Quote:
Originally Posted by Otterhound
This what I know .
Every winery and grower uses herbicides and pesticides .
Sulfites are nearly universally used to stop fermentation when the product reaches it's desired level/specific gravity . They are monitored on a regular basis so as to know when .
Wine is aged in oak barrels for a specific amount of time in order to introduce tannins and flavor . Typically American or European White Oak is used and the interior of the barrel is charred/flamed as desired for flavoring purposes . The barrels are kept wetted on their exterior in order to help prevent them from drying out and leaking .
The wine will often be racked more than once after being removed from the oak barrels in order to eliminate the lees from the wine and is then bottled . If necessary , certain chemicals may be added in order to clarify the wine before bottling .
These are standard practices across the globe .
Many wines are blends .
This year , where I have been picking grapes , roughly 30% of the grape production rotted on the vines because of how much rain we got and how often it rained and none of the reds fully matured . None of this vineyards grapes made it to oak barrels . All of the reds were used for Rose . A very tough year , but that is agriculture . May next year be a vintage year .
I was picking grapes at the Waltz Winery which is just outside of Manheim .
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As always, the devil is in the details. Which pesticide is used, which herbicide is used, what strain of yeast is used, details on sulfite use, sur lees aging or not, etc., etc.
Increasingly, biodynamic wines provide an option. And some of the wines my wife and I most enjoy come from biodynamic operations in Europe.
But, again, just meant to share a generalization about the way my wife and I respond to most European wines, and how that differs from US wines...with a bit of speculation about
possible causes.