California vs. France

[Oliver McCrum]

As Joe said, not if the humidity was high. Cognac used to be aged in barrel in the UK to take advantage of that, it gave a very different result from that aged in Cognac.

 

[Suzanne Camhi]

enjoying a California syrah tonight 13.2% sans soufre Vallin 2012 Santa Ynez Valley

 

[Christian Miller (CMM)]

And then I thought about the "new" California wines I have been enjoying lately. Your 11.5% zinfandels and the like. Syrahs that barely break 13%.

And I mused on how the wine world seems to have the spins.

Spins and circles indeed. I just attended a tasting of some old but still hale and tasty California Cabs from the mid-70s to mid-80s. Labels mostly read between 12 and 14% alcohol.

 

[SFJoe]

originally posted by Christian Miller (CMM):

And then I thought about the "new" California wines I have been enjoying lately. Your 11.5% zinfandels and the like. Syrahs that barely break 13%.

And I mused on how the wine world seems to have the spins.

Spins and circles indeed. I just attended a tasting of some old but still hale and tasty California Cabs from the mid-70s to mid-80s. Labels mostly read between 12 and 14% alcohol.

I have heard that in the very old days, they would sometimes exaggerate label abv to seem riper.

 

[SFJoe]

originally posted by Kay Bixler:

But during aging wouldn't alcohol be the first thing to evaporate out of a barrel?

Hey, you're the winemaker, not me.

But my understanding is that you lose both ethanol and water through a barrel.

If the humidity is very high, you lose less water but you still lose the alcohol. So alcohol may diminish in the final, more concentrated wine. If the humidity is low, you lose more water and it can keep up or get ahead, so the wine may have proportionately more alcohol.

A veil of yeast munching away at the alcohol but not the water introduces yet another variable.

So I just know what I hear at recess, ask Bruce G. or Mike Dashe or someone who really knows if you want the right answer.

 

[Cory Cartwright]

originally posted by Oliver McCrum:

originally posted by Sharon Bowman:

originally posted by Oliver McCrum:
No-one would re-do the back label every year.

Except the many who do?

See the above, but also the champagne growers who note conditions or yields or whatnot for a given vintage. And others, of course.

I should have said 'Personally, I can't imagine re-submitting the label for approval every year.' I was talking about the bureaucratic part of it in the US. I believe the vintage and alcohol are allowed to change, though, without re-approval. They may be changing the back label substantially every year and not re-approving it, of course.

I now have to go and check that we have some procedure to make sure we're not paying the wrong tax amount by accident.

Your customs people hopefully have that covered.

 

[Bob Semon]

originally posted by Sharon Bowman:
This seems to have been done for the specific vintage. In fact, the front label is more generic.

Yikes! I think that I tasted that wine at the tasting room in Arbois last month. Chatted with Mireille, who was pouring that day. Was quite nice. Didn't buy any. Lugging wine bottles around Europe on the train was not my plan. Had to change trains 3 times to get to Geneva. The milk run over the Jura Mtns. was charming. Well..., I did get a bottle of Chateau-Chalon. The odd size complicates importing to the US.