The Big Wine Myth

Every now and again, Legends develop to suit those trying to market various red wine styles. Always happens. The marketing story develops to suit what they’ve got to sell.

No drama. So long as it’s a) accurate and b) not slanging off at the other  styles.

Recently we’ve  heard the “We all used to all make big reds but lately we’re trying to make wines with more elegance and finesse” myth.

Great statement..but untrue on many levels.

What makes big reds? It’s not just alcohol. Hopefully they have the weight, tannin, oak, flavour and mouthfeel to retain balance. When overcropped or light/medium weight wines have higher alcohols they tend to give the dreaded dragon breath where you blow flames across the room.

Are they big? Nope..Just unbalanced.

Red wines can be balanced at 12.5 % alcohol and balanced at 17.5..its the balance that’s important.

So lets define big red wines as having plenty of everything: colour, fruit, tannin, oak,alcohol and mouthfeel..ie big BALANCED wines.

Now theres no question alcohols have  peaked for the moment across the nation. Check out the AWRI export analysis data. For whites as well as reds.

Now is that a feature of colder wetter years, disease issues, import restrictions in some of our key markets , or a style decision of the winemakers?

I’m not sure.

Did we all make big reds?

Errr no. Some regions don’t tend to make them, whether due to climate, or viticulural practices..(yield, clones, trellis).

Perhaps we could check out the historical data on the labels. Seen many 15.5% or 16% in the past? Me neither.

Now that could be people telling whoppers about alc content , or they couldn’t /wouldn’t do it in the past.

Many reasons for that…unreliable yeast giving stuck ferments, refrigeration issues, potential for Vinegar production,etc.

Nobody sets out to make a 16% alcohol red without thinking of all of these.

Without refrigeration higher sugars and higher fermentation temperaures gave rise to the awful jammy characters ( a cooked blackberry jam character which is the true meaning of the term). 100 years ago they added block ice to ferments to cool them, and therefore dropped the alcohols as well.

What about more recently? Check out the alcs from the 70’s /80’s and 90’s. No really high ones there. Especially not from those making the wild claims about making them in the past. You all made em? Wow!! Name me some wines buddy! When?

Not to say they were never made. I remember the early Taltarnis. Some recent Barossa styles. Some McLaren Vales. Saying we all made em? Please. They were the great exception rather than the rule.

Often those selling this story are those who have always made light/medium weight wines due to soil and site. Some vineyards can make the heavy gear, others light and breezy.

 Some days I feel like Beaujolais styles. Other days something more substantial..

Bottom line is “elegance” is a synonym for thin.

It’s the spin term we use on the back label. Nobody says their Shiraz is green and thin when trying to sell their wine. They say, it’s elegant and herbaceous.

Of course there are wines that are good and medium/light weight. Some of the great wines of Europe are just that.

Are our bigger red styles inferior? Errr..no, just different. You want to tell your customers that they have been wrong in enjoying big stuff? I wouldn’t go telling my customers what they want. Especially with some dodgy claims about European or “world” styles. They’re smarter than that. Tell them they should be drinking European styles, and they just might…from Europe!

Lets face it, to make big reds requires low yielding, later harvest, (with more risks of losses due to weather and fermentation issues). They’re hard work. But the end result can be worth it. Mouthfeel, richness and structure can be the rewards. And they age brilliantly. The natural preservatives in red wine are tannin, acidity and alcohol. Exactly what we’re talking about in fuller styles..

In the leap to talk about making lower alcohol reds I’ve heard from winemakers who brag about making lower alcohol reds each year. “I even made a 12.5% Cabernet this  year!!!”..

So did I mate!

I tossed it out!