Wine, Naturally

I've been researching the natural wine movement for an upcoming article, and have been really intrigued by what I have found. For those of you not in the know (as was my case a month or so ago), natural wine or vin naturel — it is a French thing, after all — aims to do as little intervention as humanly possible in the creation of wine. I have linked some good resources to read up on after the jump, as they say.

Much of the intervention that is avoided is mechanical and additive, including the laundry list of legal ingredients that Alder over at Vinography came up with a few months back.

The most startling discovery about this style of wine making, though, is the utter absence of added sulfites. As you may or may not know, sulfites, usually in the form of sulfur dioxide (SO₂), are widely used in viticulture in a number of steps along the way. They are sprayed in the field to combat powdery mildew, as sulfites are one of the few sprays allowed under organic and biodynamic certification. They are often dusted onto freshly picked grapes to control oxidation — sulfites are a preservative — and to kill bacteria (and sometimes yeast). Since they combine easily with liquids and are thus rendered ineffective, more applications can happen in the cellar, ending with a dose right at bottling to preserve the finished wine.

Many low-intervention wine makers try to limit the applications drastically from what might be found at conventional wine "factories," but even they don't complete eschew it, so it's BIG NEWS to completely eliminate sulfur addition. SO₂ does naturally occur in the fermentation process, which accounts for how some are able to completely avoid adding it back. From what I gather, it is very gutsy to bottle without, especially if your livelihood depends on it!

I personally have not tasted examples of these wines, so I will refrain from opining. I have to admit, though, that the idea is very romantic and one I tend to be sympathetic toward.

Another amazing discovery, as I have interviewed a few local wine makers, comes in the way they talk about their craft. The farther away they get from mechanization and wine manufacturing, the more they start talking about wine in spiritual terms. This was not prompted! I don't want to give that idea short shrift, so perhaps I'll dedicate another post to it.

Last but not least, everyone I have spoken with has stressed that true terroir comes from this gentle treatment of the land and of the grapes. Biodynamics talks about the three energies on the farm: animal, plant, and human. It's the merging and balance of these that expresses the true nature of the site.

Links
Joe Dressner on "Real Wine"
More Than Organic — a promotional site for the movement
Laundry List of Allowed Wine Ingredients - Vinography Post

Comments

[David C]

You'll note, if you do some homework, that I didn't put a fine enough point on the ways sulfur and sulfites are used in the winemaking process. The more than organic link has an excellent resource, if you're curious.
-David

[kosher wine]

This is a good post.Wine made in a very natural way is something unique. And taking steps to minimize human intervention on wine making, now this is really something to look on to.

[MendozaAmalia]

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