In wine circles today, a topic generating a lot of buzz is high alcohol wines.  Over the past few years, the amount of alcohol in a finished wine, especially reds, has crept up from a respectable 12.5% to more than 15%.  The reasons for this alcohol escalation are many and varied, depending on who is being asked. 

There was a time, not long ago, when the ripeness of a grape was determined by measuring the sweetness of the juice.  With all the grape sugar fermented out to dryness, the total potential alcohol of a wine could be determined.  Today, 'sugar ripeness' is a factor that holds minimal importance for some compared to 'flavor ripeness' or 'physiological ripeness,' synonymous terms for 'don't pick the grapes, no matter the sugar/potential alcohol, until they taste ripe and full of varietal character.'   

Although climatologists, and some winemakers, don't always agree, it seems certain that changing climate patterns, with more noticeable extremes, have some affect on grape maturity.  Also suspect are the rising levels of riper phenolics (flavor compounds) in wines that some claim are necessary to keep pace with the demand for more intensely flavored foods that are so popular today.  Another buzz term is 'extended hang time,' an American expression that mostly means leaving the grapes on the vine for an extended time to achieve physiological (flavor) ripeness.  Problem is, when the grapes reach that level, the sugars are usually so high that fermentation to dryness is unlikely without some winemaking intervention, like the use of a spinning cone or reverse osmosis, to lower the alcohol to a 'more acceptable' 15% to 15.5%, hitting what some winemakers call the 'sweet spot,' or where the wine is believed to be in optimal balance. 

Still, many winemakers believe that rising alcohols should be taken seriously, but not isolated and routinely dammed.  Alcohol is an important component of wine.  Without it, all you have is unfermented grape juice.  But just what is the correct level of alcohol in a wine?  If a Viognier tastes good, does it matter that the wine's finished alcohol is 15.9%?  What about a Spanish Priorat over 15%, or Chardonnays pushing 15%, or a California Petite Sirah at 16.8%?  Are these alcohols justified or just too much?

There is no consensus about the burning high alcohol question, but there are a lot of opinions.  Randy Dunn recently released a statement imploring wine consumers to 'wake up and be active.'  What dismays Dunn, a respected veteran Napa Valley winemaker, is the escalating alcohols in many wines.  'Most wine drinkers do not really appreciate wines that are 15% to 16% and more alcohol.  They are, in fact, hot and very difficult to drink.'  He places some of the blame on 'influential members of the wine press,' claiming that writers are leading score-conscious winemakers to make more alcoholic wines. 

But Dunn reserves the majority of blame for what he describes as the 'ever evasive and vanishing terroir.'   He says that the individualities of specific regions are gone, replaced by sameness, which includes high alcohol.  So, I thought it would be interesting to gather the views of a few winemakers, to ask if they agree or disagree with Dunn and just what they think is behind this escalating trend of higher alcohols in wine and what consumers might expect in the future. 

'I generally agree with Randy,' admits Patrick Campbell of Laurel Glen Vineyard, a Cabernet Sauvignon specialist on Sonoma Mountain.  Campbell says that over the last 30 years, alcohol levels for Laurel Glen wines have risen by 1.5 percent.  'So, what's the change?  Global warming must have something to do with it, though better farming must also be part of the explanation.  If we were to pick now at the same potential alcohols as then, it would mean less hang time and likely less actual ripeness.  So, higher alcohols are not completely a matter of wine-style choice.'  Then pausing, Campbell adds this provocative thought.  'Following this line of thought, Napa, being hotter than Sonoma, will tend to have higher alcohols for the same degree of maturity.  In short, Napa and some areas of Sonoma may well be getting too warm for quality Cabernet Sauvignon production.'

Kimberlee Nicholls, winemaker for Markham Vineyards in the Napa Valley, agrees with Dunn that 'wines that are unbalanced in any aspect don't usually make for good food wines.'  But she also disagrees with Dunn, claiming that newer clonal selections have dramatically extended the ripening process.  'My experience on fermenting the newer red clonal selections at lower sugars has shown to exhibit distinct vegetal components even if the palate does not detect that herbal character in the grape.  And she maintains that the almost limitless selection of yeasts has, over time, boosted the sugar-to-alcohol conversions, resulting in higher alcohols.  'With our increased ability to monitor fermentations so exactly, our wines have become much drier than in the past, when it was the winemaker's palate that acted as the sole testing tool for monitoring the end of fermentation.'

'I can't say I'm in lock-step with Randy,' says Bob Betz, owner-winemaker of Betz Family Winery in Woodinville, Washington, 'because like everything else in life, there are no valid blanket generalizations.  But I don't enjoy high alcohol wines any more than he does.'   Betz says it is all a question of where fruit, extract, tannin and alcohol converge and whether it's in the 'balance zone.'  He adds that it is the 'winegrower's/winemaker's job to find the 'sweet spot' for the variety, vineyard, vintage and winemaking objective.  'And it's a different place every year.'

Betz believes that consumers seem to enjoy the deeper flavors created by longer hang time, but he cautions that 'higher potential alcohol is its consequence, not a goal in and of itself.'  He adds that during extended hang time in Washington vineyards, there's very little additional sugar accumulation.  'It's just too cool at night to make the sugar jump.'

Mike Reynolds, general manager, Hall Napa Valley Wines believes that Dunn has oversimplified the qualitative assessment and, instead, believes that winemaking should be looking for a middle ground.  'A wine is neither good nor bad because it has high alcohol…alcohol, high or low, is a component that marries with other factors to make a better wine.  While nebulous, the idea of physiological maturity in the grapes is real and has a significant impact on the quality of the wine.' 

He does agree, in part, with Dunn that the wine media is somewhat responsible for the rising alcohol levels in wines, but he also believes that consumer demand shares part of the blame.  'I think that both consumers and the media have asked for wines with more body, more density and more power.  But I also think that the rise of fine dining, and the incorporation of wines as part of that experience, has led to these types of wines.' Reynolds believes that the lack of proper cellaring has led restaurateurs to offer 'softer, fuller wines with ripe tannins and potentially higher alcohol.'

'It is not a black and while issue,' maintains Jon Emmerich, winemaker for Silverado Vineyards.  'Randy has some valid points about the current state of winemaking…wines at 15% can seem hot or over ripe and generally not pleasurable to have with a meal.  But I have some wines over 14.5% [alcohol] that are lovely.  I believe it's all about balance; sometimes a wine can support the higher alcohols and sometimes it cannot.'  Emmerich supports the position that rising alcohol in wine results from new advances in grape growing and winemaking.  'Alcohol levels have moved up because we have newer rootstocks, clones, viticulture practices.  We are still discovering where and how to grow the appropriate variety in the appropriate site.  Currently, Cabernet Sauvignon is king (in the Napa Valley) and that variety will allow higher sugars and higher resulting alcohols.'   Emmerich may have to revise this lordly position for Cabernet if Campbell's prediction about Cabernet Sauvignon's demise in the Napa Valley comes true.

Craig Williams, senior vice president and director of winemaking, Joseph Phelps Vineyards, agrees with Emmerich that today's escalating alcohol levels don't pose a black or white question.  'We continue to strive for greater structure and balance without overripe fruit.  But there's still a demand for over-ripe, high extract wines and the market is still appreciating wines with higher alcohols.  But Williams does not believe the cause can be tied to global warming.  'Where's the proof?' he asks. 

Williams further asks for a clearer definition of 'ripe,' citing the 1947 vintage in Bordeaux as 'very ripe,' then remembering the '47 Ch. Cheval Blanc as ethereal, he opines, 'So what is ripe?'  Like Reynolds, Williams is convinced that a compromise is needed.   'We have the capability to tweak our knowledge and understanding of winemaking and I believe that production will swing back from these high alcohol wines.  Somewhere there is a middle ground and we're all trying to find it.  Are we pushing too hard?  Maybe, but we're still trying to interpret our region and there is certainly greater variability than 30 years ago.'

Williams believes that the cycle will eventually swing back to lower alcohols for better balanced wines, an opinion shared by Jon Emmerich who adds that, although winemakers are still trying to figure things out, 'we are going forward.'  Others are not so sure.  'I'm not certain about the future,' admits Bob Betz.  'Like every trend the pendulum will swing back, righting the world, and yielding lower alcohol wines.  We will learn and we may also achieve technical ways of dealing the high alcohol question.'

About the future, Mike Reynolds is concerned that we have yet to agree on a definition of 'high alcohol.'  And he remains pessimistic about the future.  'I don't think the market will change because that is what the consumers, wine competitions and the media are attracted to.'  Patrick Campbell adds this sobering note, 'I'm not sure, frankly, if anyone drinks these uber-high-alcohol-by-intention wines, or whether they just read about them and put them in the cellar.  But if they do, they should likely designate a driver.  Whether these wines will age and develop is anybody's guess.'  Kimberlee Nicholls concurs: 'Randy's fears are a concern for us all, since most of us have no idea how the high alcohol wines will age.' 

The bottom line is that there is no general agreement about the value or place in modern winemaking for high-alcohol wines or whether, as consumers, we are about to see a change.  But if history can teach us anything, consider these words of encouragement about wine quality from J.  M. Duvault-Blochet, the owner of La Romanee-Conti in 1869, recorded in Richard Olney's excellent book, Romanee-Conti:  'At 11.5 (degrees alcohol) one makes barely passable wines, at 12 one makes decent marketable wines, at 12.5 above average, at 12.3/4 they are lively, firm and ruby; at 13 and 13.5 one makes great wines; at 14, 14.5, 15 and 15.5, one makes altogether exceptional, incomparable wines.'