Sonoma County Vineyard

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Alcohol Part II

We had some visitors to the winery this week from another country and the question came up again about alcohol (as it does on many occasions). The question was, of course, about high alcohol levels. My answer was the same as it has been for a while - we have high alcohol levels because we can.

There are many reasons for high(er) alcohol in California wines, some of which you can find in my first posting on alcohol here.

"Because we can" sounds like a really egotistical reason. And like true Americans, we have a big ego. Not just in Sonoma, but in California, Washington, Texas, New York and all the other wine growing regions in America. Maybe egotistical is a bad word or the wrong word, maybe we're just proud - is that a bad thing?

But there is some truth behind "because we can". There are other parts of the world that only dream about being able to get their grapes to full ripeness and not have to add sugar (yes, this happens) to raise the alcohol levels to decent levels. Decent enough to create wines that taste good enough anyway.

Generally, we don't have to worry about many of the weather problems, including rain at the end of the season. which in turn means we can get our grapes to full ripeness. As a result, we end up with higher alcohol levels.

My favorite reason though, and this is a relatively new one, is this:
Every region has their own style. In my opinion, it's what makes wine interesting. If the juice tasted the same no matter where it was from, then what would be the point? So, my new theory/reasoning goes like this - we have higher alcohol levels creating big, bold wines because it's our style. It's what we're known for. If we did it any other way it just wouldn't be the same.

So, be proud of our high(er) alcohol wines, it's still relatively low compared to many other alcoholic drinks. And please, please stop saying we make wines in a "French" style. I can't tell you how many times I've heard this in a tasting room. It's impossible to re-create the conditions of any place other than where you are. We have our own style, let's be proud.

Cheers!

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