DISQUS

Thanks for the hat tip -- if you look at my latest post, I am indeed making a "slow wine" with some El Dorado County Mourvedre (Monastrell) grapes.

As to the additives thing, if I am on my own "estate" and can watch my grapes day by day until they are precisely ready, then get a crew (friends, family, etc) out to pick and crush, then I would not really need to add much beyond a little sulfite and yeast. And don't get me started on those who look down their noses at *those* additions...

The other additives are there to fix flaws in a wine. Every winemaker will do this within his or her own personal boundaries. At what point does tinkering become full-on engineering? There are mass-market wines specifically engineered to have the same flavor profiles as very expensive wines; California cabernet is notorious for this. I say that's too much.

But adding a little tannin? An enzyme to get me a bit more color? Those additions bring more out of these particular grapes -- they heighten terroir and what goodness is within, IMHO. Think of them like thyme or salt: Both add more to the finished dish than just their own flavors.

Anyhoo, that's my $0.02.

Interesting -- California is in EXACTLY the same boat. We had an unusual late frost that hit the vines and dropped fruit everywhere. But what remained enjoyed the most perfect ripening season in years, and the fruit is in fantastic shape because the frost did the vineyardists' thinning for them...

Congrats on your new arrival! Here is my post for WBW #43. Hope you get some sleep soon!

h.