Guides

Articles

Media

E-Learning

Resources

Community

Explore

The Elephant in the Cellar

Rod Smith

The Elephant in the Cellar

          I’ve enjoyed the Syrah discussion, and am pleased to be asked back for another round. This time, I want to see what the nation’s foremost wine geeks think about an issue that I think is vitally important but never seems to be addressed much beyond eye-rolling shrugs and head shaking.
          This elephant in the room—or, if you will, the wine cellar—is viticultural and winemaking practices that subvertly change the nature of wines being marketed as honest expressions of special vineyards.
          Here’s where I come from, as simply as I can state it. I started drinking wine for the obvious reasons, long before I got excited about it. What was it that finally engaged me to the point where I’ve now spent thirty-odd years thinking about—no, pondering wine on a daily basis? In a word, truth and beauty (okay, two words, but I’ve always thought they were synonymous).
          Most of you will recognize the script: young guy goes to Europe and discovers that each mystical, magical place has its own drinkable essence called wine. This local wine contains the landscape, architecture, culture, and everything else that gives a sense of place. Plus you get a buzz, especially helpful when you decide to, say, sit in a café across from Rouen Cathedral for an entire day to experience the changing light on that iconic façade as recorded by Claude Monet in his amazing 31-painting series.
          Honestly, I’ve long since forgotten what wines I drank that day, if I ever knew; they were mostly fresh, local quaffers served proudly in carafes. But I can still clearly remember what some of them tasted like. Ditto the anonymous riesling I drank after hiking along the Mosel near Trier, and the plump, juicy red in that Alentejo hill town. And couldn’t we all go on and on in that vein? (And isn’t it fun to open a few bottles and trade the actual stories?)
          My point is that it’s been at least 10 years since I’ve been confident that I was getting that kind of signal impression from wines of the New World, especially California. Truth be known, I’ve come to doubt the truth and beauty quotient of modern European wines, as well.
          I’ve put it in terms of confidence because it’s become very difficult to know for sure whether a given wine is telling a real story about a real place, or a fiction that may be based on actual events yet has been cleverly enhanced to be what the producer thinks I want to taste or would be willing to pay for. For example, a cult-stature Pinot Noir which I raved about to anyone who would listen before being told by an informant in a commercial lab that the producer had doctored the wine with Mega Purple, supposedly to make up for “deficiencies” in the fruit. I wasn’t just embarrassed. I felt betrayed.
          In fact, I’ve come to suspect that California, in particular, is increasingly a bottled lie. Marketing campaigns that represent wines as pure expressions of special sites are quite often overtly deceitful. I believe that many wines that are represented as pure expressions of exalted sites are concocted, that is, heavily engineered to hit a desired note. And it’s not that I think that every wine has to be from a single block of vines, produced without any technique whatsoever. I don’t doubt that a great winemaker is like the resourceful teacher who knows how to help a child reach her full potential. But plastic surgery? C’mon. Nor do I have a problem with a good appellation or AVA wine. I just want to know that I’m tasting the true essence of grapes grown in a particular place or places.
          Most of you are familiar with consulting outfits like Enologix, a firm that helps wineries engineer their wines to get high scores (and actually guarantees higher scores). And many of you either make wine yourselves or have made a point of getting hands-on experience in vineyards and wineries. So I’m not here to break any shocking news, nor to lecture or instruct. My point, rather, is to try to move the conversation toward an objective examination of what a fine is, what it should be, and how various viticultural and winemaking techniques may support or contradict a wine’s stature. And please note that I’m deliberately excluding mass-market table wines from the discussion, although I believe, ironically, that most of them are relatively non-manipulated for economic rather than ethical reasons. Let’s focus on wine that expensive because it’s ostensibly a remarkable manifestation of a given summer in a certain place.
          My position going in is that many of the currently accepted winemaking practices (particularly additions such as acid, water, enzymes, tannin, concentrate, etc.) compromise the integrity of the fruit itself, and therefore defeat the ideal of fine wine. They also effectively insult the producers who endeavor to embrace the ideal without cheating. The contrarian might say, “Hey, if Mega Purple is used correctly, not even the most experienced taster can spot it.” Well, maybe not. But is that the point? Hey, if Barry Bonds hits the ball out of the park, who can deny that the ball actually did leave the park? (Yes, yes, I’ve spent long evenings with my redneck wine-geek friends chewing on topics like HGH, Photo Shop, Dolby sound, computers in academics, you name it.)
          Other practices (such as mechanical de-alcoholization, reverse osmos, and various applications of oak essence) seem to me in poor taste, or contrary to the spirit of fine wine, without necessarily triggering my “foul!” alarm. Still others, including chapitalization, irrigation, temperature-controlled fermentation and sterile filtration, may be considered unacceptable manipulations by some yet are already established beyond the point of practical debate.
          And then there’s the whole yeast thing—yikes, where do we start with that?
          So: Truth and beauty versus (or enhanced by) Voodoo vinemaking. Any thoughts?

  • What does everyone think about requiring an ingredient list on wine labels.  This would mean disclosing all additions including enzymes, water, tannin, nutrients, acid, etc.

  • Agree completely, Brian—almost to the end. But I don’t think compassion and waiting are enough. You’re right that we’re at a crossroads, and I believe it’s imperative that those of us in possession of a clue stand up and comment on the emperor’s wardrobe. That happened in France some time ago, when enough people understood that the integrity of French wine demanded quantifiable ethics. That happened independently and subsequently in other countries, and the religion of viticultural integrity—the soul of a meaningful appellation system—spread throughout Europe. But the New World? For us, AVAs are more about marketing, and producer reputations, both in vineyard and winery, are more about image and hype. I believe it’s critical to the integrity of Cal (and by extension, New World) wine that the big bluff be called. After all, the Great Unwashed is a herdable beast—we ought to be fielding our own dogs, no?

    Also agree with Geoff regarding obviously manipulated wines. We tasted some in that RRV tasting you moderated recently, didn’t we? But to me the point is the ones that aren’t so obvious. I hate like hell to think I’m commenting on, say, the quality of tannin from a particular vineyard when that tannin may have come out of a bag.

  • In looking back over the last 10 years of the industry, I believe we are at a crossroads in winemaking.

    There is a correlation I see between the evolution of the individual wine drinker and the American industry at large.

    At the beginning we are all the passionate kid full of wide eyed wonder - like Napa in the 70's when the pioneers all were trying to make Bordeaux and amazed at the quality of Stags Leap.

    Then we gain enough knowledge to be really dangerous in restaurants and social settings by boring everyone around us by our new found "expertise".  This is what Parker and the Wine Speculator have done with their damn rating systems.  These big, chest beating monsters are strutting their stuff thinking that the world loves them and that they are all worth big bucks; when in reality they all kind of taste the same.

    But then something happens.  I think everyone on this blog gets it.  We gain enough knowledge and understanding of place, that we start becoming truly fascinated by the wonder an mystical blend of terroir, grape and winemaking.  How a bottle can transport us across the globe.  This is where I see the American Industry going.  I already hear it on the streets of NYC.  The general consumer is starting to realize that a big number doesn't mean quality and are starting to become really curious.  

    I don't know if it is true or just my hope, but that is what I see.  As Sommeliers we all laugh inside at the guest who asks what a particular wine was rated.  Winemakers are laughing too as they watch their manipulated monsters win gold medals.

    I think we just need to be compassionate and wait a bit longer for the Industry to mature.  We are already seeing it in Chardonnay.  Exciting times are ahead my friends!

  • For me, the wines that I know are most heavily manipulated are not usually enjoyable to drink. But, they are still able to fetch unbelievable prices and garner admiration from the press and wider public. Is this because people are led to believe that these are great wines, or is my own taste just out of step with wider modern tastes? I find many of these wines to be flat out flawed, but  I guess we are all creatures of our own experience and history.

    A group of us just did a blind tasting where the obviously manipulated wines did poorly. I would love to see the same blind tasting done with the wider public and press, not just a group of  Master Sommeliers. Would the results be different?  That would be enlightening.

  • Rod, please don't take offence, but it's been building up for a long time and the lid exploded. I appreciate your article and wanted to give it another twist. I personally look for wines from producers that are growing their grapes and make their wines with passion.at every step. By doing the work themselfs they control everything from growing the grapes to putting the finished wine in the bottle. I love the people behind these wineries and they become my friends. The problem starts once you ascend the premium wine ladder and the stakes get higher.

    Coming back to the vineyard designated cab question I just want to say that if you taste let's say a 20 year vertical of a particular vineyard you will see big changes those years were a different winemaker comes on board and has a different philosophy. The wine might be better or worse but definitely different. I feel very priveleged to be in the wine business and do what I love to do.

App Store Google Play
© 2025 GuildSomm

Join to continue reading.

GuildSomm members enjoy exclusive access to educational content, classes, and a robust professional network. If you're a wine professional, GuildSomm is for you! Our members represent every facet of the industry and stage of a beverage career.

Join now