I am really looking forward to getting my edition of José Vouillamoz' book (Wine Grapes - the most complete guide to vine varieties) on grape varieties.
I wrote about a talk and tasting José gave at the RAW natural wine fair and had the opportunity to chat with him afterwards. I have never met anyone with such a deep knowledge of the subject.
I think anyone who is interested in vines and viti-viniculture should find the book interesting.
It is described as the most complete ever, although it will be interesting to compare it with Pierre Galet's various ampelographic works (see list at Athenaeum).
It is due to be released towards the end of October and can be pre-ordered via the link above.
Showing posts with label natural wine. Show all posts
Showing posts with label natural wine. Show all posts
Friday, 21 September 2012
Monday, 6 August 2012
Frankenstein organics is born
Unheralded and unnoticed, August 1st saw the birth of factory organics in wine. Of course most of us are too engrossed in the Olympics or whatever to have paid much attention.
What am I talking about ? The coming into force of the European directive on organic wine of course !
These new rules relating to organic wine were published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 8th March 2012 and are applicable as of August 1st 2012 (European Commission (CE) n° 203/2012).
It is now possible for a producer adhering to these new rules to label his wine as being organic, and not just 'produced from organically farmed grapes' as previously.
What is the difference and what are the possible consequences ? Well, to get an idea I will let you read the recent editorial from Le Rouge et le Blanc (no 105 Summer 2012), a French language periodical which specialises in what one might call 'real wine produced by real people'. I have translated this for you.
'Organics up for grabs
Organic agriculture, which used to raise knowing smiles before making a lot of people wince, has now become what the kings of marketing describe as a niche market. It is a niche which requires investment, because it is expanding. As for organic producers, having previously been out in the cold, they have now been invited to the party.
In a nutshell, through the new European rules adopted on 8th February and which come into force on the 1st August 2012, large wine producers and brokers (négociants) have succeeded in transforming ‘wine from grapes produced by organic agriculture’ as it has been known until now, into ‘organic wine’, with very relaxed wine making rules perfectly suiting their own production methods.
We already knew they wanted to have their cake and eat it, now they are after the baker’s wife too. How can that be the case ? The rules of organic agriculture have been maintained of course, and added to them are new measures such as the banning of sorbic acid and desulphuring, and the limiting of concentrations of added sulphites (1). But there is nothing new about harvesting methods, nothing new about use of yeasts, nothing about ‘thermovinification‘ (up to 70C) or about reverse osmosis....
‘There is now practically no difference between organic and conventional wines’ declared Michel Issaly, president of the influential confédération des Vignerons indépendants (Confederation of Independent Wine Producers). Mass market organic wine is born, and it has no particular respect for the living nature of wine.
This strategy increasingly marginalises those who have for a long time already been going much further quality-wise than simply ‘organic’. Those - ‘natural’ producers and others- who daily find themselves pushed out of the AOC door towards the emergency exit marked Vin de Table (or Vin de France...sounds much nicer!)...
The France of these wines is the one that defends with the greatest coherence and quality true wines of terroir. Some way must be found to make a real differentiation, in the vein of those winemakers working with amphorae (see Rouge & le Blanc no 105 p.38) who adhere to strict guidelines in terms of viticulture, winemaking and maturation in order to thwart any attempt at vulgar imitation which would allow the proliferation of false labels of vaguely ‘amphora’ wine.
‘Les idées s’améliorent. Le sens des mots y participe.’ (2)
François Morel
(1)Additions reduced by 30 to 50 mg/litre compared to non-organic wines, according to their residual sugar content: for reds 100mg/litre of SO2 instead of 150; for whites and rosés 150mg/litre of SO2 instead of 200...
(2)Lautréaumont, Poésies II.'
Le Rouge et le Blanc
Is this the opportunity 'natural' wine producers have been waiting for ? Perhaps.
There is also the new directive on allergen labelling which will force producers to come clean on some additives, such as fining agents.
Of course this does not go far enough - labelling showing a complete list of additives would be more appropriate, but it is a start.
What am I talking about ? The coming into force of the European directive on organic wine of course !
These new rules relating to organic wine were published in the Official Journal of the European Union on 8th March 2012 and are applicable as of August 1st 2012 (European Commission (CE) n° 203/2012).
It is now possible for a producer adhering to these new rules to label his wine as being organic, and not just 'produced from organically farmed grapes' as previously.
What is the difference and what are the possible consequences ? Well, to get an idea I will let you read the recent editorial from Le Rouge et le Blanc (no 105 Summer 2012), a French language periodical which specialises in what one might call 'real wine produced by real people'. I have translated this for you.
'Organics up for grabs
Organic agriculture, which used to raise knowing smiles before making a lot of people wince, has now become what the kings of marketing describe as a niche market. It is a niche which requires investment, because it is expanding. As for organic producers, having previously been out in the cold, they have now been invited to the party.
In a nutshell, through the new European rules adopted on 8th February and which come into force on the 1st August 2012, large wine producers and brokers (négociants) have succeeded in transforming ‘wine from grapes produced by organic agriculture’ as it has been known until now, into ‘organic wine’, with very relaxed wine making rules perfectly suiting their own production methods.
We already knew they wanted to have their cake and eat it, now they are after the baker’s wife too. How can that be the case ? The rules of organic agriculture have been maintained of course, and added to them are new measures such as the banning of sorbic acid and desulphuring, and the limiting of concentrations of added sulphites (1). But there is nothing new about harvesting methods, nothing new about use of yeasts, nothing about ‘thermovinification‘ (up to 70C) or about reverse osmosis....
‘There is now practically no difference between organic and conventional wines’ declared Michel Issaly, president of the influential confédération des Vignerons indépendants (Confederation of Independent Wine Producers). Mass market organic wine is born, and it has no particular respect for the living nature of wine.
This strategy increasingly marginalises those who have for a long time already been going much further quality-wise than simply ‘organic’. Those - ‘natural’ producers and others- who daily find themselves pushed out of the AOC door towards the emergency exit marked Vin de Table (or Vin de France...sounds much nicer!)...
The France of these wines is the one that defends with the greatest coherence and quality true wines of terroir. Some way must be found to make a real differentiation, in the vein of those winemakers working with amphorae (see Rouge & le Blanc no 105 p.38) who adhere to strict guidelines in terms of viticulture, winemaking and maturation in order to thwart any attempt at vulgar imitation which would allow the proliferation of false labels of vaguely ‘amphora’ wine.
‘Les idées s’améliorent. Le sens des mots y participe.’ (2)
François Morel
(1)Additions reduced by 30 to 50 mg/litre compared to non-organic wines, according to their residual sugar content: for reds 100mg/litre of SO2 instead of 150; for whites and rosés 150mg/litre of SO2 instead of 200...
(2)Lautréaumont, Poésies II.'
Le Rouge et le Blanc
Is this the opportunity 'natural' wine producers have been waiting for ? Perhaps.
There is also the new directive on allergen labelling which will force producers to come clean on some additives, such as fining agents.
Of course this does not go far enough - labelling showing a complete list of additives would be more appropriate, but it is a start.
Tuesday, 22 May 2012
RAW - the priceless treasure of obscure grape varieties
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| Dr José Vouillamoz presenting at the RAW Wine Fair |
Attended a fascinating tasting at the RAW Wine Fair given by Dr José Vouillamoz. Dr Vouillamoz is a vine geneticist who has an unbridled passion for rare grape varieties. He presented 10 wines (6 white, 4 red) made from very rare varieties.
Durella, Nosiola, Spergola, Friulano, Rkatsiteli, Enantio, Caberlot, Nerello Mascalese, Kadarka... I had never tasted any of these varieties either. The only familiar grape was an ungrafted Chardonnay from Guillot-Broux from the Mâconnais (alas the vineyard recently succumbed to phylloxera and is no more). Only the wine remains.
Several whites had been made with extended skin contact; one, the Friulano, was even given cap punching (pigeage). They were all interesting, in the way exotic unknown fruits can be, with surprising taste and aroma combinations.
The Friulano for example was slightly oxidised, had tannins and yet had an undertone of apricots and marmalade rather like a botrytised white.
The Rkatsitseli also surprised with its licorice and tar on the nose, spicy taste with added quince and tropical fruits.
Of course, a lot of the taste was down to the winemaking techniques - skin contact for the whites, qvevri for the Rkatsitseli, fermentation in amphora for the Nosiola etc. Nevertheless tasting these wines gave me the desire to taste more, and reinforced my own love of obscure varieties, or novel, often very traditional winemaking.
We should do all we can to treasure these old varieties and taste them whenever we can. Loss of genetic material can be forever, and we never know when it might be needed.
It was after all only less than 150 years ago that phylloxera was first seen in European vineyards. It nearly wiped out wine production for good. A recent discovery of vine genetics is the missing link in the makeup of Merlot which happens to be an almost extinct (only about 10 vines still remain) variety from Brittany and the Charentes. I certainly hope that this Magdeleine noire des Charentes is preserved.
Look out for José's forthcoming book 'Wine Grapes', (co-authored with Jancis Robinson and Julia Harding, due out in October through Allen Lane, Penguin Press).
Details http://www.rawfair.com/talks-monday
Tuesday, 10 January 2012
Beaujolais naturellement
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| View from around Vauxrenard |
One of my favourite producers is Domaine des Côtes de la Molière, owned by Isabelle and Bruno Perraud who farm 8.5 hectares in and around Vauxrenard, high up in the Beaujolais hills with a marvellous view over the valley of the Saône. Isabelle and Bruno are true pioneers. They were among the first to return to organic viticulture in the area and are truly passionate about this, despite its relentless backbreaking slog.
Their commitment to natural winemaking techniques (sometimes it is difficult to detect much free SO2 in their wines !) is exemplary. They are nothing if not tenacious and full of passion for their profession.Their commitment to their terroir is also bordering on the fanatic even though they have been hard hit by hail these past years and when you first drive up to Vauxrenard (especially in fog) you wonder if this is not the end of the winemaking world.
There is no need to worry though : the wines are delicious, low alcohol, fruity, mineral, refreshing. In other words yummy. And you never really know what to expect. Some would view this as a defect. I tend to welcome it. I remember the time I tasted one of their first Chardonnay cuvees and was struck by the fact that it reminded me of Pouilly Fumé (wrong place, definitely wrong grape variety). I was dumbfounded until Bruno admitted there was a small amount of Sauvignon Blanc from years back planted with the Chardonnay. I am sure it helps this Chardonnay to stand out. Their Saint Véran is divine and razor-sharp but with luscious buttery notes. I have also sampled their Beaujolais Nouveau (unadulterated pleasure - this wine cries out to be drunk), Côte de Poquelin (the 2009 I have left is still going strong) and Moulin à Vent (this wine in particular has great depth and will age well if you can keep yourself from drinking it). This is good honest, traditional (i.e. no additions to the wine, no chemicals in the vineyard) wine making. Give it a try. You may not regret it. In fact it may change your life.
Do make the detour and call in if you get the chance. Isabelle has a shop in the village square which you cannot miss. http://cotes-de-la-moliere.com/
Wednesday, 4 January 2012
Natural Wine, China, the Universe and Everything
It is customary to make a list of things one would like to do or which one would like to see in the year ahead (world peace and harmony etc). I will not be doing this, as all this would amount to would be a litany of 'voeux pieux' as the French say - pious wishes which will never come to pass, made only to give oneself a warm feeling and show others how caring one is. I would like to set out some things I might be glad to see or which may have special significance over the next year. Here are a few of them.
With a spot of good fortune the 'debate' on Natural Wine will calm down and surpass the for or against, disgusting or delicious level; proponents of biodynamic or organic production will be looked upon as rational beings who have made an important choice rather than silly romantics or much worse. One day all of this will be the norm, at least among reasonable people. Let us get on with it. After all, what makes wine interesting, both from an organoleptic and philosophical standpoint, is it's diversity and ability to move the human spirit, to sooth the savage breast.
It would be great if instead of subsidising the middle class obsession with 'solar panels' aka photovoltaics our government could spend money on raising the abysmal standard of this country's existing housing stock, allowing the poorest people to benefit from warm, dry, comfortable homes, low energy costs and all the other benefits bestowed by living in a pleasant environment. It is a much more efficient use of resources to invest in energy conservation than spending on producing more and more appliances to produce more and more energy at a very high subsidised cost.
I would like Kevin McCloud to be successful in bringing more of his well insulated luminous homes to market and that George Clark will bring more empty houses into use. George's campaign is especially efficient as the buildings already exist; only limited resources are required to produce a great living environment unlike the dreaded lookalike new builds.
The (human) world will change utterly. I do not know whether a 'terrible beauty is born' but the 27th December 2011 headline (Le Figaro) that China and Japan will use the Yuan directly without converting to US Dollars seems to me to be particularly significant. It marks the end of European/American domination of the world. News that the Chinese have established an organisation similar to NASA and plan exploration of the Moon and perhaps Mars, as well as a space station, spell the end of serious manned space exploration by the USA and Russia. In future we will all be passengers of the Chinese or privatised space tourism outfits. This could all be good news for the Earth system, as the Chinese are well aware of the destruction caused to the environment by our species (they have extremely direct experience of this) and intend to do something about it (eventually-after they have achieved crushing economic dominance first, as they seem destined to do).
It will soon be possible to observe the atmospheric signature of small earth-sized planets orbiting neighbouring stars and identify the presence of oxygen, that sign of life only found where precious photosynthesis takes place and where life has formed its world, such as here on Earth. Or perhaps we will never find such signs, no matter how hard we try, and come to realise how precious Gaia is and change our ways. Whatever happens, may we realise that we must protect life wherever we find it and rejoice in it whether on this planet or on some distant body.
There. I think that will do for now. I can think of lots more but will not bore you with them today.
With a spot of good fortune the 'debate' on Natural Wine will calm down and surpass the for or against, disgusting or delicious level; proponents of biodynamic or organic production will be looked upon as rational beings who have made an important choice rather than silly romantics or much worse. One day all of this will be the norm, at least among reasonable people. Let us get on with it. After all, what makes wine interesting, both from an organoleptic and philosophical standpoint, is it's diversity and ability to move the human spirit, to sooth the savage breast.
It would be great if instead of subsidising the middle class obsession with 'solar panels' aka photovoltaics our government could spend money on raising the abysmal standard of this country's existing housing stock, allowing the poorest people to benefit from warm, dry, comfortable homes, low energy costs and all the other benefits bestowed by living in a pleasant environment. It is a much more efficient use of resources to invest in energy conservation than spending on producing more and more appliances to produce more and more energy at a very high subsidised cost.
I would like Kevin McCloud to be successful in bringing more of his well insulated luminous homes to market and that George Clark will bring more empty houses into use. George's campaign is especially efficient as the buildings already exist; only limited resources are required to produce a great living environment unlike the dreaded lookalike new builds.
The (human) world will change utterly. I do not know whether a 'terrible beauty is born' but the 27th December 2011 headline (Le Figaro) that China and Japan will use the Yuan directly without converting to US Dollars seems to me to be particularly significant. It marks the end of European/American domination of the world. News that the Chinese have established an organisation similar to NASA and plan exploration of the Moon and perhaps Mars, as well as a space station, spell the end of serious manned space exploration by the USA and Russia. In future we will all be passengers of the Chinese or privatised space tourism outfits. This could all be good news for the Earth system, as the Chinese are well aware of the destruction caused to the environment by our species (they have extremely direct experience of this) and intend to do something about it (eventually-after they have achieved crushing economic dominance first, as they seem destined to do).
It will soon be possible to observe the atmospheric signature of small earth-sized planets orbiting neighbouring stars and identify the presence of oxygen, that sign of life only found where precious photosynthesis takes place and where life has formed its world, such as here on Earth. Or perhaps we will never find such signs, no matter how hard we try, and come to realise how precious Gaia is and change our ways. Whatever happens, may we realise that we must protect life wherever we find it and rejoice in it whether on this planet or on some distant body.
There. I think that will do for now. I can think of lots more but will not bore you with them today.
Wednesday, 25 May 2011
Natural
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| An organic vineyard in Spring |
Grapes on their own or even grape juice on its own would rarely if ever produce something resembling wine without human intervention. The propensity of grape juice is to turn to vinegar if one is not very careful, and this is what happened no doubt in the past. First discovery, vinegar. And very useful it is too. Then one day a certain yeast got to work on the must and produced a fascinating alcoholic drink. The water became wine. The human winemaker has been seeking to reproduce and refine this process for thousands of years now, by and large successfully. The natural part of this process is the action of the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae selected for its ability to ferment reliably, stand up to relatively high alcohol and temperatures (thereby out competing other yeasts for access to the sugary juice) and provide some protection for the finished liquid as a by process. How natural is that ? Reasonably so, as long as that is all that happens and no other additives are used, except patience and letting the wine be.
The vineyard itself looks like nothing other than a very large garden. In modern times the vines themselves have become clones grafted on to various rootstocks provided by vine varieties conferring pest and disease resistance to the vine roots. Choice of grape variety and rootstock are all important for the success of the vineyard, and this does not happen by chance or over eons of evolution. The varieties found in most vineyards have been selected by growers because of their particular qualities, the rootstocks used to combat pests such as Phylloxera devastatrix or excesses and deficiencies of the soil. Typical problems of monoculture. Hence the need to foster biodiversity in all its forms in the vineyard and to ensure the soil can support healthy plants able to defend themselves. If not beware pests of all kinds and the doors are opened to chemistry in all its forms to provide protection.
There is not much that is natural in any part of the process of making a bottle of wine but lightness of touch and logical organic principles (in fact the oldest forms of non-chemical agriculture) can bring us closer to that mythical beast, a natural wine, the elixir of the Earth. Drink the Earth and drink to the Earth.
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