One traditional definition of wine is a beverage with moderate alcohol that is derived from the fermented juice of grapes. (No disrespect to dandelion wine, mead, perry or barley wine.)

In theory, grape wine doesn't contain water except for the tiny amount of incidental water that gets into it when the grape crusher is being rinsed.

Yet there are products on grocery store shelves that are called wine that are not all grape juice. But how much other stuff is in there we will probably never know since the makers of such products decline to state how the product is made.

To do so, they argue, would be to divulge trade secrets.

These products, which are called wine with added flavors, fall under categories that the government's Tax and Trade Bureau classifies as not traditional all-grape wine. Because these products fall under the jurisdiction of a wine agency (and not, for instance, the Food and Drug Administration), the list of ingredients doesn't have to be revealed.

As you can imagine, grape growers don't like these products because they don't know what they are made from. And if they have large amounts of water in them, say the growers, it means they can be made without as much grape material.

To be sure, the wine part of these products has to be from traditional grape wine, but not long ago officials in the state of Washington accused the producer of the flavored wines of misrepresentation since they couldn't tell how much of the product was water and how much was grape-based.

Moreover, it is believed that the flavorings used in these products come to the wine company as a liquid, and that the liquid contains alcohol made from materials other than grapes. So one wonders how much of the alcohol actually came from grapes.

That leads us to other "manufactured" wines, such as red wines that use a legal additive called Mega-Purple.

When a wine is deficient in color, such as a Cabernet Sauvignon that should be dark but is rather pale, wineries are within their rights to add any other wine or wine product to make the wine darker. One such product, Mega-Purple, is an unfermented grape juice concentrate made from a dark-juiced nearly black grape called Alicante Ganzin.

When it is added judiciously to a wine deficient in color, it can turn a pink wine dark red.

But critics point out that such additives (there other brands on the market) also have an aroma and a taste all their own. So, in theory, adding it in larger amounts could change the aroma of the wine to which it's added. Critics suggest that significant use of Mega-Purple changes the aroma of, say, a Merlot to that of Alicante Ganzin.

Then there is the ever-growing use of oak chips and other oak alternatives to flavor wines. Carefully used, chips have helped to make a lot of $5 and $7 wines more palatable to those who prefer an oaky taste, but who are on a budget.

With French oak barrels now costing $1,000 each and more, many more wineries are looking into chips as a way of infusing lower-priced wines with the desired oaky flavor.

This trend prompted a team of researchers from Spain to investigate what the issues were for oak chip use in red wine. Their conclusions were published in the most recent issue of the Australian Journal of Grape and Wine Research.

They concluded that chips were "a good choice for producing short-aged wines … "

Many more techniques have been developed over the last few years to help wine makers improve their wines. The techniques include removal of alcohol, removal of unwanted aroma elements and use of special yeasts to develop more desired aromas.

Purists often charge that such procedures alter what Mother Nature delivered. But it's hard to be too critical of a procedure when the end result is a better-tasting wine.

Wine of the Week: 2005 Benvenuto de la Serna Blend, Mendoza ($23). The aroma shows hints of blueberries and green tea and the mid-palate fruit consists of more red currants. A soft, lush entry and medium-full finish make this Argentine import, a 60-40 blend of Malbec and Merlot, a delight with steaks.

Dan Berger resides in Sonoma County, Calif. Berger publishes a weekly newsletter on wine and can be reached at danberger@VintageExperiences.com. To find out more about Dan Berger and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.

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