theories about why this has been so. Global warming. Healthier vines. New rootstocks that have turbo-charged sugar production. Then there is The Wine Spectator, the national wine magazine that retailers across the land quote liberally in an attempt to sell you a highly rated wine.
That is the subject of my Creators Syndicate column this week. Click here to read the whole thing.
What some of you probably don’t know is that consultants within the wine industry have profiled the palate preferences of powerful critics such as Robert Parker and the Spectator’s James Laube.
It’s no secret that Califorina wineries — indeed, most any winery that hopes to successfully market its products in the United States — covet a big score in the “WS” ratings.
Rightly or wrongly, many winemakers believe they must produce a concentrated fruit bomb, with the attendant high level of alcohol, to please the palate of Mr. Laube. Most will deny this when confronted, but it’s just about the worst-kept secret in the wine biz.
This was brought home to me again last week when I was contacted by a Rodney Strong Vineyards spokesperson about sampling a Cabernet Sauvignon from its new ‘winery within a winery.’ When informed this hot new Cabernet was “well balanced” despite an alcohol level of 15.4 percent, I declined.
But not before I opined that it was my sense the winery within a winery had been created for one purpose — a high score in The Wine Spectator. Honestly, there’s nothing wrong with that. You own a winery, you do what you have to do to sell the wines you make.
With that in mind, I visited the truly new winery at Silver Oak Cellars, where they’ve rebuilt since a devastating 2006 fire. Alcohol levels, balance and elegance were much on my mind when I sat down to taste the new releases from Silver Oak, the 2004 Alexander Valley and 2004 Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons.
I could hardly believe my eyes when I saw the stats. The Alexander Valley, 13 percent alc. The Napa, 13.9. Bingo!
No matter what you may think of the Silver Oak wines — and I happen to think they are exceptional — you have to admire the determination of owner Ray Duncan and winemaker Daniel Baron to be true to the winery’s vision of elegance and finesse, articulated by founding winemaker Justin Meyer more than 30 years ago.
After all, blackberry jam is for toast.
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