Turn Down the Volume!
I wonder whether you’ve noticed that the amount of alcohol in
wine has been creeping upwards over the last twenty years. At one time, table
wines usually contained between 8% to 12% alcohol. But look in your local shop
and I bet you’ll find precious few wines under 13% or 14%. This tiny amount of a
couple of degrees can make a huge difference to the taste as well as the
after-effects. It’s easy to find how much alcohol is in your wine, because it’s
printed on the label, although sometimes in such minuscule print that you might
have a hard time finding it. But it’s there alright, shown as a percentage,
sometimes abbreviated to ABV, which stands for “alcohol by volume”.
Alcohol is an entirely natural substance. It occurs even in ordinary fruit juice
although at less than 0.1 percent. Long before Moses was a boy, people
discovered that if they left grape juice in a container for long enough, at some
point it would turn into something that was worth bringing out for a party. What
they didn’t know at the time was that the wild yeasts that existed naturally on
the skins of the grapes got to work on the sugars in the grape juice, turning
them into alcohol. The wine was probably rough old stuff by today’s standards,
but it probably got the party swinging.
Alcohol levels are related to the amount of sugar in the grapes at harvest time.
As the grapes ripen, they accumulate sugar. The riper the grapes, the more sugar
they contain. And more sugar converts into more alcohol. New World wines are
increasingly popular and tend to come from warmer climates than the traditional
wine-growing areas of Europe. So a Riesling from California will usually have
more alcohol than a traditional one from the chilly northern vineyards of
Germany. The argument for high-alcohol wines is that alcohol delivers flavor,
just as fat does in food. There is fierce competition in the wine industry and
an increasing trend to make wines with more intense flavors.
Some writers have blamed this trend on Robert Parker, considered to be the most
influential wine critic in the world. He’s the person who developed the
100-point system for evaluating wines. Because he tends to reward full-bodied,
high alcohol wines with high scores, many companies have responded by making
wines of this type, described somewhat disparagingly by some critics as “fruit
bombs”. I have to admit that if I see a bottle proudly displaying a tag saying
“95 Parker Points” I avoid it like the plague. Nevertheless, many people have
become conditioned to expect wines with a huge concentration of fruit flavours
but the trouble is that high alcohol invariably distorts the essential character
of the wine, making it feel unbalanced. Several well-known restaurateurs in the
USA now refuse to sell wine over 14% ABV for precisely this reason.
But change is in the air. Reduced alcohol wine is currently being promoted by
the British Government as a possible solution to the crisis of drink-related
illness in the UK. One problem is that under European Union law, wine must have
an alcohol content of at least 8.5% ABV otherwise it can’t be described or
labelled as wine. The British Health Minister is trying to persuade the EU to
move the goal-posts, because there’s concern that low alcohol wines simply won’t
succeed in the market-place unless they are labeled as wine.
A couple of Australian companies are introducing some low alcohol brands into
the UK. They have around 5.5% ABV, but have attracted the derision of some wine
experts who claim that low alcohol wines are also low in flavour. But to my
mind, there’s a big difference here between wines which are naturally low in
alcohol like German Rieslings and wines that have had their alcohol removed with
an undignified bashing in a centrifuge. The talented Australian wine-maker Neil
McGuigan claims that his company could make “fantastic wines” at around 10% ABV.
Whether any of these new wines reach these shores, remains to be seen. Don’t
hold your breath.
Los Tilos Chardonnay 2011 (white) Chile
(Bt. 359 @ Villa)
This wine comes from the Chilean firm of Sur Andino,
established in the 1990s and located South-West of Santiago. Many of their wines
are sold under the well-known brand name, Terra Andina. You’ll probably get a
whiff of this gorgeous aroma as soon as you pour the wine. It’s got that typical
Chilean Chardonnay creamy aroma of pineapple, nectarines (a kind of peach) and a
faint hint of dill. You might also smell mango and citrus. This medium-bodied
wine has a beautifully smooth mouth-feel even though it’s quite dry. With plenty
of rich and ripe tropical fruit and dry herbs on the palate, there’s also an
impressively long dry finish which lasts about forty seconds. And yes, I timed
it. This is a really well-made, well-balanced wine that would be perfect on its
own. Despite the mere 12.5% alcohol content, the wine is well-rounded and quite
rich in flavour. Surprisingly, there’s very little acidity on the palate -
hardly any, in fact. If you’re looking for a satisfying, creamy Chardonnay that
won’t make you feel heady, you may well enjoy this pleasant wine.
Los Tilos Cabernet Sauvignon 2011 (red)
Chile (Bt. 359 @ Villa)
This very dark purplish-red wine has a lovely vibrant aroma
of cherry, plum and blackberry. I thought I could pick up a delicate reminder of
mint in the background too. Further sniffs revealed a faint tang of white pepper
and possibly paprika, though I wouldn’t lay money on the paprika.
Despite its slightly ominous appearance, the wine turns out to be soft and
delicate. It’s a medium-bodied wine with an attractively velvety mouth-feel and
although it’s on the dry side, it doesn’t come anywhere near the toe-curling
class. You’ll taste plenty of rich, ripe berry fruits, no discernable acidity
and hardly any tannin. You might also notice hints of vanilla and tobacco if
you’re a good taster. There’s also that pleasant “blossoming” sensation in the
mouth and an attractive long fruity finish.
At just 12.5% alcohol, it’s pleasant enough as an easy glugger. The lack of
tannin, which is sometimes considered undesirable, has one advantage in that
this wine would go well with many Indian and Thai dishes, especially curries.
For various complicated chemical reasons beyond my understanding, tannic wines
and curries simply don’t work together. The wine would make a good partner for
red meat dishes, although it could be over-powered by strong-tasting and
assertive foods. If you like your reds fruity, easy-going and lower in alcohol
than usual, give this one a try. Oh, and in case you’d forgotten, or possibly
never knew, Los Tilos means “The Limes”.