October in Dry Creek Valley (photos)

Morning of Oct 14, 2011

Click on any photo to enlarge

Morning sun at Lytton Springs

Along Westside Road

Morning sun along Westside Rd

Some not doing so well. This may be Zinfandel, not sure.

Next vine over even worse

Some autumn color showing

Geyser Peak "peaking" over the trees

Mid-October 2011 Harvest Update

We're right in the middle of harvest.  We've had a couple early season rain storms.  Rain slows the ripening process as the grapes take up lots of water.  This puts a harvest that was already running at least a couple weeks late even farther behind.  The later it goes the larger the chance of more rain.

Most of California is at least three weeks behind schedule because of cooler, wet spring weather and now the autumn rains.  The October rains give a potential for rot.  Most of the whites and earlier ripening reds (Pinot Noir) seem to be in.  The remaining thin-skinned grapes may or may not be in good shape when brought in.  Many brought in their Zinfandel just before the last rain at sugars that may be a bit lower than some years, but that's probably a good thing, in my opinion.   Any Zin still out there, however, is susceptible to rot.

In the Russian River Valley
Photo from pressdemocrat.com. Article

Later ripening varieties, as Cabernet, aren't as likely to get rot, but as the ripening process keeps being delayed it becomes as issue to whether the proper sugar levels will be reached while the weather is still warm.  The current long-range weather forecast for Sonoma County is for sunny and warm days--that's good news!

Many are reporting a much smaller, but high quality crop, this year. At this point it appears Chardonnay and Zinfandel crops may be down significantly.  It's unfortunate because a lot of Zin was lost last year, also.   It's too early to tell about the Cabernet.

To the south along the Central Coast of California they are pulling in Chardonnay now before it rots.

Oregon reports potentially their worst harvest ever as the spring and autumn cool, wet weather is not allowing the grapes to ripen. In Washington a below zero period of cold weather last winter has caused damage to the vines resulting in a much smaller crop this year.

Farming: Not for the faint-hearted!

The Rockpile Appellation in Sonoma County

The Appellation
(An appellation is a government-recognized wine growing region)

In northwest Sonoma County Rockpile is one of the newest grape-growing areas. Rockpile is in the hills north of Dry Creek Valley and west of Lake Sonoma about 15 miles from the Pacific Ocean.  It's a rugged and remote area of Sonoma Conty with 160 acres planted to grapes. It's best known for Cabernet and Zinfandel, but there are several other red varieties grown. Rockpile's vineyards sit at elevations off the valley floor up to two thousand feet making the area is several degrees cooler than Dry Creek Valley.  It's the combination of rocky soil, proximity to the cool Pacific, and the elevation that makes Rockpile unique. It's an area where the proverbial "stress the vines to make good wine" happens. Intense flavors is what Rockpile wines are all about.
 
Ancient History

Volcanic explosions over two million years ago covered the area in volcanic rock. Most of the topsoil washed away into the lower valleys a few thousand years ago leaving very poor, but well-drained soil.

19th Century

In the 1850s the first American settler was an interesting character named Tennessee Bishop. When he decided to run for Sonoma County sheriff he first kicked his brother off the property who was hiding out there because he was wanted for murder while riding with Jesse James as part of the Quantrill Raiders. Apparently he realized that wouldn't be popular with the voters. While sheriff he used the county's prisoners to build the Rockpile Road up to his ranch.

Grapes have been known to grow there as far back as the 1870s on Tennessee's ranch.

20th Century

As with much of California the combination of phylloxera (destroys the roots of grape vines) and Prohibition (failed social engineering) killed off grape growing in this area.  Rockpile consisted of remote cattle and sheep ranches until the Park family planted Cabernet in 1992.  Soon others were planting Cab and Zinfandel.

Currently

Rockpile became an appellation in 2002.  There are about ten grape growers in Rockpile farming anywhere from a couple acres up to about 35 acres anywhere between 800 feet and 2,000 feet elevation.  There are no tasting rooms.

There are about 15 wineries making Rockpile wines including Carol Shelton, Mauritson, Paradise Ridge, Robert Baile, Rosenblum, Seghesio, St. Francis, and Stryker.

Image from sonomawinegrape.org

More info on Rockpile

2011 Sonoma County Harvest Fair Summary

Image from sonomacounty.com

The Sonoma County Harvest Fair is a big event for the local growers, wineries, and residents. I attend every year and taste through lots of wines over two or three days. I've been attending or pouring at this event for over 30 years. It's a great place to find new wineries and to get a general overview of what's going on with Sonoma County wines. This is the venue where I first discovered the likes of Matanzas Creek, Laurel Glen and Gary Farrell wines.

The three previous blog posts contain tasting notes from my three days at the fair.  I'm a red wine drinker so if you're looking for info on Chardonnay... well, sorry.

Some observations:

Medals awarded

The stats:  1,000 wines entered, 874 medals given, 39 Best of Class, 10 Double Gold, 138 Gold. Just over 20% of the medals were gold or better which is a reasonable percentage, but the vast majority of wines got something.  Does this mean pretty much everything entered was really good or do the judges feel if you enter you should get a medal?  It sort of cheapens the bronze winners as it almost doesn't mean anything.

The big winners

The Harvest Fair gives a Sweepstakes Award to the best wine. Actually, it's gone from one to three Sweepstakes Awards now. One white, one red, and one specialty wine.  I guess the specialty category is for sparklers, rosés, and dessert wines.  I'd also guess it's a bit political deciding what variety in each of those broad categories will get the sweeps.  How do you really compare the best Pinot, the best Cab, and the best Zins?  In years past it seems the fair may have been making a "statement" with Sweepstakes Awards going to Sauv Blanc, for instance (Chardonnay's poor cousin).  Anyway, this year's big winners:

Kenwood Vyds $16 Pinot Gris 2010
Wilson $36 Sawyer Zinfandel 2009
Gloria Ferrer $42 Brut Rosé 2007

I sampled the Zin and the Brut Rosé.  Both were excellent.

Best new winery finds

J Rickards. I've seen the label but never tried the wines before. Their Alexander Valley old vines Zin was excellent and ageable.

Mounts Family. I first ran across them at a Grenache tasting a couple weeks ago (see blog past dated Sept 24) and enjoyed their wine.  Their old vine Zin is also excellent and at a decent price, $30.

Other new names I'll keep any eye on:  Lost Canyon and Munselle

Favorite wines

Hauck Zinfandels. The Dry Creek Zin was excellent. The Dry Creek Reserve was really excellent.

J Rickards old vine Zin

Sebastiani Dry Creek Zin

Trione Block 21 Cabernet is elegant ... and $64.

Wilson's Sawyer Zinfandel, the red wine Sweepstakes winner.

Best bang-for-the-buck wines

I didn't try a lot of really cheap wines because each tasting ticket was $2 whether you were sampling a $10 wine or an $80 wine.

J Rickards Alexander Valley Ancestor Selections Zinfandel at $22. If you like not so fruit forward Zins that you can age a bit this is a good one --if you can find it.

Sebastiani Dry Creek Zinfandel at $24.  Okay, not terribly cheap but better than most of the Zins costing ten bucks more and I'd guess you could find it on the store shelf for $20 or less.

Wines I'd like to lay down and try again in a couple years

Chalk Hill Red (Bordeaux blend)
Graton Ridge and Watkins Family Pinot Noirs

Current state of Sonoma County wines

Pinot Noir can be a bad deal because you can easily spend a lot to get a mediocre wine.  There are good Pinots out there at fair price but they're in the minority.  Too many showed heat on the finish from too much alcohol.  Come on folks, pick them earlier and give us more complexity, not just soft, red fruit.  Pinot is not Zinfandel!

Speaking of Zin ... Zinfandel is what Sonoma County is all about.  The majority of the ones I tried were really good wines. Many of the top medal winners were the big, (red) fruit forward style that is so popular.  A few of these I find really nice, but after tasting several they get boring in that they are simple and all seem about the same. Besides the Hauck, J Rickards, Mounts, Sebastiani, and Wilson Zins already mentioned there were ones from Hawley, Mazzocco, McClain, Meadowcroft, and Munselle that were also excellent.

We don't seem to quite have Syrah figured out as some are just too drying.  I was hoping for more Rhone blends but there weren't many available.  Maybe in the coming years.

Sonoma County has made amazing strides in the past couple decades with the new wines available and their overall quality.  It gets better every year!

Harvest Fair's web site

2011 Sonoma County Harvest Fair, Day 3

My third and final day of tasting at Sonoma County's big wine event, the Harvest Fair.

Part of the Sunday afternoon crowd

Sonoma County's Pasta King, Art Ibleto, spent his 85th birthday dishing out spaghetti and polenta for folks at the Harvest Fair as he does every year. Thanks Art!

Following are the wines I tasted on Oct 2nd. Two previous posts list the wines I tasted other days. Note that there are multiple categories for some varietals such as Pinot Noir under $25, $25 to $35, and over $35.  I didn't distinguish these breakdowns below.  As before I rated the wines as follows:
EX = excellent, VG = very good, G = good, OK = just okay

Kids' grape stomp. Start 'em young!

Bordeaux Blends

Chalk Hill 2008 Chalk Hill Estate Red, $70. Gold
Dusty, tannins, needs time. VG

de Lorimier 2005 Alexander Vly Est Artisan, $40. Best of class
Soft, rich, good body. VG

Deerfield 2006 Sonoma Vly Rancho Salinas Meritage, $75. Gold
Peppery. VG

Cabernet

Rodney Strong 2007 Alexander Vly Brothers Ridge, $75. Best of class.
Ripe, medium body, good tannins, lingering somewhat rough finish. OK

Rodney Strong 2007 Alexander Vly Rockaway, $75. Gold
Ripe, fruity, spicy, tannic finish, needs time. VG

Owl Ridge 2007 Sonoma County, Sonoma Summit Vyd, $48. Double gold
Nice fruit. VG

Pinot Noir

Armida 2009 Sonoma Vly Durell Vyd, $45. Gold
Bright fruit but in balance, softer, good finish. Pleasing but a bit simple. VG

Graton Ridge 2009 Russian River Vly Paul Family Vyd, $50. Gold
Lots of flavors, could age a bit, good structure. VG

Lost Canyon 2009 Russian River Vly Saralee's Vyd, $45. gold
Medium fruit, some tannin, seems well made. VG

Sandole 2009 Russian River Vly Oehlman Ranch, $34. Gold
Bit thin, lighter, but nice and easy drinking. G

TR Elliot 2008 Russian River Vly Burgonet, $42. Best of class
Medium fruit, medium body, other flavors. VG

Watkins 2009 Russian River Vly Crinella Vyd, $34. Best of class
Structured, not fruit forward, dry, bit astringent, needs time. G

Syrah

Alexander Vly Vyds 2007 Alexander Vly Big Barrel, $45. Silver
Nice fruit and spice. VG

Hughes 2007 Sonoma County Savannah Vyd, $40. Gold
Some red fruit, pepper, tannins, dry, needs time. G

Jus Soli 2008 Sonoma Vly Romano Vyd, $24. Best of class
Softer, lighter body, nice pepper finish. VG

Zinfandel

Christopher Creek 2009 Dry Creek Vly, $27. Gold
OK

McClain 2007 Alexander Vly, $28. Gold
Nice fruit. VG

Meadowcroft 2009 Sonoma County, $28. Gold
Medium body and fruit. VG

Italian varietals

Armida 2009 Dry Creek Vly Estate Il Campo Field Blend, $39. Best of class
Zinfandel & Petite Sirah. Red fruit, nice spicy, can't taste the PS.  VG
No, I'm not sure how this wine fits into an Italian varietals category.

Other reds

De La Montanya 2009 Russian River Vly Calandrelli Vyd Tempranillo, $38. Gold
Red fruit and tannins. G

Apple display. Sonoma grows something other than grapes!

2011 Sonoma County Harvest Fair, Day 2 of 3

Last year's "World Championship"
Grape Stomp winners
Who'll it be this year?
Image from harvestfair.org

October 1st and 2nd are the fair's big days for tasting the top award-winners from this year's Harvest Fair.  Think of a huge Quonset hut type of building, with a thousand people choosing between hundreds of wines. These are all Sonoma County grapes.  With so many wines available you have to go in with some kind of tasting "theme" as trying only double gold winners, trying reds from wineries you've never heard of, Pinot Noirs only, etc.  Not all wineries enter so some big (and small) names are missing.

I fell into Zinfandels quickly as Sonoma County is all about Zin.

Here's what I tasted on Saturday. Tasting notes are sparse as it's not easy trying to write anything down in this environment.

I rated the wines as follows:

EX = excellent, VG = very good, G = good, OK = just okay

Sparkling Wine

Gloria Ferrer NV Carneros Blanc de Noirs, $20. Gold
Clean, refreshing. Good for the price. VG

Gloria Ferrer 2004 Carneros Royal Cuvee, $32. Silver
Nice, fine bubbles. G

Pinot Noir

Clean Coast 2008 Sonoma County $15. Best of class
A second label from Susie Selby. Part of the profits go to Gulf Coast clean up efforts.
Rough finish. Didn't care for it good cause or not.

Cabernet

Trione 2007 Alexander Vly Bock 21, $64. Gold
Rich, soft, elegant. EX

Zinfandel

Hawley 2009 Russian River Vly Ponzo Vyd, $28. Gold
Fruit, pepper, needs another year at least, needs ravioli!  VG

Hauck 2009 Dry Creek Vly, $28. Gold
Nice spice. EX

Hauck 2009 Dry Creek Vly Reserve, $38. Gold
Starts soft then spices, full of flavors, balanced. EX

J Keverson 2008 Sonoma Co Buck Hill Vyd, $29. Best of class
Lighter, easy drinking, would be a good food wine. G

J Rickards 2008 Alexander Vly Ancestor Selections, $22. Silver
An old time Sonoma style Zin with tannins, depth and fruit underneath. Needs five years. VG

J Rickards 2008 Alexander Vly Brignole Vyds Old Vines, $28. Gold
Fruit and tannins in balance, will age. EX

Keating 2009 Dry Creek Vly Buchignani Vyd, $28. Gold
Didn't like it.

Moshin 2008 Dry Creek Vly Carreras Vyd, $35
Nice structure but tight. Finished hot. Needs to age but will it with the alcohol showing? OK

Munselle 2008 Alexander Vly Osborn Ranch, $28. Double gold
Black and red fruits, some spices, balanced. VG

Ramazzotti 2007 Dry Creek Vly Ricondo, $30. Gold
Heavier, fuller-bodied. Maybe a good steak wine. G

Veritas Ridge 2009 Dry Creek Vly, $28. Gold
Nothing. No fruit, no spice.  Bad bottle?

Watkins 2008 Sonoma County, $28. Gold
Heavier, bit drying (a Petite Sirah blend). Dark fruit. OK


Wine of the day

Hauck 2009 Dry Creek Reserve Zinfandel

There were many more outstanding Zinfandels: The other Hauck "regular" zin, Hawley, and both J Rickards zins. The Trione Cab was excellent, also.

2011 Sonoma County Harvest Fair, Day 1

The Sonoma County Harvest Fair is The Big Event for local wine growers and producers.  Monday, Sept 26, 2011, was a trade/media tasting day. The main tasting is the weekend of Oct 1-2. 

Image from harvestfair.org

Following are wines I tasted listed by varietal. Note that there are multiple categories for many, such as Zinfandel Under $25 and Cabernet $25 to $35. I don't distinguish these categories but you can look up the full results at the fair's website.

Notes are sparse but I did rate them as follows:

EX = excellent, VG = very good, G = good, OK = just okay

Sparkling

Gloria Ferrer 2007 Carneros Brut Rosé, $42. Sweepstakes winner and Best of Class

Clean, good sugar/acid, burst of bubbles VG

Gloria always does a great job with their bubblies. This one's a bit more expensive than most.

Pinot Noir

Balletto 2009 Russian River Vly BCD Vyd, $34. Double Gold.

Not especially distinctive, bit hot on the finish. G

Gracianna 2009 Russian River Vly Bacigalupi Vyd, $48. Gold

Soft and lush. G

They do a great job with Zinfandel. This PN seems to be a similar style to their Zin.

Cabernet Sauvignon

Wilson 2005 Sonoma County Vineman Cabernet, $40. Silver

Undistinguished, drying. OK

Not a good deal for the price.

Bordeaux Blend

Wilson 2008 Dry Creek Vly Roger's Fault, $32. Gold

VG

Very nice for the price.

Primitivo

Trione 2009 Alexander Vly Home Ranch, $28. Best of Class

Rich, ripe, spicy, shows a bit of heat. VG

Yes, Primitivo has its own category this year.

Zinfandel

Mazzocco 2009 Dry Creek Vly Thurow, $32. Gold

Soft, fruity, finishes with a little spice and heat. G

Mazzocco 2009 Dry Creek Vly Warm Springs Ranch, $34

Ripe, soft, short finish. G

Mazzocco 2009 Dry Creek Vly Warm Springs Ranch Resv, $52

Lots of spice, some tannin. VG

Nice, but very expensive.

Mounts 2009 Dry Creek Vly Estate, $20.Gold.

Nice fruit with decent acid balance. G

Good food wine for the price.

Mounts 2009 Dry Creek Vly Estate Old Vines, $30. Silver

More of everything compared to the “regular” estate zin. VG

Very good for the price.

Sebastiani 2008 Dry Creek Vly, $24. Best of Class.

Big, brambly, correct acid. An old style Sonoma County Zin at its best. EX

The best bang-for-the-buck wine I tasted. I've found this true with several Sebastiani wines.

VC 2009 Dry Creek Vly, $28. Gold

Soft, peppery. G

Wilson 2009 Dry Creek Vly, $27. Bronze

Bit drying, tannins OK

Wilson 2009 Dry Creek Vly Sawyer, $36. Sweepstakes and Best of Class

Starts with soft red fruit then an explosion of spices. EX

Really amazing wine. I'm still trying to figure how I'd pair this with food.

Wilson 2009 Dry Creek Vly Sydney, $36. Gold

Bit dry, spice, needs time. G

Wilson 2009 Dry Creek Vly Molly's, $48

Soft, fruity, rich, easy drinking. VG

Yes, I tasted a lot of Mazzocco's and Wilson's wines (same owner).  With all the medals they won their table will be very busy next weekend so this seemed like the best chance.  Lots more on the Harvest Fair coming next weekend!

Warning! Petite Sirah will make your glass
look like this!

Grenache Tasting

Actually it was Grenache and Grenache blends as you often see it blended with other Rhone grapes such as Syrah.  In California Grenache has been grown in the hot Central Valley to make jug wines.With the help of the Rhone Rangers grapes like Grenache, Mouvedre, Carignane, and Syrah are becoming more popular as premium wines in the U.S.  Grenache is usually characterized as berry fruit-flavored, spicy and soft (low acids).

On September 23rd William Allen hosted a Grenache tasting at his farm. The tasters rated their top wines and he'll post the overall results on his blog, Simple Hedonisms.

Evening sun at the tasting venue

These were mostly local producers, but not all. The production of the wines is small ranging from less than 1,000 cases down to about 50.  A couple of the guys pouring even said the grapes were crushed by foot.  I was trying not to picture this being done by their feet but by some 18 year old Italian maidens.

Following are my personal results listed from my favorites to least:

Mounts Family 2008 Dry Creek Estate Grenache (Grenache/Syrah).  Good fruit, just a bit of spice and tannins. $30

Sheldon 2005 Santa Ynez Vly Vinolocity (Grenache/Syrah). Very good fruit and spices with a near perfect balance on this aged wine. $30

Mounts Family 2008 Dry Creek Estate "The Terraces" Grenache  (Grenache/Mourvedre). Amazing black fruit, not ready yet, but should be a great wine. $40

Baiocchi 2009 Fairplay, El Dorado Entre Nous (Grenache/Syrah). Great peppery spicy up front. Full-bodied and heavy--must be the Syrah in the blend. $39

R2 2009 Santa Ynez Vly Rhapsody (Grenache/Carignane/Syrah/Mourvedre).  Great red fruit but still young and tannic. This will be a very good wine. And I forgot to ask if they made a D2 wine (get it -- R2 D2). A bargain at $24.

Thumbprint 2008 Ramazzotti Vyds, Dry Creek Vly Grenache (100%). Good structure, oak, spicy finish, a bit of heat. Needs to age. $36

Mounts Family 2009 Dry Creek Vly Estate Grenache (Grenache/Syrah). Cool blue fruit, mouth drying, not ready yet. $30

Sheldon 2007 Santa Ynez Vly Grenache (100%) Very good fruit, big finish, bit drying. A great deal at $25.

Quivira 2008 Dry Creek Vly Elusive (Syrah/Grenache/Mourvedre/Petite Sirah). Big, tart, spicy. $28

Sheldon 2003 Santa Ynez Vly Vinolocity (Grenach//Syrah). Bit drying, good acid. $30

Ridge 2005 Dry Creek Vly Lytton Estate Grenache (Grenache/Petite Sirah/Zinfandel), Big, drying, more like a Petite Sirah. $28

Ridge 2007 Dry Creek Vly Lytton Estate Syrah / Grenache. Medium spices and tannins.  Needs time. $30

Quivira 2009 Dry Creek Vly Grenache (Grenache/Mourvedre/Syrah). Tart. $26

Stage Left Cellars 2006 Santa Maria Vly Grenache (Grenache/Mourvedre). $48

Wind Gap 2008 California Rana (Grenache/Mourvedre/Syrah). $45

Wind Gap 2009 North Coast Orra (Grenache/Mourvedre/Counoise). $28

It was a lot of fun trying these as I'm not too familiar with Grenache-based wines and not too familiar with many of these wineries. The first two, the Mounts Family and Sheldon stood above the rest, the R2 stood out as the best bargain.

Just to prove you should never rely on one person's opinion on wine my wife was along and her three favorites were the Thumbprint, the '05 Sheldon, then the R2.

Four Russian River Valley Tasting Rooms

On a warm top-down day I made four stops at some favorite wineries in the Russian River Valley appellation.  Listed are the wines I purchased from each.  All of these wineries are small operations--the best kind!  The wineries in this area tend to specialize in Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, Syrah and Zinfandel.

Harvest in underway at Pellegrini
80 tons of Pinot Noir in 48 hours!

Harvest Moon

2006 Russian River Valley Zinfandel ($34).  Soft, fruity, acidic, lighter bodied. Will definitely stand up to food. I would generalize their wines as somewhat elegant with an acid backbone not usually found in CA wines.

Pellegrini

2007 Russian River Valley, Olivet Lane Estate Reserve Pinot Noir ($45). The $20 Russian River Pinot was good for the price. This one was exceptional.  They also had a nice Cabernet and Cab blend.

Dutton-Goldfield

2009 Russian River Valley, Dutton Ranch / Stoetz Ridge Vineyards Zinfandel ($30).  Young and chock full of flavors, complexity and potential.

Red Car

2007 Sonoma County, Cuvee 22 Syrah ($55).  The best of the three Syrahs I tried though all were good.  Rich, complex and easy drinking.  They make many small lot wines under several labels.

Pennsylvania's Wine Kiosks are Outta Here!

In PA alcohol sales are completely controlled by the state--everything from purchase from the winery, distillery, or brewery to sale to the consumer. Too much power in the hands of a few bureaucrats?

These government liquor barons spent millions on retail wine kiosks. It's sort of a vending machine except you have to blow in a breathalyzer to complete the sale. Really. It's funny that they don't do that if you want to buy a gun in PA.

Image from consumerist.com

These bureaucrats believe they are immune to criticism so through all the complaints over the past year from consumers and retailers they kept installing the wine kiosks.

So they have sort of seen the light but are blaming it on the vendor of the machine.  Why? Because they want the vendor to cover their million dollars in expenses occurred during this fiasco.  Meanwhile the vendor is suing PA for breach of contract.  Your tax dollars at work.

Time for the good people of Pennsylvania to put the Liquor Control Board out of business.

Story from Forbes.com

Alcohol labeling on wine

With all the noise being made about rising alcohol levels on California and other New World wines (and some Old World wines) "buying by alcohol percent" may be happening with some consumers.   I know I've started looking and will sometimes form opinions on a wine before even trying it.   This is something most wineries and retail sales folks would prefer you didn't do.

A 15% alcohol Pinot.
Or is it closer to 16%?

So what can you tell by reading the percent alcohol number on a wine label?   Does it really give you an idea of what kind of wine you're getting?    Well, maybe a little bit.

A wine labeled 14.5% alcohol doesn't necessarily have 14.5%.   There's a fudge factor allowed by the government mostly to cover variances in what actually shows up in the bottle as labels have to be ordered well before bottling.  

But this fudge factor is huge.   A wine labeled 14.5% could actually be 15.4%.  The law is a little convoluted as the rules and taxes are different for wines below and above 14%.   This law is old and from a time when table wines were pretty much always below 14%.  In fact, wines under 14% don't have to state the alcohol content though most do.

So not only does this mean you may really be getting a much higher (or lower) alcohol wine, but if you're comparing two, say one labeled as 14.5% and another at 15% you can't really assume the latter is higher in alcohol.   The numbers are reported by the wineries to the gov't so they're trusting the producers to be accurate.   Is there any cheating going on?  I don't know, but I would guess any gov't checking would be for wines labeled at 14% and just under to see if they really belong in the lower tax bracket because the gov't mostly cares about their money.

Wine vs. Cars

There are wine enthusiasts (sometimes called geeks) and there are auto enthusiasts (not usually called geeks).   There are those who see their vehicle as just an appliance rather than something they enjoy or even lust after.  Think Camry owner vs. Porsche driver.   With wine some just ask for a glass of white wine and don't worry any more about it.  Others want to know the vintage year, country and appellation, vineyard, what sugars the grapes were picked at, etc.

Wine enthusiasts can worry about the most seemingly minute detail of a bottle.  They worry that Syrah was added to the Pinot Noir.  They worry that the Sauvignon Blanc wasn't fermented completely dry. They spend time trying to figure out if they should drink a particular Cabernet in 2015-2017 or if it'll go past 2020.   Oh yeah, they worry if their wine cellar isn't exactly 55 degrees.

Camry. The generic Chardonnay
(or maybe White Zinfandel?) of cars
Image from toyoland.com

Gear heads pour over tire tests before buying a new set.   As they do with brake pads. I can't quite see the Toyota Corolla owner going to the aftermarket for the best fade-free track pads even though they put out dust and squeal when cold.  They would think there's something wrong with their brakes.

Some folks taste a youthful wine with tannins and say, "Eww, that's too dry" without realizing aging potential, but then they don't care.  Fewer and fewer wines are now made for long-term aging.  The style has gone for mass market appeal as wine has gotten more popular. Just as most cars can't even be had with a manual transmission any more.

Wines can be very trendy like Pinot Grigio.  Cars can be too like the Mini Cooper. Pinot Grigio is slightly sweet and fruity, not very distinctive and not too expensive.  The Mini is small, not especially cheap, and has a reputation for high maintenance costs. But people love 'em!

Let's establish some links between wine and cars:

• Camry = (cheap) Chardonnay. Both are as generic as they come
• Mazda3 = Sauvignon Blanc. Zippier and cheaper than a Chard. One-tenth the sales.
• Mini = Pinot Gris. Trendy for unknown reasons.
• VW Beetle = White Zinfandel. Girly car/girly wine
• Accord = Merlot. Boring unless you go top-of-the-line.
• Mustang = Zinfandel. Youthful, high alcohol.
• Subaru = Syrah. Never quite mainstream no matter how hard it tries.
• BMW = Pinot Noir. Sophisticated, a bit stuffy, expensive and not always worth it.
• Mercedes = (high-end) Cabernet. Really stuffy, for old folks. You can brag to friends.