[wine] How much is too much - Alc.

High-octane wines may just be a matter of taste Jon BonnéSunday, March 8, 2009 Bottles of Ridge Zinfandels, including the 1970 Jimsomare... It happened again last week as I tasted one of those hulking specimens of the Veneto, the 2003 Dal Forno Valpolicella Superiore. Made from intentionally dried grapes and from a hot year, it clocked in at 15 percent alcohol. Yet there was moist earth and nuance, plenty of fresh cherry fruit. Modest? No. But certainly not out of balance. And so returned all the old questions about alcohol levels. With standard bottles now routinely at 14 percent and beyond, is high alcohol the new normal? The particulars of this complaint are familiar, down to the typical plea to return to a 12 percent standard. I should know; I've made it many times. It raises hackles. When Sacramento wine sage Darrell Corti took a stand against wines over 14.5 percent, the wine hordes were energized, enough for Robert Parker to step forward and call the move "appallingly stupid." But these days the complaint can as likely come from those under 40 as those over 65. An apparent Boomer preference for big wines is getting squeezed from both sides. The temptation is to set a rigid rule, as though the 14 percent divider could stand as a magical Maginot line for booziness. Truth cannot be found between 13.9 and 14.1. And if California wines are frequently a stalking horse, the larger world is more complicated. Many oversized wines can be perfectly balanced. Spanish Garnacha easily soars toward 15 percent without flinching, merely a reflection of that grape's high-sugar tendencies. In Chateauneuf-du-Pape, 14 percent is now merely a departure point. Many of these are virtuously grown wines from old vines without new oak or fancy winemaking. Zinfandel functions fine in these upper realms - and not just in the modern, pumped-up style. The 1970 Ridge Vineyards Jimsomare clocked in at a husky 15.8 percent, and that from circa-1900 vines near the Monte Bello vineyard, where Cabernets barely scrape past 13 percent. The Sforzato wines of Valtellina, from dried Nebbiolo grapes grown in the shadow of the Alps, retain the brightness of that variety's high-acid ways; an example like the Nino Negri 5 Stelle can muster 15.5 percent without losing its balance. Even Spatburgunder (Pinot Noir) from Germany's Ahr Valley, one of the world's northernmost sites for red grapes, can hit 14.5 percent. At the same time, many wines below 14 percent wear their alcohol overtly, often when the wine tastes manipulated. Is this a matter of sensitivity? We all perceive alcohol differently; it may be sweeter or more bitter. Genetics and familiarity play a role. I thought there might be straightforward research about whether the alcohol argument is really a matter of taste. I'm still searching. All that said, many wines have clearly become too alcoholic. No matter the amount of postgame patching; you can't grow grapes to 31 Brix (a measure of sugar) for a dry wine and not do damage. Pinot Noir at 15 percent and beyond almost inevitably tastes aberrant - as in blazing-hot 2003, when some Oregon vintners chose to land above 15 percent rather than surreptitiously add water. The results were drinkable, but dull. Alcohol certainly isn't necessary to achieve amplitude. The makers of Muscadet in the Loire Valley long ago realized that leaving their efforts on the lees (yeast and grape residue) for long spells could transform wan white wines into something more subtle. I'm still marveling at a tank-aged 2007 Gruner Veltliner by Austria's Bernhard Ott that radiated opulence at just 11.5 percent alcohol. Careful farming and low yields can help achieve intensity without heat. One reason biodynamic wines have such appeal is that they require attentive, old-fashioned farming. Old, head-trained vines achieve a different effect - high alcohol without loss of balance. Other theories abound: that wine yeasts are far more effective now, boosting alcohol. But yeast makers vehemently dispute the super-yeast theory. Plenty of naturally fermented wines face similar inflation issues. Did I mention this is complicated? Here's what we know. Alcohol is a reflection of ripeness, and grapes are riper now than when many 12-percenters came of age. That's partly about changing climate, of course, but also the efficiencies of modern grapegrowing. While deliberately alcohol-driven wines collect scores for power - if not grace - many unintentionally high-octane wines can retain their subtleties. They're not steroidal; they're just big-boned. Have I become an apologist for high alcohol? Lord, no. But building a barrier at 12 percent doesn't help to understand wine as it exists today. When we can put alcohol levels in context, we'll have done ourselves an enormous favor. Jon Bonnés The Chronicle's Wine editor. E-mail comments to jbonne(a)sfchronicle.com http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2009/03/08/FDJ415SU15.DTL This article appeared on page E - 7 of the San Francisco Chronicle -- ------------------------------ * Dr. James Ellingson, jellings(a)me.umn.edu * * University of Minnesota, mobile : 651/645-0753 * * Great Lakes Brewing News, 1569 Laurel Ave., St. Paul, MN 55104 *