Producers fess up: Who's using "Mega-Purple"?

Excellent link/thread Mike. A big thank you !

Diethylene glycol = brake fluid? Hmmmmm. Methinks the fact-checking for this piece was not as thorough as it could have been, so take it with a grain of salt.

Grape juice concentrate is definitely out there. There are certainly lots of rumors and speculation (and accusations from the not-so-subtle) thrown around. If only we could find these “other winemakers [read: my competitors]” that always seem to be doing everything the wrong way.

Boy…that Wallace must have been kicked of some nice mailing lists or something. The other article is called the great cabernet ripoff. His solution, drink European wines.

I think this article gets passed around and a different wine writer gets to publish it once every sixth months when in need of generating some controversy.

Seems like some would rather shoot the messenger?

Though I’m unfamiliar with his track record, Keith Wallace has been around the block:

http://www.chef2chef.net/news/foodservice/Press_Releases-Business/Philadelphia_has_a_new_wine_writer_in_town.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Incidentally, googling diethylene glycol AND “brake fluid” affords

Brake fluid - Wikipedia" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Yes, I Googled diethylene glycol, too, because I always associated it with coolants.

I didn’t see anything new at all in this story. On eBob a couple of years ago, there were people saying that a lot of expensive California wines have it, but this article didn’t even make that claim.

It’s funny that this should come up now, since Megapurple hasn’t been on the radar for a while. I confess I was thinking about it 10 days or so ago when I had a spufified Spanish wine that stained my tongue so badly I was suspicious.

Hi John,

What’s one’s retread often can be another’s first exposure. I’d be the first to admit hearing about megapurple before, but that’s about it. Perhaps it reflects poorly on my surfing skills. What IS a relief here [hat tip to The Todd II] is knowing that threads like this won’t disappear down a memory hole.

Cheers!

I saw either Mega Red or Mega Purple (I think it was the red) used once by a very small producer whose name I can’t remember. They custom crushed at Deerfield Ranch Winery in Kenwood. It was NOT KB, August West, Freeman, Roar, Outpost, Schrader, etc.

That being said, a winemaker or two said there were diesel trucks hauling mega red and mega purple up and down the Napa Valley in the very cool years of 98 and 00.

That doesn’t make a lot of sense if only 10,000 gallons are used annually. It sounds like a quart would be enough to color most wineries’ total output.

John, whether is makes sense or not, that is what I was told directly by a winemaker in the last year or two.

Whether massive quantities were used or not, I have no idea. Again, just relaying what I was told.

Learn something new every day. I always assumed brake fluid was pretty much just hydraulic fluid.

In that spirit here are my answers.

There are a lot of speculations about who is using concentrate and when. Very little is confirmed. I have used concentrate myself to polish up some turds for the bulk wine market, as I imagine others have. I wouldn’t even consider it for wine I would bottle. Why?

1. The aromas are distinct and very strong. Even at the minute levels it is used, it sort of standardizes the aromas of the wine. Good for bulk wine that you’re trying to put right over the middle of the plate for a buyer, not so good for wine that has some character.
2. It is incredibly sweet (60+ Brix) and adds RS. Last thing I want to add to a wine I’m about to bottle.
3. It is teeming with certain types of yeast that can cause lots of problems.
4. Color isn’t important enough to me to deal with 1, 2, & 3 just to get more of it.

Again, my problem with this is always that it’s like a group of winemakers and writers standing in a circle and everyone points to their left saying “he’s doing this or that”. It always stinks to me of marketing and brand differentiation to say “this is what everyone else is doing, isn’t it terrible?” when you should be selling your wine on its own merits. Some of the people who love to accuse “everyone else” of doing this or that are the most hypocritical IMHO.

Oak chips, fining, enzymes, etc? Fining is nothing new. Use of tannins is actually quite a bit more complex than he lets on…it’s actually rarely done to increase tannin in wine believe it or not, although there are ways to do that. All modern tools; some people use them all, some use none, most are in between somewhere.

Adding acid? Malolactic fermentation? yeast? Guilty as charged I guess. Wasn’t aware that I was ruining the world of wine by doing so.

And dont forget, according to the article, these things dont happen as much in Europe.

I actually responded to the article…although it hasn’t been posted yet. I don’t think we can sit around and let some unsubstantiated and hyperbolic things go by without being proactive in pointing out the issues.

Plus I got all this time waiting for grapes to ripen and that gets me in lots of trouble.

Adam Lee
Siduri Wines

Actually went back and read the article. Wow, what a poorly written article filled with a lot of innuendo.

His last paragraph is telling:

This article probably freaked out every wine lover reading this. Sorry about that, but such a great and noble beverage deserves a good clean dosage of honesty. If you want to stay away from overly manipulated wine, you may have to change your buying habits. First of all, keep your hands out of the bargain bins: Those bottles are there for a reason. Also, start buying more European wines. Despite the few horror stories I gave you, the Europeans have much stricter regulations on wine additives than the U.S. or Australia. Lastly, don’t worry too much. If you like it, give a toast to Mega Purple and enjoy it.

I for one will continue scouring the bargain bins for US, European, and South African wines.

I agree with several of you … this article is a crock on many levels. I’ll look forward to reading Adam’s reply.

Personally, I just skip the middle man and have Mega Purple delivered to my house with my milk!

Apparently, Dan Berger has drunk the same kool-aid?:

Mega Purple - Wines Vines Analytics" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

That is reference number four here: Mega Purple - Wikipedia" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Twenty percent > of the 50,000 gallons produced each year > is sold to the wine industry> , Shrikhande says.

That is reference number three here: Mega Purple - Wikipedia" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Who cares what they put in it? If it tastes good and doesn’t kill you on the spot then go for it…