Although Nigel Tufnel was speaking of his amplifier settings to an interviewer in the satire ‘This is Spinal Tap’, he was unclear about what the number on the dial really meant. It seems that is the case for many of us these days when it comes to what the alcohol level on a wine label really means. I am asked about this more often by visitors lately and feel it is worth addressing here. Alcohol levels have long been used as a basis for taxation — the higher the alcohol, the higher the tax rate. The historical means of measuring alcohol were not very precise and so labeling requirements for alcohol levels had a fairly liberal leeway built in. I have also found that using the traditional ebulliometer seems to correlate alcohol levels better with my own sensory evaluation than compared with more modern methods.

With the tendency of ‘bigger and riper’ wines since the mid–1990’s, that leeway on the label has seemed to give permission to some folks to take excessive liberties with what they report — even across the sacred border of 14% where the excise tax rate steps up. This confuses the issue when trying to calibrate taste with what is listed on the bottle. It’s also important to remember that any sense of ‘heat’ in the wine is also affected by how much other ‘stuff’ is in the wine to balance it. The alcohol number alone tells us little about the acidity and sense of freshness in wine. Just as Nigel’s gum chewing rhythm says little about the tempo of the song he is playing [how can he do that?] or the connection between the title of one of his songs and its style [why would he do that?].

As form should follow function in architecture, I think winemaking choices should follow material. Alcohol levels will follow flavor and structure choices. Because I value structure, which tends to decrease with increasing ripeness, the alcohol levels usually remain in check without specific consideration when I’m deciding when to harvest. I suppose one could resort to high tech methods to reduce the alcohol level in a super–overripe wine to whatever number you like, but that would not address the lack of structure (low acidity and over-ripe tannins) or tone down the sweetness and viscosity that other fermentation products like glycerol have brought. I find it simply easier and preferable to eat grapes, harvest them when they will make the kind of wine I want to make and then put it into a particular mixture of new and old barrels that it will like until it is ready to bottle. Maybe mix the parts together once during that time… Forget about defining and debating what is ‘natural winemaking.’ This is just ‘simple winemaking.’

What about simple winemaking in a complex vintage? The vast majority of the 2011 harvest was ‘normal’ for us and we harvested as usual when the grapes tasted right. However, there were a few times later in the season when we knew that leaving the grapes on the vines thru another rain storm would not give us better wine, so we harvested earlier then we would have otherwise chosen to. As winemaking follows material, we found different paths for these grapes than we normally would have. There were a number of times that we broke our own in-house records for low alcohol levels. A few Syrah lots did not even go to eleven! This is perfect for a part of our Rosé! Other times we found that while different than usual, pleasant red wines can come from somewhat unpleasant conditions. Even after 30-plus vintages, I continue to be amazed by what one can do with grapes outside of the ’usual’ parameters and am reminded once again that winemaking is a lifelong learning opportunity.

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New Releases

• 2010 'Old & Mature Vines' Scherrer Vineyard Zinfandel
• 2010 'Shale Terrace' Scherrer Vineyard Zinfandel
• 2011 Dry Rosé
• 2008 Scherrer Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon
• 2008 Calypso Vineyard Russian River Valley Syrah
• 2009 Russian River Valley Pinot Noir

Recent Releases