1. Why Care About Bad Wine?
Damp cardboard, wet dogs, expired vinegar...it doesn't take an expert to sniff out the musky aromas of wine gone bad. In times like these, it's easy to feel annoyed at having wasted time and money on an undrinkable bottle of wine. But when the anger fades, I'm more than often left with a lingering disappointment--not at myself, but at the wasted potential of these barrels of innocent grapes, raised in blissful ignorance under the sun, absorbing water and nutrients from Mother Nature, only to be tainted by cork or unwanted bacteria somewhere along the production process by some heartless winemaker. Sometimes waste happens later in the process--a bottle of wine, once charming and elegant, is carelessly exposed to the ruthless sunlight for much too long. Eventually yielding to the debilitating heat and humidity, it becomes an unrecognizable, stale shadow of its former brilliant self. Even more disappointing is wine that tastes like nothing. What could have happened in the poor grapes' pasts to induce such apathy, to not even bother to taste like something?
My indignation might stem from my teacher side, whose heart breaks at any form of unfulfilled potential, or from the fact that I sometimes recognize my adult self in an underwhelming glass of wine--my passionate nature, having succumbed to entropy, irrevocably fermented into cynicism and exhaustion after being let down one too many times.
Is there hope for the tired and mediocre wines of the world? What can we do to stay optimistic amidst careless, capitalistic winemakers and harsh environments?
I was resolved to find out.
2. The Grape vs The System
Not all grapes are born equal. Some grapes are better for eating, while others are especially cultivated for wine. Those of you who had a hard time in high school will be pleased to find out that pretty, popular, juicy grapes full of pulp in fact make horrible wine. This is due to the fact that wine is converted from sugars in the grape:
As the diagram above suggests, the more sugar a grape inherently possesses, the more alcohol and flavor it will have. Unfortunately, table grapes are bursting in pulp and water but low in sugar, which leads to pretty flavorless wine post-fermentation. On the other hand, wine grapes are built for wine success--high sugar content leading to higher alcohol levels, thick skins that provide additional flavors and tannins, and higher acidity which gives the wine more structure:
Here lies the problem: What if I wasn't born a wine grape? Is it my fault I didn't have much sugar to begin with? Can I still become a great wine?
This was where I struggled with the ethics of good wine--I was chastising apathetic grapes for becoming tasteless wine, but was it really their fault for not having these privileged initial conditions? Were they table grapes who bravely challenged the status quo to be able to achieve their dreams of becoming wine? It seemed like the system was set up such that only grapes of very specific properties could succeed.
I had to learn more: What are the conditions for producing excellent wine grapes? Can emulating these conditions overcome structural limitations of a grape?
3. Evidence the System is rigged
I was disheartened to learn that the biggest determinant of good wine was a factor way out of the grapes' control--climate. If the climate is too cold, grapes will not fully ripen or have the necessary sunlight to produce enough sugar for the desired alcohol content. If it's too hot, grapes will lose their acidity too quickly, therefore compromising the character and quality of the wine. If it's too humid, grapes will become susceptible to mold and rot. Therefore, most wine grapes are found in the "Goldilocks Zone" of 30-50 degrees latitude North and 30-45 degrees latitude South, as these regions have the most favorable climates for wine-grape growing.
These factors all point to the uncomfortable realization that grapes from a certain region, climate, and vineyard (especially an old, well-positioned one) are more primed for wine fame. This is why some people look at the region and vineyard of a wine label to infer wine quality, much like recruiters look at prestige signals such as zip codes, family background and Ivy League degrees to approximate candidate ability. They understand the structural underpinnings of success and save a lot of time and effort by using these structural characteristics as proxies for quality, rather than taking the time and risk to evaluate each individual grape or person.
The image above shows how two grapes born into vastly different regions and vineyards will affect their ability to become quality wine. In light of such unjust and demoralizing news, I began to wonder how much of the "bad wine" I was tasting was due to unfavorable initial conditions which the grape and winemaker were ultimately unable to overcome.
But should we ask grapes and winemakers who do not have perfect initial conditions to give up producing wine? Is there a point in trying to become something you aren't set up to be?
4. Cultivating Hope
Fortunately, there is a lot of evidence that shows good wines can still be produced through skillful viticulture (cultivation of grapevines) and winemaking. Here are just a couple specific insights:
Of course, this does not justify suffering! Severe stress will stop photosynthesis completely and damage the vine beyond repair. But it's encouraging to know that privilege is not the only factor of good wines--discipline and careful cultivation of vines can lead to some amazingly flavored and complex wines. However, this implies that vineyards with less prestigious zipcodes need to invest in skills and resources that will encourage the cultivation necessary to produce great grapes.
More good news for "bad grapes": the production of good wines does not stop after the growth and harvesting of grapes. The winemaking process can add a lot of complexity and elegance to the wine as well. One common technique is the use of oak--storing and aging wine in oak barrels after fermentation. Oak storage not only imparts interesting flavors such as vanilla, spices, and honey to the wine, but also smooths out wines and brings out more fullness and fruitiness through increased oxygen exposure.
But there's bad news as well--many winemakers overcompensate by using too much oak in their wines, the strong oak flavors overpowering any individual characteristics of the grapes. Overly-oaked wines could also be a way for winemakers to hide the mediocre cultivation/quality of the grapes. Just like an overly prescriptive curriculum crushing the personality and soul of a wide-eyed child, the system fails the grape yet again through lazy winemaking that disregards the "dignity" and "uniqueness" of each grape, in return for overly one-note, safe, and commercial flavors.
5. What was my point again?
After my (still preliminary) journey into understanding wine, I've come to the conclusion that it really isn't the grape's fault for producing crappy wines:
- Often, these grapes did not have the privilege/luck of possessing favorable initial conditions such as climate and geographical location;
- Even if they overcome these initial barriers, some of them are placed in the hands of lazy winemakers who value quantity and commercialism more than quality and individualism
- unfortunately, this is often a structural issue as these winemakers, who did not inherit "prestigious" vineyards and locations, have less pricing power and hence operate on a lower profit margin, which leads to a focus on high volume, low costs, and mediocre quality;
- If they miraculously do find a skillful and caring winemaker, they might still get spoiled in the process, either through careless transportation to the retailer or careless storage by the customer.
One can only hope that with time and technology, all winemakers, merchants, and consumers can learn how to cultivate grapes and manage wines with the tender loving care that these grapes truly deserve.
Until then, let's continue drinking away our $10 merlots!
