My vote for post of the year (well we are 90% through!) comes from wineterroirs this weekend – take a tour through a list of wine additives and their catalogues with Bertrand Celce for a little insight into what might be in your wine.
At first it’s a stark and often unpalatable list, but let’s be clear, even referring back to our ‘producers who do nothing’, one in every 10+ cuvées will require some kind of manipulation – we are, after-all, talking about a very natural and somewhat variable process.
I personally think that a winemaker (at least ones I buy from) has two duties; to make a wine that reflects its origin, and to make it palatable – the second point tends to be the main determinant for the length of their career! If it takes a little powdered tannin (and I assume M.Rolland’s comments refer to the Bordeaux cepage, not pinot noir) to stabilise a cuvée – so what. I’m less sure that I need a yeast to make my Musigny smell of banana…