OCD about "Natural Wines"

 

(Garnacha vines in Rioja own their own rootstock)
I have been going nuts for the pass three months about "Natural Wines", for some reason I am obsessed with the idea of what "naturall wine" means. Since there is no true definition nor singular practice of it there are many answers. There are arguments raging in the press, on blogs, and between winemakers as to what "naturall wine making" is or is not. I whole heartily believe in minimalism when it comes to producing wine but what makes it "natural". Randall Grahm of Bonny Doon believes that wine labels should have ingredients list just like a can of soda, I agree (Link to The Pour's article on Grahm). Since 2007 he has put labels on his wines detailing exactly what is in his wines. To some, including himself, Mr. Grahm's wines are "natural", to others they are not...why? 

 I want a wine to tell me something, to show me what I cannot see, to provide me with an experience that I would not have without it. I am also looking for wine to go with my hamburger, my salad, and Star Trek II "The Wrath of Khan". Wine geeks like myself often over intellectualize wine, making snarky comments about how over oak-ed it may be or that the wine is low in acid, but is it right for me to tell you what you like is not any good? I once thought it was my solemn duty to do that, but I now believe it is more important to give you the information and then let you make your own choice, and that leads me to my obsession with "natural wine". I believe it is vital that wines are not "designed", that they should only be from the place they say there are, and they should not take from the earth more than they give, but what if they don't taste good?

This obsession grew larger with the release of Natural Wine by the Natural Process Alliance. The NPA is husband and wife team that is producing wines with a downstream eco-friendly philosophy. The wines are from within 100 miles of where they are served, there are no additives and are sold (only to restaurants, that I know of) in reusable Kleen Canteens. I absolutely LOVE this and the moment I heard about it I wanted to try the wine. It was not until this past weekend while dining at NOPA that I was able to try a glass of the Pinot Gris from Chalk Hill (See Jon Bonne's from SF Chronicle tasting notes). I really wanted to like the wine but I found it more interesting than good and this is my quandary. Is my palate just trained to like "un-natural" wines, am I hindered by my pre-conceived notions of what wine is or is it ok not to like the product but love the idea. I am going to revisit this in further detail but please let me know your thoughts on "natural wine".

Comments

[jill]

We had a "natural wine" at East Side Cafe here in Austin. It tasted so weird. It was a Rose from a Texas vineyard and I wish I could remember which one. Sean said it tasted like dirty socks.

Maybe you are right, processed wines have jaded us to the taste of true "country" wines.

[Noah]

I think the NPA Chard is better than the pinot gris in a lot of ways but still an oddball.

My current way of thinking has been that "natural wine" has expanded my own personal spectrum of what wines is. Sometimes they challenge expectations, sometimes they're flawed, sometimes they seem to have an extra dimension.

Even though I really enjoy tasting natural wines, the natural wine Nazis rub me the wrong way. There's a lot of grey area between completely natural and spoofilated, whatever those words mean.