Editor:

The article and interviews on Mega Purple (by Dan Berger, March) bring up some interesting questions on the final wine product. John Williams' comment on "all the crutches that winemakers have come to rely upon" illustrates the importance of providing an initially balanced raw material (grape) to the winery. This should reduce the amount of additives that the wine requires.

It might be time to call for wine label information that lists the ingredients in the wine, so the consumers have a better understanding of just what they are getting. They might be interested to know if water, "natural flavors" and grape juice concentrate were part of the product, as well as the other typical ingredients used in wine production. They might also be interested in knowing if the alcohol level in the wine had been adjusted.

While many consumers purchase based on taste and/or price alone, there are those who do want to know what they really are getting.

s/ John Jones
Faith Vineyard
Los Olivos, Calif.
via e-mail


Editor:

Just read the March issue, which contained an article by Kathy Marcks Hardesty, "SLO Tasting Room Draws Crowds, Sparks Controversy." The statement in the story that "It's the first wine tasting room of its kind" is not necessarily true.

I don't know if you were aware of it, but a group of wineries from The Columbia Cascade Winery Association (CCWA) opened a tasting room/wine center in Cashmere, Wash. last fall. It was interesting because the story, by changing the name of the facility and names of people involved and those not involved, could have been written about CCWA's "Wine Experience."

Many of the problems that were faced in opening the facility, and the resistance encountered against it, were almost identical.

s/ Bob Duncan
Berghof Keller Winery
Leavenworth, Wash.
via e-mail