Quest for flavour making some wine alcohol levels too high

If a night out is hitting you harder than it used to, it might not be just that you're aging.

Wine producers and critics agree alcohol levels are too high, the Dominion Post reports today.

New Zealand Winegrowers is planning to research ways of lowering the levels and individual producers are trying to work out their own methods.

Wine alcohol levels have soared in recent years as producers try to get the grapes and flavours as ripe as possible. That produces more sugars in the grapes, which converts to more alcohol in the wines.

Classic red wine from France's Bordeaux region used to be about 12 per cent alcohol, but now it is not uncommon to find wines around the world, including New Zealand, that are 14.5 per cent or more.

But producers and critics are not so much concerned about people getting drunker, as with the flavours. High alcohol levels produce a hot sensation in the mouth, especially with young white wines, and upset the balance of the wine.

Two leading Hawke's Bay winemakers, Gordon Russell of Esk Valley and Jenny Dobson of Te Awa, recognise the problem but believe they can deal with it.

Mr Russell thinks one answer could be to pick the grapes a little earlier, then use techniques in the winery to help produce the flavours that buyers are looking for.

He also finds that it is the younger vines that produce the most sugar.

Ms Dobson, who worked in Bordeaux for 12 years, agrees.

"Most of our vines were planted in 1992, so they're middle-aged now," she said. "We find we're getting riper fruit with lower sugar levels."

A high proportion of New Zealand's vineyards are young, so as they mature the problem might go away of its own accord.

- nzpa