Michael Nielsen wrote:
> On Tuesday, September 2, 2014 4:42:34 PM UTC+2, Bi!! wrote:
>> Given the vast array of additives available the term "powders"
>> could mean just about anything but for whatever reason I assumed he
>> meant tannin powder since it is an agent that is fairly commonly
>> used to adjust tannin levels and flavor profiles.
>
> The origin of the word "powders" is someone at Crociani winery that
> told my father in law (in italian) , who then told me, with my wife
> translating directly from italian to english: "their wines are
> special because they are not made with powders, as sadly is the case
> nowadays". My reply was that I certainly hope they do add sulfites,
> as sulfite free wine is horrible. and the bottle did say "contains
> sulfites". The father mentioned as an example sugar as a powder that
> might be added at other wineries.
>
>
>

As others have said, many wines are Chaptalized by the addition of sugar
and many others are acidifed by the addition of tartrate. Both of those
are established practices that go back generations and correct for
weather-related problems (not sunny or hot enough or too hot,
respectively). In cheaper, mass-produced wines you can find the
addition of tannin powder to give wines more structure than nature has
endowed them with.

Beyond the addition of powders, though, you have many other
manipulations that have become commonplace in many wine regions.
Reverse osmosis and spinning cone technologies are used to lower the
alcohol levels in (over)ripe wines, MegaPurple and pectinase are added
to the must to increase extraction in red wines and designer yeasts are
chosen to impart certain flavors in the fermentation. As Joseph Coulter
mentioned, oak chips or oak dust are added to wines in lieu of barrel
aging to impart "new oak" flavors for a fraction of the price of a new
barrel. There is even a company in California, Vinovations, that will
analyze your wine, identify which manipulations are needed to fit a
desired "flavor profile" and then perform said manipulations to
transform your wine into whatever you set as your target.

As Joseph also said, winemakers are very coy about revealing what goes
on in their cellars. Right now, Paul Draper of Ridge is arguing for a
law that would require wineries to list the ingredients in their wines,
a move that's being fiercely resisted by many wineries. Should that
happen, you'll see many winery practices change very rapidly, as the
image of peasants stomping grapes with their feet still sells a lot of
wine in the US.

Mark Lipton
(jaded consumer)