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What's in Your Wine?
It could be Mega Purple

On a trip to California, I had an experience that left a question in the back of my mind that was jogged loose last month by a column by Matt Kramer in the Wine Spectator. The article was called "Why Authenticity Matters," and in it, he used not-from-concentrate orange juice as an example. It seems that not-from-concentrate orange juice can spend up to a year in tanks after being pasteurized and stripped of oxygen, a process that also removes most of the flavor. Then, before packaging, they use "flavor packs," developed by companies like ADM, which specialize in flavorants, to flavor the juice. That's why not-from-concentrate juices are always so consistently the same. It was enough to make me want to go back to squeezing my own juice.

That got me thinking about a comment from a wine grape grower I met on a trip to Napa Valley in 2011.  We were in a Cabernet Franc vineyard in Napa in late October, and it had been a tough year. Grapes that should have been ready for harvest were still pretty tart when they should have been very sweet. When I pointed that out, his comment was, "They're going to need a lot of concentrate this year." I finally did a little research, and "wow!" Grape concentrates are permitted additives in wine and appear to be widely used. It also seems to be something no one in the industry wants to talk about. The concentrates are thick and very sweet and are available for almost every grape varietal. They are used by winemakers to enhance color, weight, and sugar levels after fermentation.

While searching the Web for the many manufacturers of grape concentrate, I found Mega Purple, a more powerful grape concentrate made by Canandaigua West, a division of wine giant Constellation Brands. It is produced by concentrating the deeply colored hybrid grape Rubired, has 68% sugar, and sells for about $200 a gallon. They also produce Mega Cherry Shade and Mega Red Grape Concentrates. I found one set of photos online that showed a few drops of Mega Purple in the bottom of a wine glass in the first picture and then a photo of the same glass filled with dense purple liquid after water was added. Obviously, it offers a serious punch of color.

How widely these products are used, I have no idea. The Wikipedia entry about Mega Purple claims that it is used by almost every low to moderate value (under $20) wine producer. I find that hard to believe, but maybe I'm being naive. I certainly see a lot of Pinot Noirs that look way too dark.  It does take some of the romance out of winemaking.

Doug Badenoch, previous owner of the Wine Gallery in Bozeman, Montana, picked up our article for his newsletter and added his own research...

"After reading Doug's article, I did my own research, and although no one would outright name the brands or vintners who regularly use concentrates, it appears by description that many of the Central Valley producers and "jug wine" makers are the heavy users. Manufacturing grape concentrate has even become a big part of the wine industry because there are more and more vineyards being planted with Rubired (Rubired is the grape used to make Mega Purple), where the grapes are harvested at a yield of 14-20 tons per acre. Compare that rate to 5-6 tons per acre for premium grapes, and you will get an idea of the scope of the market for concentrate.

For jug wine producers, the quality of the crop is not as important as the yield, so irrigation, fertilizing, and dusting with insecticides, pesticides, and fungicides allow bigger crops. Mechanical harvesting and processing keep costs low and volume high. The wine itself isn't too good, but adding grape concentrate, rich color, and more sweetness and flavor brings the wine up to a grade where most consumers are pleased with the "bang for the buck" they get from these engineered wines."

October 16 2024