Have you ever thought about what goes into the wine you're drinking? I mean, really thought about it? Grapes, sunshine, soil, barrels, time all play a role, yes. But frequently so do a host of other additives, enzymes, and supplements, all of which are used to tweak and refine the wine to meet consumer expectations. This "discrepancy between public perception and cellar reality," as New York Magazine put it, has caused some winemakers to voluntarily list ingredients on their labels. But not everyone is happy about it.
This isn't new: in 2008 Randall Grahm's 2007 Ca' del Solo Muscat and Albariño revealed both the ingredients in the final product ("grapes, sulfur dioxide") and the ingredients used during the winemaking process ("Indigenous yeast, organic yeast hulls, bentonite, cream of tartar"). But the resurgence of the trend is concerning to some. Those in favor believe full label disclosure encourages "natural" winemaking, but those opposed say a long list of unfamiliar terms is likely to scare drinkers off.
Would the average drinker be glad to know his wine was clarified with isinglass, a fish-bladder extract, or its alcohol level boosted with beet sugar? "To have a long list makes it look like antifreeze," says David Lillie, co-owner of Chambers Street Wines, who likes the idea less in practice than in theory... And for Paul Grieco, co-owner of Hearth and Terroir, what matters most is the potential effect on the wine-drinking public. "If it's going to scare people off, then I'm scared shitless of it."
Personally, I'm definitely in favor of an ingredients list. What do you think? Would you like to see an ingredients list on your wine label?
Read More: Wine's New Fine Print at New York Magazine and What's In a Wine? at Gourmet
Related: Discovering Vegan Wine: What? isn't All Wine Vegan?
(Image: Kevin Demaria for Gourmet Magazine)
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Yes I want to know and especially as a vegetarian.
Full disclosure should have been, and should become the rule, for ALL products. Disclosure was typically suppressed by various industry as an unnecessary measure. For instance a great deal of white granulated sugar has been filtered through animal bone charcoal (that's certainly something I'd want to know as a vegetarian, if I'm serving vegetarians/vegans, or if I create products for sale and intend to sell them as vegetarian/vegan friendly).
Absolutely, it should be there. Full disclosure should be the rule, not the exception for EVERY packaged food product, be it a bottle of wine, a tub of ice cream or a can of aerosol cheese.
The reason they're fighting it isn't because it will "scare people off". That's ridiculous. It's simply because they don't want to spend the money on analysis and labeling.
"Would the average drinker be glad to know his wine was clarified with isinglass, a fish-bladder extract, or its alcohol level boosted with beet sugar?"
... yes. Yes I would. Why is always assumed that people would rather remain ignorant in order to save a little money? Also, if I understand the process, I can make my own decision. WHY is it clarified with isinglass? Is it really, really necessary? I don't usually care about the alcoholic content of wine versus the flavor, so it doesn't matter as much to me about the beet sugar, etc etc.
In South Africa what you're allowed to put in wine is regulated - so South African winemakers may not add more sugar to the must (in contrast, Europeans may add extra concentrated grape must), but they may add tartrate (cream of tartar). South African wine bottles have a warning that it contains sulphites (except for the odd ones out that don't - but it's rare). There was a scandal a while back where they added Capsicum flavouring to wine. Here, if you add anything to wine that's not allowed, you have to call it "flavoured wine", or similar.
I'd rather know what I'm drinking.
@RHOSWEN
Most wines are clarified in some way, because consumers don't like cloudy wine. I've seen project presentations on engineering yeast to help clarify wine without the extra step, but it's a pretty complicated medium to work with.
I think it should be required. As things are it's a lie of omission: people have a romanticized idea of wine being pure and simple and the winemakers are happy to let them believe that. Making this knowledge public may change that perception to a degree, and some might adjust their purchasing, but most will simply get used to the seeing the usual ingredients and continue to drink it. Besides, people eat plenty of things with long, scary lists of ingredients so I don't think it's a huge threat to the makers.
For someone like me, it could be a matter of life or death. I am highly sensitive to sulfites and can only drink organic wines because of the lower levels. Even then I have to limit myself to no more than two-three glasses a week. I have found some makers passing themselves off as organic only to find later that they had apparently boosted the levels of sulfites to add to the taste. Why would I do this to myself knowing how dangerous it could be you ask? Well, I enjoy the taste of wine and as a healthcare provider I know the benefits a good red provides. Also, if everyone plays by the rules like they should, there is no danger. But you always find someone out there who is more interested in profit than in a quality product and those are the ones I have to look out for. I think if you are truly turning out a quality product you would be proud to list your ingredients on the label because you would want everyone to know that you have nothing to hide.
I've wished for years that wine & beer makers were required to list all ingredients. Someone just bought me a questionable six-pack the other day that made me cringe wish I knew what went into the product.
The "To have a long list makes it look like antifreeze," snippet is completely unfounded, considering the long ingredient lists on other food stuffs that people have been consuming for 50 years or more.
I'm glad to see that there are other commenters here who have said the same things I was thinking. Maybe I just hang out with a bunch of hippies (okay, I know I do), but most of the people I know a) already know that there's isinglass in most wine and b) would love it if the label said so. The winemakers represented in this article sound like they're underestimating consumers, envisioning us as ignorant and squeamish. Get real.
Ohhhh my goodness, yes. We're vegan at our house, and because companies don't have to label how their wines are fined (while some finngs agents are vegan, others--isinglass, gelatin, casein, egg whites--are not), it can be really tricky to find wines we can drink.
(Also, I am allergic to casein, and while companies say that none is left in the wine, before I went vegan and stopped drinking non-vegan wine I had allergic reactions only to find out later that it was because of the wine I drank.)
Labeling helps everyone!