"Vincent" > wrote in message
...
> As I read descriptions of wines, many flavors are mentioned. Oak is one I
> undestand can come from the barrels in which the wine is aged. But what
> about other things? Do they add these "flavors" to the batch when making
the
> wine, or is this just the wine taster's imagination? Examples: Blackberry,
> chocolate, tobacco, leather. Thanks in advance.

That may be a newbie question, but I still wonder about it after 30 years
experience.

What would a few cedar chips do to a red wine? Is cedar poisonous? How
about a nice Havana cigar (or a portion of one) dropped into a barrel of
Cabernet?

At one time it was thought that Heitz added eucalyptus leaves to his
Martha's Vineyard wines, thus accounting for their famously "minty" flavor.
When asked about it, he opined that the eucalyptus trees surrounding the
vineyard deposited droplets of sap onto the fruit. I was skeptical at
first, but I observed the same minty character in a Santa Maria Pinot Noir
some years ago. I didn't like it at all in Pinot Noir, but the point is
that vineyard is surrounded by eucalyptus trees. In recent years I've
observed that whoever is cultivating those vines covers the rows nearest the
trees (within ~100 feet) with plastic wrap for several weeks prior to
harvest. Looks to me like Joe Heitz maybe wasn't BSing us after all...

Tom S