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.

Beaujolais naturellement

View from around Vauxrenard

I have not in recent times posted very much on one of the themes of this blog, that is, wine. So to make amends I will be writing briefly from time to time on some producers I know and value, or putting down a few words on wines I have been drinking. Here is the first wine-themed post.

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/

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.