The Winemaker Has No Clothes … and No Oak! Well, my friend Larry is up to his old tricks. Having embarrassed a lot of wine "experts" with his Canada vs. Bordeaux tastings, Larry next set his sights on the Wine Writers' Circle with a challenge tasting of wine additives.

A little known fact of life is that winemakers use additives. Most of us think -- or wish -- that winemaking is just a matter of crushing the grapes, throwing the yeast, and bottling the results. But it ain't always so, as Larry so capably demonstrated.

We tasted 10 wines altogether, eight were lowly Seyval (vinted by Larry, one of the AWO's highest scoring winemakers) using a variety of additives. After dividing his wine batch in two, Larry treated half to an enzyme called Optiwhite. He then treated some of the samples to various other additives. But it was the last sample that suggested that the industry may in fact be pulling a fast one. Here are my rather sparse notes.

Optiwhite Challenge

Keep in mind that the following are all the same wine. The only differences are the additives and I think you'll agree that the results are intriguing.

Group 1 - Optiwhite: Optiwhite is a yeast nutrient that is engineered to "increase" mouthfeel while optimizing freshness and aromas.

Wine #1: Seyval Blanc 2005 unaltered

Yeasty, with aromas of damp wood. Good palate though somewhat soapy.

Wine #2: Seyval with Optiwhite

More vinous than #1, also soapy with citrus; fuller & rounder with a bit of acid.

Group 2 - AR2000: This enzyme additive is used to "improve aromas".

Wine #3: Seyval with AR2000

Gewurz like with musk and dried orange. Quite good.

Wine #4: Seyval with AR2000 plus Optiwhite

Somewhat rancid. Simple and sour with lingering O2.

Group 3 - Galalcool: This additive is a tannin derived from oak "gall nuts" and is intended to inhibit browning and oxidation.

Wine #5: Seyval with Galalcool

Much like #4 plus talc, vanilla. Soft, almost bland on the palate.

Wine #6: Seyval with Galalcool plus Optiwhite

More gurwuz on the nose. Subtle, with a slightly rancid note. Overly soft.

Group 4 - Tannin Plus: This tannin additive comes from toasted US oak along with a whopping dose of vanilla.

Wine #7: Seyval with Tannin Plus

Loaded with vanilla with a touch of orange peel. Quite good overall with subtle fruit and substantial oakiness.

Wine #8: Seyval with Tannin Plus plus Optiwhite

Subdued nose. Angular on the palate and slightly green tasting.

Silk Purse from Vine's Ear

The last comparison was the most disturbing. Larry took a modest "Cellared in Canada" Merlot and subjected it to what he felt was a typical Aussie treatment. The Merlot itself was quite respectable, but Larry's manipulation shocked the entire audience. He took a magnum of the Merlot and divided in half, bottling one half and then playing with the other. And what did he do? He added enough sugar to increase the sweetness to 1%. He then added enough alcohol to increase it by 1%. Then he added Tannin Plus at one-half the maximum dose.

This is where it gets weird. The resulting wine was a dead ringer for mass market Aussie Shiraz (e.g. Yellow Tail etc.). It had weight, it had a soupcon of sweetness, and it had that lush oak/vanilla nose of popular Shiraz, courtesy of the Tannin Plus.

So the question is, are "confected" wines the way of the future? As long as wine drinkers are uncritical, as long as buyers pay no attention to wine, then they will be fooled by these manipulations. Personally, I like the oakey, vanillary aromas that something like Tannin Plus promises, but I can detect this particular additive's heavy-hand far too easily, and I don't like it. I also think that wine should taste of the land, not of the lab.

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