Is it just me or....

I have noticed over the last year or so that I am not enjoying red wines as much as I used to and the problem is rising alcohol levels and/or wines that can't handle higher alcohol levels.

More and more I am finding that strong alcohol either dominates a red wine or overshadows the fruit and other flavours, making the wine rather unpleasant to drink. Last night it was a Shiraz from the Barossa (14.5 per cent) and tonight it is a Malbec from Argentia (14.5 per cent).

I have been drinking these same kind of "big" wines since I started my wine journey (I have always loved big and rich Shiraz) and cannot recall having a problem before.

So, are others out there finding the same thing? Am I just too sensitive to alcohol in wine or am I just buying the wrong kinds of wine (wines from warm climates)?

Would be interesting in your views/experiences/thoughts.

Boisset (the Burgundy Negotiant) is in a partnership in Ontario that makes a very lovely pinot noir on the elegant side. I forget the name, but it should be easy to find. It was all over Quebec City and Montreal.

Bruce
Certainly the alc% on wines I see in the shops seems to be averaging about a 1% increase in declared alc. 12.5-13.5 used to be very common and 14.5% was seen as very high alc. Now 14.5% seems to be the new norm.

regards

Ian

I, too, have similar problems with many reds these days with this level of alcohol, although a few seem to mask it quite well when younger, although it's only the freaks that, seemingly, are going to go the long haul and not become porty, hot, astringent and/or fall apart before they get a lot of age on them. What's wrong with picking a little earlier? Physiological ripeness?

What's wrong with picking a little earlier? Physiological ripeness?

Not enough flavour, hedonism or opulence.

Boisset (the Burgundy Negotiant) is in a partnership in Ontario that makes a very lovely pinot noir on the elegant side. I forget the name, but it should be easy to find. It was all over Quebec City and Montreal.

The winery is called Le Clos Jordanne on the Bench in Niagara and it produces a LOVELY set of Pinots and Chardonnays. They are pricey though and to my tastes just a bit off dry. The standard bottling is in and around $26 CDN, the vineyard bottlings are aroudn $45 and the Grand Clos bottles are $70's a wack. the '07s are fantastic and are still I think available through LCBO. I picked up a few cases earlier this year to see how this one ages. Really decent stuff though.

What's wrong with picking a little earlier? Physiological ripeness?

Not enough flavour, hedonism or opulence.

Winemakers in countries like Argentina and Chile, with hot and fast growing seasons, claim that if they pick earlier, the sugar levels will be closer to old world levels but the tannins won't be ripe enough and will taste green. Global warming is making it increasingly incompatible to have ripe tannins and low alcohol.

A lot of it is the "instant gratification" philosophy as is evidenced by the many "cuvees", blends, and bottles made and imported mainly to the States where marketing, sales, says that higher alcohol is wanted by the masses. Many times it's the over ripe, concentrated styles that I try to avoid due to food pairing issues. I'm with you Bruce!

Drew

[David M. Bueker]

A lot of it is the "instant gratification" philosophy as is evidenced by the many "cuvees", blends, and bottles made and imported mainly to the States where marketing, sales, says that higher alcohol is wanted by the masses. Many times it's the over ripe, concentrated styles that I try to avoid due to food pairing issues. I'm with you Bruce!

Is it higher alcohol that is wanted, or a certain flavor profile that happens to coincide with high alcohol. I get the sense from being in tastings with non-geeks that they are not just looking for the alcohol, but that it's a side benefit ( ) of the jammy, low acid style many casual drinkers prefer.

I think the whole fascination with these sorts of wines is similar to the fad of fruitinis (to make up a word) as a way to make the classic martini more accessible to the masses.

You're correct, David, and the question is "which came first...the chicken or the egg?" Having spoken to numerous folks ITB about this subject it apparently is no question, at least to them, that the States do crave higher alcohol beverages, a lot of which are masked by fruity flavors. I guess that it's synonymous as a culture that bold, fruity flavors and alcohol do go hand in hand. From the beginning of this country Thomas Jefferson noted the attraction of most to high alcohol beverages; whiskeys etc, and lamented this fact as to be "A condemnation of all the midling and lower conditions of society to the poison of whisky, which is destroying them by wholesale, and ruining their families....Whereas were the duties on the cheap wines proportioned to their first cost, the whole middling class of this country could have the gratification of that milder stimulus, and a great proportion of them would go into its use and banish the baneful whisky." Economically in those times whiskey was cheaper and wine was expensive and taxed and I rather feel that our high alcohol craving was born from our beginnings, imho.

Drew

[David M. Bueker]

That argument bothers me in much the same way that "Americans like things sweet because they drink too much Coke" argument bothers me. It smacks of some kind of Americans are inferior because of what they like to drink argument.

That argument bothers me in much the same way that "Americans like things sweet because they drink too much Coke" argument bothers me. It smacks of some kind of Americans are inferior because of what they like to drink argument.

Well just because you don't like the implications of an argument doesn't mean it's not true

More seriously, I don't think there is anything special about Americans in this regard, as plenty of other countries seem to be following our lead when it comes to eating lots of sugar, fat, and generally unhealthy foods. It's just what happens when industrial society produces too many calories and our service sector jobs don't give us enough opportunity to burn those calories.

The wine culture may have been different in Europe in the past, when peasants drank liters of alcohol per day as fuel and did not need high alcohol in those circumstances. But as Europeans drink less frequently and with higher quality, their alcohol levels are creeping up too.

But I'm not sure how the Thomas Jefferson quote fits into this comparative framework.

That argument bothers me in much the same way that "Americans like things sweet because they drink too much Coke" argument bothers me. It smacks of some kind of Americans are inferior because of what they like to drink argument.

I don't think that in today's world that we drink them because we necessarily "like" them so we seek them out...I think its culture and marketing. Maybe Jefferson viewed those masses that consumed strong beverage as inferior in his time. That's not my assertion, only that we seem to continue that culture and it's marketed. I think Americans are far more consumers of cocktail wines than for food pairing which would explain the numerous high octaine, bold flavored wines. What do you think drives it?

Drew

I would say that there does very much appear to be more of an interest in bold, very ripe fruited wines with non-assertive acidity 'in general' in the US, or at least there has been for the last decade. That's not to belittle anyone though. Taste is personal, so criticise the palate and you criticise the person.

Such things tend to be cyclical and I very much believe we've gone beyond the peak of the ultra-ripe trend (just see the regular criticism on e-bob relating to the particular genre of Aussie wines that were the darlings of e-bob only a decade before).

Winemakers will start recognising an opportunity to 'buck the trend' and produce lighter (but as, if not more) complex wines. New wineries will come to the fore, as will new regions - and if global warming is indeed the issue, then we'll see much more in the way of new cooler climate regions.

What I feel less happy about are techniques such as reverse osmosis & spinning cones to manipulate the alcohol level. If I want a 13% alc wine, I'd feel much happier that it wasn't originally a 15% alc wine with spme of the alcohol extracted. Even if they protect the flavour profile during the technique, it might taste unlike the wine I'd expect at 13% alc.

regards

Ian

Hi all, I have not posted in a while but am a regular observer here and I thought I would chime in on this one.
Regarding the original post from Bruce, I too am having problems with high alcohol wines as I get older. I am in my mid 50’s and it seems a lot of wines these days are just too much for me physically. I can almost guarantee if I drink a red wine I will get a headache within an hour. It also is starting to get that way with high alcohol dry whites also. I find I prefer the low alcohol German wines anymore. It never used to be this way. Is my tolerance to alcohol getting worse? Any ideas out there? Or did I misinterpret the question?
Thanks,
Michael