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