If you haven't seen this article by Alan Goldfarb on the Appellation America site, and if you care about the wine you put into your mouth, you should read it.
Among the many troubling things reported by Goldfarb: the use of wood chips/staves/saw dust, MOX (micro-oxygenation) and other short cuts to "quality" is moving up market. To quote the author:
...MOX is mostly employed for wines which sell for under $25 and accordingly can eventually eliminate the use of expensive oak barrels. (Note: The use of MOX for wines over $25 is on the rise.)
(The emphasis is mine.)
This is when the "Chips Free" movement begun by Aristide in Italy really resonates.
I wrote a post on that subject a while ago attracting an aggressive email from a big fan of wood chips and how those changed his life permitting the individual to "experience the taste of barrel without the cost of it"
These were his words...
Buona Bevuta a Tutti
Posted by: Gabrio Tosti | February 27, 2007 at 01:13 PM
As you know with me you are preaching to the choir!
Posted by: David | March 01, 2007 at 10:32 AM
Amen, brother. It's depressing to see supposedly premium wines going in this direction. Especially, if like me, you can't stand heavy-handed use of oak.
Posted by: Terry Hughes | March 01, 2007 at 10:39 AM
As I have been studying the history of winemaking I have found an interesting point in quality wine: Toasting the barrel began to keep the wine from ever coming in contact with the raw wood. They found the hard hitting tannins from contact with raw wood would ruin the wine over the years. I guess today's industrial producers know more about making good wine than those of the past 2000 years...
Posted by: David | March 01, 2007 at 04:10 PM
This addresses the rising issue of why these steroidal, hyperoaked wines aren't ageing well.
What goes around, comes around, I guess.
Posted by: Terry Hughes | March 01, 2007 at 05:56 PM