Kudos to Rod for putting this subject out in the open.

Everyone who know me knows where I stand on this matter, which, for me, first came to light ten years ago during my WSET Diploma Studies. In doing my research for the winegrowing and winemaking sections of the written exam, I became increasingly alarmed by what I was uncovering. I had long been aware of the bags of tartaric acid lurking behind the shed doors of nearly all new world wineries, but when it became apparent that this was just the tip of the iceberg I must admit to being appalled. And when I visited the winery of a well-known California producer who had made a reputation for himslef as a champion of "terroir", and saw all of his micro ox devices, reverse osmosis machines, etc etc, I pretty much felt that we fine wine lovers were on the recieving end of a massive fraud.

Like Rod says above, mass-market wines are a different animal because by definition they are made for mass consumption and, like cola or chocolate milk, have a certain taste profile that is considered commercially acceptable, and are priced accordingly. I doubt that there is much expectation for an artisinally made wine at the $9.99 price point.

But where we get into muddy water is with wines that are marketed as "artisinally made", and into this category falls the "cult" wines and all like them. The inherent problem in these monster wines that are clearly manipulated to appease the taste buds of certain American critics, and therefore gain high score achievement, and therefore command high prices. The whole thing becomes a house of cards. These wineries try to sell us on the fact that they are special, that they are from a single estate or vineyard or appellation and, by extension, reflect that terroir. They tell us the wines are "handmade." They tell us that they keep their yields low (the magic 2-3 tons/acre) when any student of viticulure can count the clusters on the vine and see that this is a lie. They talk about "letting the fruit express itself", yet the minute cultured yeast is added to influence fermentation, the minute water is added to the must to lower alcohol, the minute mega purple or powdered tannin is dumped in to "correct" the color and mouthfeel, the wine no longer expresses the pure essence of whatever vineyard it comes from. In my experience, the biggest practitioners of these methods are also among the most vocal users of the "Terroir" word. What a sham.

The only solution, which I have been touting for years, is what Geoff mentions above, which is for full disclosure of ingredients and production processes on a wine label.

Or maybe we establish some sort of criteria where, if certain standards have been met (say, organic viticulture, natural yeast fermentation, no must adjustments, etc), the label could bear the words "Artisanal Wine" or something along those lines.

But when I think about, that won't happen. We can't even establish a law regulating the use of the word "Reserve" on a wine label - but that's another discussion.

Kudos to Rod for putting this subject out in the open.

Everyone who know me knows where I stand on this matter, which, for me, first came to light ten years ago during my WSET Diploma Studies. In doing my research for the winegrowing and winemaking sections of the written exam, I became increasingly alarmed by what I was uncovering. I had long been aware of the bags of tartaric acid lurking behind the shed doors of nearly all new world wineries, but when it became apparent that this was just the tip of the iceberg I must admit to being appalled. And when I visited the winery of a well-known California producer who had made a reputation for himslef as a champion of "terroir", and saw all of his micro ox devices, reverse osmosis machines, etc etc, I pretty much felt that we fine wine lovers were on the recieving end of a massive fraud.

Like Rod says above, mass-market wines are a different animal because by definition they are made for mass consumption and, like cola or chocolate milk, have a certain taste profile that is considered commercially acceptable, and are priced accordingly. I doubt that there is much expectation for an artisinally made wine at the $9.99 price point.

But where we get into muddy water is with wines that are marketed as "artisinally made", and into this category falls the "cult" wines and all like them. The inherent problem in these monster wines that are clearly manipulated to appease the taste buds of certain American critics, and therefore gain high score achievement, and therefore command high prices. The whole thing becomes a house of cards. These wineries try to sell us on the fact that they are special, that they are from a single estate or vineyard or appellation and, by extension, reflect that terroir. They tell us the wines are "handmade." They tell us that they keep their yields low (the magic 2-3 tons/acre) when any student of viticulure can count the clusters on the vine and see that this is a lie. They talk about "letting the fruit express itself", yet the minute cultured yeast is added to influence fermentation, the minute water is added to the must to lower alcohol, the minute mega purple or powdered tannin is dumped in to "correct" the color and mouthfeel, the wine no longer expresses the pure essence of whatever vineyard it comes from. In my experience, the biggest practitioners of these methods are also among the most vocal users of the "Terroir" word. What a sham.

The only solution, which I have been touting for years, is what Geoff mentions above, which is for full disclosure of ingredients and production processes on a wine label.

Or maybe we establish some sort of criteria where, if certain standards have been met (say, organic viticulture, natural yeast fermentation, no must adjustments, etc), the label could bear the words "Artisanal Wine" or something along those lines.

But when I think about, that won't happen. We can't even establish a law regulating the use of the word "Reserve" on a wine label - but that's another discussion.