Ingredients listings and key taste components found in commercial wines

Barrel tasting dark, rich, vividly flavorful Cabernet Sauvignon.

Sugar and spice and all that’s nice, as the old nursery rhyme goes.

There are lots of nice things in wine, although there are very few wineries that actually print “Ingredients”—that is, additions dropped on top of natural components of wines during the winemaking process—on back labels; ostensibly, because it is felt by most of the industry that most consumers might be shocked if they find out what actually ends up in commercial grade wine. If you are not required to list everything going into a bottle (a circumstance many consumer advocates think should be changed), why do it?

I was at one Sonoma County winery’s tasting room just last week, tasting the brand’s signature estate grown Cabernet Sauvignon. The owner explained that over the years she has had problems impressing upon consumers that her grapes are certified organic and the fact that her wines are made in the lowest interventionist way possible (that is, without compromizing quality or terroir expression). So she borrowed the idea of printing ingredients on her back label from another winery that specializes in minimal intervention wine. This is the exact wording found on her bottlings:

1. Organic Cabernet Sauvignon grapes
2. Indigenous yeasts
3. Yeast nutrients
4. Malolactic bacteria
5. Minimum effective SO2 [i.e., sulfur dioxide]
6. French oak

French oak barrels in Lodi's The Lucas Winery, considered an "added" component complimenting many popular wines such as those made from Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and many other grapes.

That’s it; no less, no more. The lack of extraneous "intredients" most definitely emphasizes this winery's low intervention approach. I was also interested in what the other winery she mentioned is doing, and so I went online and found the ingredients list that appears on all their back labels, applied to their bottlings of multiple varietal types (Zinfandel, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, and more). For a low intervention winery, their ingredients list contained surprisingly more "extra" stuff:

1. Hand harvested organically grown grapes
2. Indigenous yeasts
3. Naturally occurring malolactic bacteria
4. Oak from barrel aging
5. Minimum effective SO2
6. Calcium Carbonate
7. Water
8. Egg whites
9. Tartaric acid

Clearly, this winery regularly employs more “adds” than the other winery, although the four extra ingredients—calcium carbonate, water, egg whites and tartaric acid—not listed by the first winery are not atypical even for wineries with reputations for producing “natural” style wines.

Zinfandel pump-over in Lodi winery; fermenting must to which multiple ingredients—such as yeasts, water and tartaric acid—may have already been added to produce sound, balanced and presumably higher quality wine (although many low intervention wineries don't add of any of this, thinking "less is more").

Explanation:

• Calcium carbonate, a natural mineral byproduct, is not a component that is actually tasted in a wine; rather, it is a compound commonly used in winemaking to reduce unusually high natural acidity, which often occurs when grapes are picked slightly underripe.

• Water, on the other hand, is often used when grapes are picked overripe or extra-high in sugar, which can result in excessively high alcohol (say, over 15% Alcohol by Volume, or ABV)—the rehydration effect of water when added to fermenting wine in vats helps to reduce alcohol as well cool down fermentations when temperatures rise too high (which can possibly reduce flavor extraction).

• Egg whites are another common, and completely natural, winemaking ingredient; a handy way to fine or clarify wines and also to a certain degree, smooth over perceptively bitter sensations of tannin typical of fuller bodied red wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon.

• Additions of tartaric acid—the most important organic acid common to all wine grapes—is often used as another adjustment when it is felt that a fermenting wine is deficient in enough natural acidity to complete a trouble-free fermentation and produce a properly balanced wine.

Tiny clusters of old vine Lodi Barbera, a grape variety that is often picked with higher than desired acidity, necessitating a reduction of the natural acid by use of adds such as calcium carbonate, as well as water to lower potential alcohol when grapes are picked high in sugar in order to wait for grape acids to drop.

That said, what’s in a typical wine anyway? Let us try to summarize each of the major components common to all good commercial wines in a little more detail...

Acidity in wine: Acids are a natural component of grapes and resulting wines. Their palate sensation in finished wines can be described as fresh, tart, sour, lively or zesty, and their presence can brighten aromatic qualities with suggestions of citrusy fruit. Acidity is measured as titratable acidity (TA, the sum of all the organic acids in juice or wine), although the actual strength of acidity is measured in terms of pH (the lower the pH, the higher the acidity in wine). The major acids in wine are tartaric, malic, lactic, and (in tiny percentages) citric. 

For lots more on acidity, particularly as it relates to varieties of grapes and varietal bottlings, see our post Everything you need to know about the acidity of Lodi's extraordinary range of varietals.

Alcohol by volume (ABV): Level of alcohol or ethanol required by law to be stated on bottle labels. While bottle ABV gives the consumer an idea of a wine's sense of body or fullness (table wines that are more than 14% in alcohol tend to be fuller, and wines less than 13% tend to be lighter), this is still an inexact way to determine body because federal law allows wineries 1.5% plus-or-minus leeway in wines up to 14% ABV. For wines above 14%, the leeway is 1%. This means a wine that is actually 15.5% in alcohol may say just 14.5% on the label, or a wine that is 14% in alcohol may say just 12.5% on the label. Most wineries, in fact, routinely take full advantage of this variance in order to project a semblance of consistency in their bottlings from year to year, whereas just a minority of wineries strive for actual accuracy.

Body as it relates to alcohol: “Body” is the term used to describe the weight of a wine's sensory impression on the palate, which is primarily related to alcohol by volume (i.e., ABV). Wines at 8% to 11% alcohol tend to be very light or delicate, while wines are termed medium bodied at 12 to 13% alcohol, and fuller bodied at 14-16% alcohol. Other factors contributing to the sense of body may include phenolic content or tannin levels, and residual sugar in the case of sweet wines. 

Working sheep in Napa Valley, California's most famous wine region known for extremely rich and full bodied Cabernet Sauvignon, red wines often requiring additions of water and acid adjustments to bring wines into balance.

Traditionally, it is said that wines from warm to hot climates tend to be fuller bodied than wines from cold to cool climates. In the modern era, however, warm climate regions on the U.S. West Coast, Lodi, South Africa or South Australia have been known to produce lighter-bodied wines simply by dint of picking at lower Brix, e.g., at 20° to 22° Brix to produce wines finishing below 12.5% alcohol, a practice requiring focused attention on farming for fruit maturation at lower sugars. 

By the same token, West Coast regions known for cooler than average climate have been known to produce very full-bodied wines almost as a rule because certain factors, such as temperature, wind or extreme diurnal swings, often do not allow acid levels to come into balance with optimal fruit maturation until grapes reach higher sugar levels (i.e., 25° Brix or more), resulting in alcohols exceeding 14%. Yet in both cases, distinctive, high quality wines can be produced. Ergo: a region's average climate classification does not automatically correlate with the old, simplified assumption that lighter-bodied wines are produced in cooler climates and fuller-bodied wines in hotter climates.

Oak qualities in wine: Wines aged in oak barrels or casks will retain a partial amount of the aroma and flavor of those oak vessels, which are primarily variations of vanillin qualities, often in combination with roasted or "toasted" qualities derived from the charred surface of the insides of barrels, the staves of which are bent over open flames during the barrel-making process. 

Barrel making in a California cooperage, depicting the use of open fire to bend the oak staves resulting in slightly "toasted" surfaces in barrels, adding toasty or charred qualities to aging wines, on top of the vanillin flavors typically imparted by oak.

Oak barrels also contribute a modicum of tannin to wines, adding to the sense of body and structure. Varietals such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Tempranillo and Chardonnay are known for their ability to attain increased richness, enhanced texturing from barrel-aging's oxidative process and additional complexity through fruit/oak interaction during longer periods of time in contact with wood, particularly with the use of new barrels, which are strongest in oak flavors. (After three or four years of usage, barrels contribute less oak flavor, reaching a point where they are considered "neutral barrels"). 

More recently, since about 2010, certain camps in the wine industry as well as more consumers have begun to take a dimmer view of oak influences in wine. They instead prefer wines that are aged strictly in neutral barrels or no oak at all in order to better appreciate either purer fruit qualities or the subtle qualities reflecting terroir, both of which tend to be obscured when oak-derived aromas and flavors play an aggressive role.

Phenolic content (including tannin) in wine: Natural phenols and polyphenols found mainly in skins, stems and seeds of grapes, including anthocyanins (i.e., pigments) and tannins. Tannins are responsible for the astringent and sometimes bitter sensations in wines that may contribute to the sense of fullness as well as antioxidant properties that enhance the ability to improve over time. Winemaking practices such as cold soaking, or pre-fermentation maceration, are customarily practiced to enhance the feel of phenolic content in wine without increasing bitterness or astringency, as is extended oak aging, which adds vanillin and toasted or charred sensations).

Tannin in particular is a class of biomolecule found primarily in seeds of grapes, but also in skins and stems. It is responsible for the astringent, or drying, palate sensation in wine. It may also impart a bitter sensation, contributing further to a sense of fullness in wines as well as the antioxidant properties enhancing a wine's ability to improve over time. For a deeper reading, see out past post Everything about tannin.

Yeast: Cells found naturally on the skins of grapes that convert sugars, or glucose, in grapes into alcohol and carbon dioxide during the process of fermentation. The higher the amount of sugar in grapes, the higher the potential alcohol of a wine if fermented to dryness, or to zero residual sugar. The most common yeast associated with winemaking is Saccharomyces cervisiae, of which numerous strains have been isolated and cultured in laboratories for winery usage for any number of needs. 

In much of Europe, however, traditional winemaking is still done with natural yeasts, often called "native yeast," "wild yeast" or "indigenous yeast" fermentation. The general thinking is that yeast populations indigenous to vineyards are as much a part of a wine's terroir as its climate, soil, topography, etc. Therefore native yeast fermentation has become increasingly favored by American vintners endeavoring to capture as much of the terroir or "natural" qualities associated with vineyards and regions as the varietal character associated with grapes. This has been a fundamental principle, for instance, guiding Lodi AVA vintners participating in the Lodi Native Zinfandel project since the 2012 vintage. 

The underlying reasoning behind natural or native yeast fermentation is that vineyards are commonly populated by other yeast strains, particularly those in the genera Kloeckera, Candida, Pichia and Kloeckera apiculata. If they are allowed to remain by the withholding of sulfur dioxide, wild yeast strains start off fermentations at a markedly slow pace, enabling wines to extract complexities that might be missed in faster, cultured yeast fermentations, before dying off to allow more alcohol-tolerant Saccharomyces species to take over and finish the fermentation. 

The use of non-Saccharomyces yeasts is also known to lead to other positive nuances such as phenylethanol, an organic component that imparts a subtle, floral, rose-like scent specifically targeted by vintners such as Greg La Follette, who has been working with native yeast fermented ancient vine Lodi growths since 2014. It is no coincidence that La Follette has crafted Zinfandels that have been mistaken for Pinot Noirs, a naturally more floral variety, in blind tastings. 

Still another commonly found yeast is Brettanomyces, which can create negative aromas—often suggesting barnyard, feces, Band-Aid, leather, sweaty saddle, rancid cheese, and sometimes bacon, clove or burning dung—if allowed to proliferate uncontrolled. Whereas Brettanomyces is largely suppressed in the American wine industry, it is certainly to be found, especially in wines made in minimal intervention styles. In contrast, it is a very common component in red wines produced in European regions such as Bordeaux, the Rhône Valley, Languedoc-Roussillon, Tuscany, Rioja or Priorat, even to the point where it is considered a positive attribute by critics who review these wines.

Malolactic fermentation (secondary fermentation): A bacterial fermentation, different from primary (alcohol) fermentation, that takes place in wine whereby malic acid is converted to lactic acid, thus imparting to a wine rounder, softer qualities as well as an additional complexity, both textural and aromatic. Although malolactic fermentation occurs naturally in wines, winemakers typically prefer to control the timing and efficiency of the process by inoculating with lactic acid bacteria, following or frequently at the same time as primary fermentation. When winemakers endeavor to retain a sharper acid balance, another common practice is to suppress malolactic fermentation by early pressing or racking, by maintaining sufficient sulfur dioxide levels, by filtration or by keeping temperatures below 57° F. 

Aroma: Aromas derived directly from grapes (aging in oak barrels also contributes aromas) are the result of several volatile components, including higher alcohols, esters, terpenes, pyrazines, phenols, aldehydes and some varietal-related thiols.

In an older interpretation of the term utilized to teach wine tasting, aroma was distinguished from "bouquet" with the understanding that the latter term is associated with smells that evolve in a wine as a result of bottle maturation. In contemporary practice, the concept of bouquet has pretty much fallen out of usage, and aroma is used to describe any smell from grapes, resulting through the fermentation process, and also evolving after time in a bottle. 

Today, with the growth of wine magazines and literature in general, the more pressing distinction has become the difference between aromas you can smell and aromas you can actually identify, since sensory profiles do not become distinguishable unless you can put a word to them. Aromas, after all, are perceived by physical receptors in the nose that relay signals with attendant information to the brain via nerve endings. Therefore, an average person may perceive the scent of lemon, black pepper or rose petal—all smells found commonly in wines—but if the brain does not identify them as such, these smells are essentially nonexistent or remain an unconscious response, but are certainly not consciously appreciated. 

"Spice" grapes (from top left, clockwise, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, and Grenache) have varying degrees of rotundone, which is found in much higher proportions in black peppercorns (right).

Complicating this is the fact that human beings do not smell things in the same ways for both physical and experiential reasons. Most wine lovers, for instance, are not sensitive to the smell of black pepper, derived from a sesquiterpene called rotundone, in a wine, whereas there will always be a minority of wine lovers who can greatly appreciate the peppery spice qualities caused by rotundone which are typically found in red wines made from Syrah, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel or Grenache. 

Still another factor is the fact that smells are connected to sensations perceived on the palate (the five basic sensations perceived on the tongue being sweet, sour, bitter, salty, and umami) because the human experience of taste is syncretic—that is to say, sensations that have accumulated and merged in our memory banks. So when you smell a fresh lemon, for instance, your brain perceives it as palate sensations that are both refreshing and maybe a little bit sour, even though "sour" is a taste perceived on the tongue. The scent of lemon may also trigger memories of sweet/sour lemonade, hot and sweaty summer days and other related emotions originating from a stand your parents may have helped you set up when you were 10 years old. 

The nose can even perceive sensations that are "hot" (like pepper), "cold" (menthol), "dry" (wood, like pencil shavings) or "sweet" (vanilla, spearmint or cinnamon). This is sensory syncreticism, which is very much aroma related. Aromas, in other words, are our most effective way of delineating and appreciating wines, and therefore are never to be overlooked.

For more on the impact of aromas in wines, see our past post A definition of aromas.

Aroma as it pertains to fruit qualities in wine: Although wines are made from grapes, wine aromas and flavors are rarely described as grape-like or "grapey." Instead, suggestions triggered by the olfactory tend to suggest a full range of fruits, dozens of which are identified by tasting guides such as the U.C. Davis Wine Aroma Wheel. For example, white wines commonly suggest fruits like apple, pear, lemon, orange, peach, pineapple, passionfruit, guava and more. 

Red wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah and Tempranillo often suggest "black fruit" profiles—blackberry, blackcurrant, plum, blueberry or black cherry. Red wines such as Pinot Noir, Grenache and Sangiovese often suggest "red fruit" profiles—Bing cherry, cranberry, pomegranate, redcurrant, strawberry or raspberry. Depending primarily upon where they are grown, Zinfandels often take on black, red and often blue fruit profiles, although the sandy soils of Lodi tend to produce Zinfandels falling more in the red fruit spectrum of the grape.

U.C. Davis wine aroma wheel.

Minerality: We recently devoted an entire post to this subject (re Minerality in Lodi wines), but let us review it. Minerality is becoming increasingly important as a consumer preference because it is a sensory descriptor alluding to perceptions that suggest minerals, stones or an earth-related component in a wine's nose or palate feel, often in the presence of subdued fruit, floral or oak-derived sensations. Minerality as a nuance is associated more with white wines and rosés than red wines because the winemaking process of the latter (fermentation with skins and oak aging) tends to veil mineral-related subtleties. 

There is, however, no real consensus among scientific quarters in the wine industry regarding the origin of mineral sensations, especially since this is a sensory, and thus perception-based, construct, and hence, a vinous equivalent to "slippery slope". For wines such as Sauvignon blanc, for instance, minerality is often associated with the presence of sulfur-containing compounds identified as thiols (an organosulfur); thus, winemaking methods that increase the positive quality of thiols are now commonly employed to increase mineral and fruit complexity in Sauvignon blancs grown all over the world. 

Increasing weight is also given to the premise that minerality is closely associated with wines higher in acidity; it is no coincidence that cold climate Chardonnay from places like France's Chablis, or Rieslings grown in the coldest regions of Germany such as the Mosel-Saar-Ruwer, are higher in mineral sensations than comparable wines from warmer regions, made from grapes with generally lower acidity. Minerality is also associated with grape varieties such as Vermentino, Kerner, Piquepoul, Inzolia, Assyrtiko and often Albariño that tend to retain mineral qualities even when grown in warm Mediterranean climate terroirs such as Provence, Sicily or Lodi, but are picked early enough to retain high natural acidity—also suggesting that the phenomenom is pH related. 

If anything, it is now universally agreed that mineral sensations are not the result of uptake of mineral components directly from the soil, which is to say, the geology of a given vineyard does not necessarily factor in a wine's sensory profile even if it strongly suggests minerality. Indirectly, however, that geology may be conducive to favorable factors such as low pH in grapes (generally considered more possible in high-pH soils), or even more indirectly through impact on grapevine canopy growth favorable to production of volatile thiols during the eventual winemaking process.

Adding of sulfur dioxide, the nearly universal wine industry method of helping to stabilize wine. gravitywinehouse.com.

Sulfur dioxide (SO2): For this entry, I’m going to quote directly from the winemakermag.com page because they describe the use of SO2 in a better and more comprehensible way than I can. Coming from the perspective of the wine industry: 

“Of all the additives that are used in wine production, sulfur dioxide (SO2) is by far the most important, multifaceted, indispensable, and, these days, along with commercial yeasts, a contender for the most controversial. Why is SO2 so important? The timing of its use can define the style of a wine (particularly in whites); it protects wines from a myriad of spoilage bacteria; it can significantly extend the life of a wine and can be used to clean wines up in the presence of certain problems. 

“SO2 has been in use for storing wine for thousands of years—all that and we use it to clean too! Definitely the most important tool in a winemaker’s toolbox. Many believe themselves to have an allergy to it, although lots of foods we regularly eat contain it (dried fruits, juices, sodas, french fries, and so on), and the amount of people with a genuine sulfur dioxide allergy is extremely small. Even if drinking a full bottle of wine per day (not that I’m advocating for that), we would still likely consume more sulfites from the other foods we eat during the day. 

“While today’s natural wine movement has proponents that are adamantly against its use, the vast majority of us would not risk producing a wine without its use. In my opinion the treatment of sulfur dioxide, except in rare instances, is not an option in wine production. Without its use— at least before bottling—there is no guarantee that the wine you put into the bottle will at all resemble the wine you later uncork to enjoy. Depending on the style of wine you make, when you make SO2 additions relative to alcoholic and malolactic fermentations is important.”

Sulfur dusting in Lodi, a practice utilized all over the world to control grapevine mold or mildew.