High Alcohol?

Billy Bolonski · Post by **Billy Bolonski** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 10:18 pm

It is too extreme because you are now off the issue.

No one sugested removing the grapes.

Just what you can, or can't do with them.

Billy B

D.I · Post by **D.I** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 10:39 pm

And that is a slipery slope

Serge Birbrair · Post by **Serge Birbrair** » Sat Feb 10, 2007 11:08 pm

D.I wrote:Hi Billy B.

You remind me that a few years ago I been in a wine show overseas. I mate a wine colleague and we had a chat about some wine issue, one subject was very problematic, he said that if I bring him a glass of mineral water he will invert it (very easily) to a red wine and 95% of the consumers will not notice that it is not wine at all.
I am sure that all of reader will think that that is too extreme, for me it is not.

Was your friend a carpenter by trade?

This is not extreme and has been done before about 2000 years ago.

smithy · Post by **smithy** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 12:27 pm

From the supermarkets viewpoint they sell more wine at 12% (HELL ITS GOT 1/7TH LESS ALCOHOL IN IT THAN AT 14%)

wHAT A VESTED BLOODY INTEREST...OR TO PUT IT ANOTHER WAY....high alc wines are bloody good value.....you drink proportionally less!

Smithy

Billy Bolonski · Post by **Billy Bolonski** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 2:20 pm

DI

I am not sure you know what a slippery slope is.

Wine must be made of grapes or it is not wine.

Bang! No slippery slope. Easy.

It is also easy to place a limit as to how much water is added..... oh thats right there is one. No sippery slope!
Recently there was an application to increase to legal limit of water added. That is how to stop your problem quite easily.

Billy B[/i]

D.I · Post by **D.I** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 5:40 pm

Hi Billy .
Be sure that I know very well is the meaning of slippery slope, and the connection of that term to winemaking.
I believe you know what are the Regulations and the laws in winemaking and what are the pressures to change that, making that laws and regulation more elastic.

Billy Bolonski · Post by **Billy Bolonski** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 6:35 pm

DI

Thats cool.

But, go the other way. Why do we allow any additions to winemaking?

By your argument we should not add anything to the grapes at all. Once we let winemakers add anything we are on your slippery slope.

In that situation we would not be getting great wines.

We have seen increases in alcohol levels so why not give winemakers the tools to balance the wine? What makes adding water so special?

Billy B

D.I · Post by **D.I** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 7:24 pm

Hi again.

There are specific chemicals that are aloud to use in winemaking, some of them are critical to the production of great wines such as SO2 or tartaric acid, other are not critical but important to get clear and pleasant wines. Addition of Water is already legal for dissolving and mixing chemicals. It is all about proportion.

Any way we can agree that we are disagreeing on that subject, and hope that this coming vintage will be excellent with no need for any correction at all.

Gary W · Post by **Gary W** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 7:59 pm

What if it rains before vintage and the grapes are bulging with water? Is that ok because it is 'natural'? Whereas if they come in with high baume and a bit of berry shrivel a small correction the water content is not? It is all about making the best and most balanced wine...especially under difficult circumstances...and quite frankly you would never know the difference as a taster...
GW

Gary W · Post by **Gary W** » Sun Feb 11, 2007 8:02 pm

PS. Apparently one of the best wines I have ever had, the 1965 Lindemans Bin 3110, was shown the black snake in the winery because the grapes came in with such a high baume. That wine lived for 40 years and will go another 20 at a canter.
GW

Ian S · Post by **Ian S** » Mon Feb 12, 2007 1:34 am

Personally I'm pretty relaxed about water being added to wine. As long as it doesn't have accompanying side-issues - e.g. the US problem of long hang time + added water = less revenue for growers; or unretrievable imbalance in the wine, then I'm ok with it. However Beer shows how much the quality of the water can make, so that would be one thing to bear in mind.

My personal success rate for table wines at 15+ % is pretty poor, so anything that allows the alcohol to be kept in check is worth exploring for my palate at least.

regards

Ian

Daryl Douglas · Post by **Daryl Douglas** » Mon Feb 12, 2007 2:52 am

Can't really see any problem here. If the winemaker thinks it needs a bit of water to make it more paletteable (sic) so what? It's what ends up in the gob and gullet that really matters. A good whisky actually tastes better with some water.

Would like to think though that any added water would be distilled rather than just filtered....especially in SA.

daz

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