High alcohol wines on the way out: Marks & Spencer February 9, 2007
Beverley Blanning
Major UK supermarket Marks & Spencer is predicting a drop in consumer interest in higher-alcohol wines – and will source more wines 'at 12% rather than 14% alcohol'.
Predicting changes in future wine consumption patterns, M&S says it fears that in recent years the balance has tipped too far towards wines that are dominated by high alcohol.
The supermarket's wine technologist Sue Daniels told decanter.com, 'High alcohol wines have had their day. We will be trying to source more wines at 12% alcohol, rather than 14% in the future.'
The company is also looking at offering wines that are sulphite-free and without unnecessary additives, for allergy sufferers.
Alcohol levels in wine have risen markedly in recent years. The increases are due to a number of factors, including improved techniques in viticulture, rising average temperatures and consumer preferences for riper, easy-drinking styles.
According to lobby group Alcohol in Moderation (AIM), the average level of alcohol in Australian red wine rose from 12.4% in 1984 to 14% in 2004.
In California reds, average alcohol reached a record 14.8% in 2001, compared to 12.5% in the late 1970s.
Finding ways to limit excessive alcohol in wines while retaining flavour
is becoming a major challenge to many wine producers.
David Gregory, head of technology at M&S, said, 'We are trying to anticipate tomorrow's problems. People want to drink responsibly.'
The move come as M&S undertakes a wholesale reorganisation of its business via 'Plan A', announced by CEO Stuart Rose last month. This is a 100-point plan to reduce the retailer's 'carbon footprint' and to become 'a leading retailer in ethical trading'.
Have your say... To post your comment on this story, email us at news@decanter.com, making sure the relevant headline is in the subject field
This is one occasion that I am pleased to see consumer pressure being placed on wine producers. There are ways of ensuring lower alcohol levels, even in New World countries where high alcohols are blamed on hot summer days. Careful water irrigation, good canopy management and GIS application can ensure grape physiology, sugar ripeness and good acidity. Failing all this, reverse osmosis could be considered to lower alcohol levels. The question is whether or not wine producers are prepared to spend the money to deliver a quality product.
Catherine Dillon
About time! Well done M & S.
George Nicholson
YES! Everything that makes the wine world wider is good for the consumers. The variation of grapes, alcohol and styles is what makes it
interesting.
Lennart Odlander, Umeå, Sweden
Bravo Marks & Sparks! The Germans make marvelous Rieslings at 8% alcohol. I've had California Merlot at 11% that drank well. But I've been blasted with 14.8%, wood-sloshed "chardonnay" and 15% over-the-top productions clearly aimed at Grand Poohbah Parker's palate (or what's left of it). When he says a wine is "profound", that means cooked in alcohol. Lest I should be sued in Belfast (I avoided Goodfellas; try Roscoff or Deane), I won't mention names. But if I want a Martini or a Manhattan I'll order it. Anyway, I prefer wine. Lewis C Taishoff
There is little relationship between physiological ripeness and alcohol content. In rainy years, brix actually drops during the last weeks of maturation. In California in cold years, 23 brix can be overripe. In warm dry years, 26 brix (15% alcohol) may not be truly ripe. But Catherine Dillon is correct – reverse osmosis is a proven method to adjust wine's alcohol and improve its taste. It's actually very inexpensive, and almost half the premium wine in California is alcohol adjusted, just as nearly half the best Burgundy and Bordeaux has beet sugar added to increase alcohol to the proper balance point. The main impediment is simply conventional thinking. Frankly, if the press got behind it instead of demonizing it, everyone would climb on board.
Clark Smith, inventor of the reverse osmosis technique
If people want to drink more responsibly they should drink less, it's as simple as that. A quality wine has nothing to do with alcohol level and that's one of the reasons I never looked back after discovering the strength and vitality of New World wines, especially from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and California. One of the best reds I ever tasted was a breathtaking 16 degrees, a south-african Merlot from the Franscchoek cellars. So balanced and sophisticated you wouldn't feel the alcohol. By contrast I've tasted 12 degree alcohols where you clearly feel the alcohol. Wines should have its natural degree of alcohol level, not artificially. I'm sorry, that's my honest opinion, your article just sounds like a lobbying campaign in favour of limiting the levels of alcohol in wine and suspiciously biased towards European wines which have an average 11.5 to 12.5 degrees, whereas a good New World wine will usually come at an average 13 to 14 degrees. Consumers should decide themselves exactly how much degree of alcohol they wish to buy, that's their freedom. Don't try to take this away from them. Taking alcohol out of the wine is stealing its natural character and personality. Not everyone is likely to have the same taste and that's the human essence.
Jose Cunha, Luanda, Angola
Register on decanter.com absolutely free for news alerts delivered direct to your email inbox, and our fortnightly newsletter with advance notice of what’s coming up in Decanter magazine, offers, competitions and more.
PLUS registration is a one-stop shop for the Decanter magazine Archive and Decanter Fine Wine Tracker.
This is one occasion that I am pleased to see consumer pressure being placed on wine producers. There are ways of ensuring lower alcohol levels, even in New World countries where high alcohols are blamed on hot summer days. Careful water irrigation, good canopy management and GIS application can ensure grape physiology, sugar ripeness and good acidity. Failing all this, reverse osmosis could be considered to lower alcohol levels. The question is whether or not wine producers are prepared to spend the money to deliver a quality product.
