Eric Asimov is Our Valentine!

This excerpt from the January 16th edition of The Pour by Eric Asimov is just one of the reasons why he is our first Valentine. Eric hits the wine nail on the head saying straight out that some wineries use "additives" to change the natural color of the wine to please what amounts to a misunderstanding on the part of the cosnuming public.

DARK The color of a red wine can offer many clues to how it was made and how it is aging. But many consumers have come to associate darker colors with higher quality, and some winemakers cater to this association.

Red wines come in myriad hues depending on the grapes, and rarely does darkness correlate with concentration and quality. Consider that nebbiolo and pinot noir wines, which can be intense and long-lasting, are naturally fairly pale. Some producers, anticipating consumer reaction, take steps to darken the wines with additives or even other grapes. Sangiovese wines may be a little darker, but not nearly as dark as some of the Chiantis or Brunellos di Montalcino on the shelves.

The bottom line: darkness in a red wine may mean a lot of things, but only rarely does darker mean better.