For as long as I can remember, in our wine tasting events we have always told people they are never, ever just drinking fermented grape juice. Winemakers of all stripes, even of the ultra-organic bent, do need to make additions (no matter how minor) to their wines, in most cases to give them the shelf life and stability to be able to be sold to the public.
We talk about these additions in our wine tastings as, depending on the nature of the treatment, they can have a perceptible effect on the taste of the wine. For the purposes of blind wine tasting (which form the basis for the majority of our events), this is an important factor to take into account.
We were however, very interested to see a different slant being taking this year in the UK based Channel 4 Show "What's in your Wine", presented by investigative journalist Jane Moore. The program threw up an interesting question for us. Do wine producers, and wine retailers, have a moral obligation to list each and every substance used in wine production, no matter how miniscule?
The UK based Co-op supermarket certainly seems to think so, being the first (and still the only) supermarket to label all the substances used in the production of its wines. Bizarrely, on its inception this move was technically illegal, but the Co-op ploughed on regardless, putting, in their own words, "consumer's interests before the law(s)".
There seems to be much reluctance from other retailers and wine purveyors to buy into this type of labelling, on the basis that it is not practical, and essentially meaningless for the consumer. In the UK, these dissenting voices may however be strong armed into labelling all ingredients by The Food Standard Authority (FSA), who are pushing for full disclosure here.
So what goes in to your wine? Well sulfur dioxide has long been added, as amongst other attributes it acts as an antioxidant and an antiseptic. Acids (of various types) may also be used to heighten acidity (typically in wines from hotter climates where this attribute may be deficient). Sugar is famously added, both to boost alcohol content and/or to increase sweetness. All in all, the EU allows no less than 50 flavourings, additives, preservatives and agents in wine production. Of these producers are only legally obliged to list sulfur, as it is linked to instances of asthmatic attacks.
So are all these additions a Bad Thing? Well, it depends of course on which side of the fence you sit, but many wine producers will argue that these manipulations allow them to consistently produce better quality wines, and this can only be of benefit to wine drinkers.
Whatever happens, it's likely that the noise produced from the media, and now the regulators, are likely to bring in material changes in the way this information is communicated. If the FSA get their way, expect wine labels to look very different in the near future for both producers and wine drinkers alike...
