Lower alcohol wines

Hi, whether this has been discussed I don't know.
From reading a lot of the posts I gather quite a lot of you go for the high alcohol (rocket fuel) , smack you in the mouth type of wine.
Have a look at Harold McGee's article in WineMaker magazine, it might just change your mind.

Water (Into) Wine:www.winemakermag.com/blogs/water-into-wine.html

Regards to all, Winemanden.

I think at some point every new winemaker goes to rocket fuel before learning to make wine to taste. I know, I still do make some wines hi oct because it is being made to get the party animals DRUNK. That is not the case with the other 90% of the wine I make. High Alcohol wine has less flavor and most accept that as a trade off. When I get near a wi fi I will read the article

winemanden said:

Hi, whether this has been discussed I don't know.
From reading a lot of the posts I gather quite a lot of you go for the high alcohol (rocket fuel) , smack you in the mouth type of wine.

Regards to all, Winemanden.

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I take exception to this. The ones who wine up with rocket fuel is because the followed a recipe which calls for blindly adding sugar. These recipes also are light in #'s of fruit and body. Once they realize what they did they will adjust to proper recipies.
Wine making is not to produce a high alcohol wine. Rather, to bring out the flavor of the grape or fruit.

winemanden said:

Have a look at Harold McGee's article in WineMaker magazine, it might just change your mind.

Water (Into) Wine:www.winemakermag.com/blogs/water-into-wine.html

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BTW: That link goes to a post in Tim Vandergrift's Blog for Winemaker Mag about Harold McGee's article in the New York Times. Here's the link to McGee's article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/28/dining/28curious.html?_r=1&sq=&st=nyt&scp=6&pagewanted=all

Steve

Most of my wines are about 11% alcohol.

The only exception is my elderberry wine. That is about 15%.
However this is a port style wine heavy on flavor and body.

Alcohol is not the aim, it is just a part of the experience of winedrinking.

Luc

I think it's a question of balance. Some wines can get by with higher alcohol than others.

I agree with Tom; the great majority of us go for a balanced wine and not high percentage alcohol. Anyone who does try a rocket fuel recipe as an experiment will likely post it here and that is why you see these; they are certainly not what we are about.
I did find the McGee article interesting though, perhaps more for the coffee experiment than the wine - never thought of using a refractometer on coffee!

High octane wines come from those who don't own or can't read a hydrometer.

Low alcohol wines

Woah Tom, I'm sorry if I've offended anyone, that wasn't my intention.
After all, not everyone agrees with your views about the amount of fruit that should be used. Some wines are deliberately made low in fruit, it doesn't always mean they're out of balance. Personal taste comes into it a lot; More than 3.5 lbs of Raspberry to the gallon to my mind is over the top, it's too strong in flavour, but that's my taste.
I think slavishly following a recipe without taking into account the various factors that influence taste is wrong. Fruits are not the same each year, have peep at Luc's blog about his Plum wines.
As a matter of fact, I began wine making the same way as Mike said,high octane. A lot of people still make it that way, good luck to them. I still make quite a few high alcohol wines, mainly dessert type wines, but they are intended to be that way.
I read Harold McGee's article, thought it was interesting and wanted other members views. I'm certainly getting them.
Regards to all, Winemanden.

Some go for the high alc, I do not unless Im making a port. There are many that just dont own or know how to not just use a recipe for what its worth and then there are those who actually make it this way on purpose. I believe in making the wine according to the level of balance as said abovce. A white wine should be around 11-13% tops but a bigger red wine can be fine around 15%. Almsot all fruit wines are best around 10.5 - 13% with the lighter fruit wines being in the lesser area and fuller bodied wines like currant and elder being te higher as they can better hide this abv.

winemanden said:

Woah Tom, I'm sorry if I've offended anyone, that wasn't my intention.
After all, not everyone agrees with your views about the amount of fruit that should be used. Some wines are deliberately made low in fruit, it doesn't always mean they're out of balance. Personal taste comes into it a lot; More than 3.5 lbs of Raspberry to the gallon to my mind is over the top, it's too strong in flavour, but that's my taste.
I think slavishly following a recipe without taking into account the various factors that influence taste is wrong. Fruits are not the same each year, have peep at Luc's blog about his Plum wines.
As a matter of fact, I began wine making the same way as Mike said,high octane. A lot of people still make it that way, good luck to them. I still make quite a few high alcohol wines, mainly dessert type wines, but they are intended to be that way.
I read Harold McGee's article, thought it was interesting and wanted other members views. I'm certainly getting them.
Regards to all, Winemanden.

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No offense taken or sent. We were just not knowing where you were going in this thread.
Yes all fruit changes by the farm and by the year. The difference is in mainly how ripe the fruit is and what changes is the amt of sugar added to get the gravity you want.

By co-incidence, my youngest boy came round yesterday, that's a laugh as he's now 47. He reminded me that he used to drink some of my wines watered down, not exactly wine, but to him they tasted fruity and it gave him the feeling of being grown up.

As for McGee's idea of using a refractometer on your coffee, I think I would get thrown out of my favourite Cafe if I did that. Interesting idea though.

Regards to all, Winemanden.

djrockinsteve said:

High octane wines come from those who don't own or can't read a hydrometer.

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Or just the way Troy likes to drink his wine.

Another co-incidence. First time in a while that I've looked at Jack Keller's Wineblog; his post for August 18 2010, What Percent [of Alcohol] is Too Much?, more or less says the same as everyone on this thread has.

Regards to all, Winemanden.