Ever since Napa winemaker Randy Dunn unleashed his broadside against the rising level of alcohol in modern wines, various wine scribes have weighed in with their thoughts, most of them siding with Dunn.
Tina Caputo, the “Wine Broad” in blog life as well as managing editor of Wines & Vines in old-fashioned print life, makes a sensible point in a recent post. She argues plenty of consumers like those overripe fruit bombs — and there’s nothing wrong with that. It’s a legit style with a legit following.
Indeed, the surge in popularity of wines from Australia was built on full-throttle, high-octane swill from the Barossa Valley. California vintners came en masse a bit later to the party, but devotees of the style, particularly the controversial Helen Turley, have been pushing the limits on alcohol for the better part of two decades.
I agree there is a place for this overblown, high-alcohol style and even love a few of them myself (though I disagree with Tina about the alcohol levels in California Zinfandel; I believe winemakers have taken it too far and I seldom drink “hot” Zins anymore).
What I’m looking for — even in a ripe, high-alcohol wine — is a modicum of respect for balance. If a wine is too heavy or too hot it usually ends up getting poured down my kitchen drain.
But the culprit in that scenario isn’t necessarily high alcohol. More likely, it’s bad winemaking.
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