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Scientist blasts supermarket red wines
Professor Roger Corder, author of The Wine Diet and an expert on dietary polyphenols, has spoken out against supermarket red wines dubbing them “cheap imposters” and “little more than white wines pretending to be red.”
“A large percentage of supermarket red wines have just enough contact with grapes to extract colour from the skins and contain virtually no grape pip polyphenols,” Corder said.
Polyphenol analysis provides a clear indication of the level of extraction in red wines; the higher the level of polyphenols, the longer the grape pips and skins have been soaked during the winemaking process.
“Polyphenols are the source of a wine’s colour, flavour and character, yet many supermarket red wines are low in polyphenols, which compromises the taste and quality of the wine,” Corder added.
“You can always tell a quality wine by looking at the polyphenol levels as this provides the greatest insight into the quality of the grapes and the care that has gone into making the wine.”
In March, Corder teamed up with Santiago Navarro, head of UK online wine merchant Vinopic, which assesses a wine’s drinking pleasure, richness in grape polyphenols, value for money and customer popularity, giving each wine a score out of 100.
At Vinopic, Corder is responsible for analysing the wine’s polyphenol, sugar and sulphite content, which appears on the site as an Intrinsic Quotient – an uncapped score that is an extension of his heart rating used in The Wine Diet.
Lucy Shaw, 13.06.2011
Who is this goon! What a load of garbage! Know we are surrounded by do gooders , “experts” et al and those who have never earned a days salary but it really galls me that we get this sort of nonsense! Think I have tasted most supermarket wines over these past 40 years in the trade and dont think we sold or I saw many imposters!! A few I didnt like or choose to buy but thats our industry. Suggest Mr Corder sticks to analysing fruit juice or yoghourt
ABC
As a winemaker who has consulted on a wide range of projects from supermarket to coveted cult wines, I can say that Professor Corder is mostly correct. But he isn’t saying they are imposters or that they really are white wine w/ red color. He is saying their polyphenol content is so low as to be useless from a health standpoint, and to make them insipid tasting. Most large volume red wines are made from highly cropped grapes (20tons/acre sometimes), with high yield yeast, to turn the fermenters in 2-5 days for the next batch. They are pressed at 5-10 brix. Ultimately they are fined and tightly filtered and bottled. And yes, all of this means very low polyphenol content.
Sounds to me like another ligger trying to make a fast buck out of the wine business by creating sensation and scandal where none exists. Who is this clown, anyway? I’d also ask the question: Where are your retail credentials? Go back to studying plankton.
Oh the horror of the word “Perfect†is enough to send shivers down the spine of many the wine searcher. It doesn’t have to be the horror decision making process that we tend to take it as. There are however inherent minefields to dodge and negotiate as you choose the ideal reds your money can and will attain. Three things should always be taken into account during this process: price consciousness, purchasing the ideal wine for the meal in question, and never being afraid to ask questions of the wine seller.
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