In my previous entry, I expounded on the influence of Joe Dressner. He was a champion the honest, authentic, natural side of the wine making business, and never afraid to say how he felt about a wine.
I promised some more hints about wines we don’t like, and those we do. Beware anything overdone, and make some notes about who does things right. If you have any appreciation for the magic of a well crafted wine, or want to develop such an appreciation – you should – this should help you point in the right direction.
We aren’t big fans of wines that are…
Over-Manipulated:
The over-handling of wine is one of the fundamental caveats in winemaking. Repeatedly pumping wine from one vat to another and moving wine or grape must by truck affects the freshness and flavors of the wine. Of course, chemical adjustments can be made to cover up any faults….and Velveeta is delicious!
Over-Flavored:
In almost all parts of the world it’s common practice to use cultured yeasts and extra grape sugars to enrich the flavors of the grape juice during fermentation. Not to mention the foolish winemaker that keeps a shelf of flavor extracts on a shelf directly above the vat…WHOOPS!
Over-Acidified:
Did you know it was common practice in most areas of the world to do “acid adjustments” by adding citric acid, tartaric acid and, less frequently, malic acid to adjust the acidity levels of a wine?
Over-Harvested:
Restricting the number of grape bunches on a vine is the simplest, most basic technique for achieving greater concentration and flavor. The majority of wine-grape growers harvest at levels high above the norm to increase the number of bottles that may be sold…the simplest, most basic formula for increasing profits.
Over-Filtered:
Sterile filtration is a method of forcing wine through microscopic screens that basically strip the wine of particles which may include materials that give wine a unique flavor. It is commonly used throughout the winemaking world.
Over-Oaked:
While oak can be a good and interesting thing, there are excesses. The overuse of new oak is a departure from traditional winemaking techniques that, apart from being prohibitively expensive and greatly accelerating the deforestation of France, has created a new consumer demand for oak-flavored wines. So much so, that some disreputable wineries in certain parts of the world go so far as to add oak chips and oak extract flavors to wine!
Over-Rated:
Let’s not kid ourselves, folks! The great majority of the wine press throughout the world, with notable exceptions, is wholly influenced by advertising and perceived glamour.
We’ve even found ourselves incredulous at some of the stellar ratings our own wines have received!
Over-the-Top:
Any number of the above-mentioned factors and others (such as fancy bottles, postage stamp labels, etc) can put a wine over-the-top. There are also wines that burst out of the bottle due to added flavors and overextraction and are the “blockbusters wines” of the press and tastings, but inevitably can’t hold up to aging or are completely incompatible with food.”
Amen to that. Finally, here’s a link to one of my favorite postings written by Joe back on December 23rd 2005, about the origin of the word Spoofulation, Snapple wines, and cough syrup-loving “hedonists” — a man ahead of the times.
And here’s a short list of producers in the Louis/Dressner portfolio that you’ll also find in Ontario, and are worth tracking down:
- Domaine Bernard Baudry
- Domaine du Closel
- Foradori
- Domaine Luneau-Papin
- Bernard Morey
- Chãteau Moulin-Pey-Labrie
- Jean Manciat
- Mas des Chimères
- Arianna Occhipinti
- Chãteau d’Oupia
- Oratoire St-Martin
- Domaine de la Pépière
- Philippe Pacalet
- Quinta do Infantado
- Clos de la Roillette
- Domaine de Roally
- Domaine Olga Raffault
- Radikon
- Roagna
- Domaine de la Sansonnière
- Domaine des Terres Dorées
- Tedeschi
- Cascina degli Ulivi
