It’s time for my fellow journalists, winemakers, and opinionated wine lovers to stop whining about high alcohol wines. Along with so called “green” wines, this bandwagon of opinions is the topic du jour for wine journalists and wine personalities around the country, and in addition to being tiresome, it is just plan silly.

Complaining about alcohol levels in wines is ridiculous for 5 main reasons.

REASON #1 - Alcohol is Not a Sensation

Apart from the people who are just complaining that they want their wine to be less alcoholic so they can drink more (whom I address below), most people seem to be complaining about alcohol levels in wine as if the percent of alcohol by volume %ABV is directly correlated to a wine tasting good or not. Of course many put subtler points on their arguments and mention words like “balance” and “heat” but at the end of the day, most people seem to be blaming alcohol levels in wine for characteristics of wine that are only correlated with alcohol levels, not caused by them.

Of course some people dislike wines with a “hot” finish, or that are unbalanced in favor of ripe fruit. But that is not the fault of alcohol levels. In fact, it’s quite possible to have those characteristics in wines that don’t exceed the “sanity” threshold that so many “anti-high-alc” advocates set somewhere (you’d think all these people who are so religious about this issue could agree) between 14% and 14.5% ABV.

REASON #2 - “High Alcohol” Wines Can Be Great Wines

There are plenty of excellent, balanced wines being made by great winemakers that exceed the 14% alcohol levels that many deem too high for “good” wine. I’ve reviewed a lot of them favorably. So have a lot of other critics — even those who are now complaining so loudly about alcohol levels in wine. The idea that wines “clocking in” at 14.6% or even 15% alcohol are all “monstrosities” is patently absurd, and also insulting to hundreds of talented winemakers around the globe.

Everyone also seems quick to slam high alcohol wines as not age worthy. Frankly, I haven’t seen anyone provide definitive data on this subject, and there are plenty of higher alcohol wines (Ports, Sherries, etc) that might prove otherwise. Not to mention what some consider to be the single greatest wine in the world. The alcohol level of the “ageless” 1947 Cheval Blanc? 14.4% ABV.

REASON #3 - Most People Can’t Tell

I’d bet good money that most (say 95% of) wine consumers, even those who buy wines in the “super premium” $20 and above categories pay absolutely no attention to the alcohol levels in their wine when they buy it. And furthermore, they couldn’t possibly tell you, if tasting a bunch of wines, which ones had higher alcohol and which ones didn’t. Which is to say that 99% of the time, they wouldn’t even notice that a wine they happened to be drinking was 15.2% alcohol.

As far as I can see it, a large part of this “issue” consists of a minority of wine lovers proselytizing their own preferences for low alcohol wines (which they have every right to) on the rest of the world who, frankly, have about as much idea what they are talking about as I do when the Jehovah’s Witnesses stop by my house on a Saturday morning.

REASON #4 - Most People Don’t Actually Care About Food Friendliness

Even if most wine drinkers did know that their wine was high in alcohol, they couldn’t care less. Have you ever noticed how many people drink martinis and mojitos and cosmopolitans with their food? Clearly Americans could give a rats ass about whether their drinks make their food taste better and vice versa. Clearly this is disappointing for those of use who enjoy the occasions when a great wine can make a meal that much more exciting, but we are a minority of the wine drinking public and the wine buying market.

Plus, don’t get me started on all those who say high alcohol wines don’t pair with food, and then drink port and sherry with their dinners. As I’ve said recently, dictates about what goes with what are a load of bunk.

Those who say they need wine to be less alcoholic so they can drink more wine need to simply stop buying higher alcohol wines. It’s as simple as that. I have to scratch my head when I hear people complaining that they’re drunk by the end of the bottle. If you don’t want to get drunk people, the best way is to drink less alcohol.

REASON #5 - We’re Not Going To Hell In a High-Alcohol Hand Basket

Alarmists like to cite the globally rising alcohol levels in wine. Some studies from Australia apparently pinpoint the average alcohol levels in wine there to be around 12.8% in the 1970s and now around 14.5%. Anyone used to consuming older wines, even occasionally, will certainly have anecdotal evidence that this is true.

OK. Well…. so what? The idea that the 1970’s was the golden age of California (or any other New World region) winemaking is ridiculous, as anyone who actually tasted a lot of those wines will tell you. While there certainly were people making decent wine back then, a lot of it was crap.

I’m personally not sure why these alcohol levels are going up, but I am sure that it is probably due to a number of different factors, many of which were illuminated by winemaker Clark Smith in an excellent article on the subject this past September.

Chief among these, I believe, is simply the fact that most people (i.e. the market) actually are buying higher alcohol wines more, because…. wait for it… they like the way they taste. And no, it’s not Parker’s fault. As Smith correctly points out in his article, Parker rates low alcohol wines very highly as well.

Which is why winemakers whose wines are “big” (and often higher in alcohol) tend to sell better. People just want to buy them. And if winemakers want to feed their families and be able to afford health care in retirement, they need to make wines that sell.

Ah, the joys of capitalism. Wine lovers complaining about all those high alcohol wines in the world are sort of like smokers who like to bitch about the fact that they can’t smoke on planes anymore. When the market demand gets high enough, things shift.

But that doesn’t mean that just because there is preponderance of demand in the marketplace for bigger, boozier wines, low alcohol wines with finesse are somehow under threat.

To suggest as much would require you to also believe that just because the most popular wine in America is White Zinfandel that all those Cabernet producers in Napa are in danger of being pressured to make pink wines.

No, people just need to stop whining and go out and buy the wines they love. And expect everyone else to do the same. Trying to “educate” consumers by telling them they’re wrong to like big wines is as stupid as trying to tell winemakers they’re wrong for making wines that they (and consumers) love.

Sure it’s fine to try to make better wine at lower alcohol levels if that’s what you want to do. Sure it’s fine to only want to drink wines like that. But for pete’s sake people, let’s find something better to whine about.

Any suggestions? While you’re thinking about it, I’m going to go drink a nice 12.5% Chinon, and then finish my evening with a Turley Zinfandel.

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High-powered critics and garagiste producers are insuring their noses for big bucks. A pensive look at publicity, money and the simple love of good things to eat and drink.

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Maybe I’m getting old, but I just didn’t have the energy to taste 300 wines last weekend when the Rhone Rangers came to town. This is always one of my favorite tastings each year, as I deeply enjoy Rhone style wines in all their incarnations, from the crisp whites of Marsanne and Roussanne to the rich dark Syrahs, and everything in between.

My usual approach consists of starting at one end of the hall and tasting through the wines like a bulldozer goes through a crowded square. This usually yields a great cross section of wines and lets me highlight my perennially favorite producers and their predictably excellent wines.

This year, however, I decided to take a slightly different tack. Instead of a cross section, I decided to do a deep dive. Specifically, I decided to taste every single Grenache on offer, along with every Grenache blend available for tasting.

In total, this little experiment yielded about 120 wines, which was an easily manageable number for three hours worth of tasting, while simultaneously providing an interesting window into the way California winemakers approach this grape variety.

A lot of variation exists in the treatment of this notoriously hardy grape variety, a vine which seems to have been adapted nicely to the dry heat of California. Some vintners seem to be producing light bodied wines that are barely more than roses, while others are creating dense, rich concoctions that would be impossible to make even in the mecca of Grenache production: Chateauneuf-du-Pape.

The best wines that I tasted were generally more towards the opulent end of the spectrum, though not toppling over into the super-extracted realm (though there were certainly a number of those on display). The best Grenache in California is dense, but also balanced, with bright fruit, a hint of spiciness, and gorgeous aromatics.

California’s red Rhone blends are some of the best tasting wines as well as some of the best values on the market these days, and they showed well through my tasting. Most are traditional GSM (Grenache, Syrah, Mourvedre) blends, though many winemakers are experimenting with Carignane, Petite Sirah, Tannat, Zinfandel, and even Merlot in combination with those prior three.

My little tasting adventure was fun, making me wonder if I ought to stick to a single varietal every year. I’m not sure I could handle a full day of only Viognier, however.

Oh, and before anyone busts me, I’m sure that a few of the red blends that I list below actually have more Syrah in them than Grenache, but I couldn’t be bothered to screen wines based on their percentages.

TASTING NOTES:

WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 9.5
2005 Beckmen Vineyards Purisima Mountain Vineyard Grenache, Santa Barbara $40
2005 L’Aventure Winery Cote a Cote Red Blend, Paso Robles $85
2006 Outpost Wines Howell Mountain Grenache, Howell Mountain, Napa $40
2001 Renaissance Vineyard and Winery “Granite Crown” Red Blend, North Yuba $40
2000 Terre Rouge “Noir” Red Blend, Shenandoah Valley $25
2005 Villa Creek Cellars High Road, James Berry Vineyard Red Blend, Paso Robles $55
2005 Villa Creek Cellars “Avenger” Red Blend, Paso Robles $35

WINES SCORING BETWEEN 9 AND 9.5
2005 10 Knots Cellars “Atlantis” Red Blend, San Luis Obispo $32
2005 Alcina Cellars “The Sorceress,” Petite Sirah, North Coast $48
2005 Alexander Valley Vineyards “Alexander School” Red Blend, Alexander Valley, Sonoma $35
2005 Arroyo Robles Winery “Little Star” Red Blend, Paso Robles $27
2004 Bonny Doon Vineyard “Le Cigare Volant” Red Blend, Central Coast $30
2005 Cass Winery “Rockin’ One” Red Blend, Paso Robles $42
2006 Cedarville Vineyard Estate Grenache, El Dorado County $25
2004 Clos Saron “Cuvee Mysterieuse” Red Blend, Sierra Foothills $35
2005 Core “Ground Around” Red Blend, Santa Barbara County$47
2004 Coro Mendocino Red Blend, Mendocino $35
2005 Ecluse Wines “Rendition” Red Blend, Paso Robles $38
2005 Kaleidos “Osiris” Red Blend, Paso Robles $28
2005 Michael-David Winery “Incognito Red” Red Blend, Lodi $20
2005 Outpost Wines “The Other” Petite Sirah, Howell Mountain, Napa $50
2005 Prospect 772 “The Brat” Red Blend, $36
2004 Renaissance Vineyard and Winery “Mediterranean” Red Blend, North Yuba $30
2000 Renaissance Vineyard and Winery “Proprietary Red Wine” Red Blend, North Yuba $??
2004 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Estate Grenache, Sonoma $24
2006 Ridge Vineyards Lytton Estate Red Blend, Sonoma
2005 Roshambo Winery Red Blend, $40
2005 Summerland Winery “Trio” Red Blend, $42
2005 Summerwood Winery “Diosa” Red Blend, Paso Robles $58
2005 Tablas Creek Vineyard “Esprit de Beaucastel” Red Blend, Paso Robles $45
2006 Villa Creek Cellars “Willow Creek Cuvee” Red Blend, Paso Robles $35
2006 Villa Creek Cellars “Palenque” Red Blend, Paso Robles $40

WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 9
2005 10 Knots Cellars “Moonraker” Red Blend, San Luis Obispo $26
2005 Adelaida Cellars Grenache, Paso Robles $30
2005 Adelaida Cellars “Version”Red Blend, Paso Robles$26
2005 Anglim Red Blend, Paso Robles $32
2006 Beckmen Vineyards Estate Grenache, Santa Ynez Valley, $28
2005 Cass Winery Estate Grenache, Paso Robles $28
2006 Cline Cellars “Cashmere” Red Blend, Sonoma $16
2003 Clos Saron “Holy Moly” Red Blend, Sierra Foothills $35
2005 Concannon Vineyard Reserve Grenache, Livermore $24
2005 Core “Elevation Sensation” Red Blend, Santa Barbara County $42
2005 Curtis Winery “The Crossroad” Grenache, Santa Barbara County $22
2006 David Girard “Coeur du Terroir Rouge,” El Dorado County $30
2006 Eberle Winery “Cotes Du Rhone” Red Blend, Paso Robles $20
2005 Edmunds St. John “Rocks and Gravel” Red Blend, $18
2005 Edward Sellers Vineyards & Wines “Le Thief” Red Blend, Paso Robles $30
2005 Edward Sellers Vineyards & Wines “Cuvée des Cinq” Red Blend, Paso Robles $42
2005 Epiphany “Revelation” Red Blend, Santa Barbara County $35
2003 Fife Vineyards “3 & 4 Max Cuvee” Red Blend, Napa $40
2005 Justin Winery “Savant” Red Blend, Paso Robles $45
2005 Kaleidos “Morpheus” Red Blend, Paso Robles $34
2006 Mount Aukum Winery “En Fuego” Red Blend, Amador $26
2006 Qupé “Los Olivos Cuvee” Red Blend, Santa Barbara County $25
2005 Summerwood Winery Red Blend, Paso Robles $40
2005 Tablas Creek Vineyard “Cotes de Tablas” Red Blend, Paso Robles $22
2005 Travieso Winery “El Chupacabras” Red Blend, Santa Barbara County $36
2006 Villa Creek Cellars “Garnacha” Denner Vineyard Grenache, Paso Robles $35
2005 Vinum Cellars “Red Dirt Red” Red Blend, El Dorado County $30
2004 Zefina “Serience” Red Blend, Washington $30

WINES SCORING BETWEEN 8.5 AND 9
2006 A Donkey and Goat “Three Thirteen” Red Blend, $37
2005 Alere Vineyards & Winery Red Blend, $20
2006 Alere Vineyards & Winery Grenache Blend, $18
2005 Ampelos Cellars “Syrache” Red Blend,Santa Barbara County $28
2003 Bonny Doon Vineyard “Le Cigare Volant” Red Blend, Central Coast $28
2005 Bridlewood Winery “Arabesque” Red Blend, Sierra Foothills $24
2005 Core Grenache, Santa Barbara County $38
2005 Core “Hard Core,” Santa Barbara County$29
2006 David Girard Grenache,El Dorado County $18
2005 Edward Sellers Vineyards & Wine “Vertigo” Red Blend, Paso Robles $30
2005 Epiphany “Gypsy” Red Blend, Santa Barbara County $25
2005 Fife Vineyards “L’Attitude 39″ Red Blend, Napa $19
2001 Fife Vineyards Max Cuvee Red Blend, Napa $40
2006 Four Vines Winery “Peasant” Red Blend, Paso Robles $40
2006 Four Vines Winery “Anarchy” Unconventional Red Blend, Paso Robles $40
2005 McCrea Cellars “Scirocco” Red Blend, Colombia Valley$35
2005 Novy Family Winery Judge Family Vineyard Grenache, Bennett Valley, $26
2005 Opolo Vineyards Grenache, Paso Robles $24
2005 Opolo Vineyards “Maestro” Paso Robles Red Blend, Paso Robles $30
2003 Palmeri Stagecoach Red Blend, Napa $53
2005 Parducci Grenache, Mendocino $??
2007 Robert Hall Winery Rhone de Robles Red Blend, Paso Robles $18
2006 Robert Hall Winery Grenache, Paso Robles $24
2006 Tallulah Wines “Les Trois Voix” Red Blend, Sonoma $??
2005 Terry Hoage Vineyards “The 46″ Red Blend, Paso Robles $40
2005 Twisted Oak Winery Grenache, Calaveras County $24
2005 Twisted Oak Winery Red Blend, Calaveras County $24
2005 Unti Vineyards Estate Grenache, Dry Creek Valley $30
2006 Vie Winery “L’Imaginaire” Grenache, $39
2004 Zaca Mesa Winery “Z Three” Red Blend, Santa Barbara County $40

WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 8.5
2005 Adelaida Cellars “Schoolhouse Crush,” Red Blend, Paso Robles $15
2005 Clos LaChance Winery Estate Grenache, Central Coast $30
2005 Clos LaChance Winery “Lila’s Cuvee” Red Blend, Central Coast $40
2006 Eaglepoint Ranch Mendocino County Grenache, Mendocino $20
2006 Holly’s Hill Vineyards Grenache, El Dorado County $15
2005 Holly’s Hill Vineyards “Tranquille” Red Blend, El Dorado County $18
2006 Hug Cellars “el Pape” Red Blend, Paso Robles $25
2006 Morgan Winery “Cotes du Crow’s” Red Blend, Monterey County $20
2005 Opolo Vineyards “Grand Rouge” Paso Robles Red Blend, Paso Robles $19
2006 Peterson Winery “Zero Manipulation” Red Blend, Russian River Valley $15
2006 Roshambo Winery Grenache, $25
2006 Sierra Vista Winery Grenache, El Dorado County $20
2005 Summerland Winery “Duet” Red Blend, $32
2005 Unti Vineyards “Cuvee Foudre” Red Blend, Dry Creek Valley $50
2004 Ventana Vineyards & Winery Grenache, Monterey $28
2006 Vie Winery “L’Etranger” Red Blend, $39
2006 Vina Robles “Red 4″ Red Blend, Paso Robles $??
2005 Zaca Mesa Winery “Z Cuvee” Red Blend, Santa Barbara County $18

WINES SCORING BETWEEN 8 AND 8.5
2005 Arrowood Vineyards & Winery “Cote de Lune Rouge” Red Blend, Sonoma $30
2006 Mount Aukum Winery Grenache, Amador $24
2005 Treana Winery Austin Hope, Hope Family Vineyard Grenache, Paso Robles $42

WINES WITH A SCORE AROUND 8
2007 Eaglepoint Ranch Grenache (Barrel Sample), Mendocino
2005 Madrona Vineyards Estate Red Blend, $16

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