Natural wine

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Natural wine is wine made with minimal chemical and technological intervention in growing grapes and making them into wine. The term is used to distinguish such wine from organic wine. Organic wine is organic in the sense of having been produced made from organically grown grapes, but may be subject to chemical and physical manipulation in the winemaking process.[1]

Definitions

At the present time (2013) there exists no official or legal definition of natural wine; neither has any legislation been passed to date by any regional, national or supra-natural authority, and there are no organizations that can certify that a wine is natural.

However, there are many unofficial definitions or codes of practice published by the different associations of natural wine producers:

  • L´Association des Vins Naturels (France) [2]
  • Les Vins S.A.I.N.S (France) [3]
  • La Renaissance des Appellations (France) [4]
  • Vini Veri (Italy) [5]
  • Vinnatur (Italy) [6]
  • ZADRUGA SIMBIOSA EKOLOŠKO KMETIJSTVO Z.B.O. (Slovenia)
  • Asociación de Productores de Vinos Naturales de España (Spain) [7]
  • Philipp Wittmann, Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (Germany) [8]

The following articles also cover the definition, or lack of definition, of natural wines:

Wall Street Journal, by Lettie Teague http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424127887324436104578579650208883968.html

Decanter Magazine, by Isabelle Legeron MW http://www.decanter.com/people-and-places/wine-articles/529224/natural-wines

New York Times, by Eric Asimov http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/25/dining/natural-wines-worth-a-taste-but-not-the-vitriol.html?_r=0

The Telegraph, by Victoria Moore http://www.telegraph.co.uk/foodanddrink/wine/8495189/Be-wary-at-the-Natural-Wine-Fair.html

The New Zealand Herald http://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/news/article.cfm?c_id=6&objectid=10872020

Catavino, Tara O'Leary http://catavino.net/natural-wine-in-spain/

Jamie Goode http://www.wineanorak.com/wineblog/natural-wine/natural-wine-a-primer

Tim Atkin http://www.timatkin.com/articles?104

Andrew Jefford http://www.decanter.com/people-and-places/wine-articles/529015/andrew-jefford-august-2011-column

Criteria

The following basic criteria are generally accepted by most natural wine producers and organizations:

  • Organically or biodynamically grown grapes, with or without certification.
  • Dry-farmed, low-yielding vineyards.
  • Hand-picked.
  • No added sugars, no foreign yeasts, no foreign bacteria.
  • No adjustments for acidity.
  • No additives for color, mouth-feel, minerality, etc.
  • No external flavor additives, including those derived from new oak barrels, staves, chips, or liquid extract.
  • Minimal or no fining or filtration.
  • No heavy manipulation, such as micro-oxygenation, reverse osmosis, spinning cone, cryoextraction.
  • Minimal or no added sulphites aka sulfites.

International Natural Wine Fairs

  • ROOTSTOCK SYDNEY (Sydney, Australia) [9]
  • RAW (London, UK) [10]
  • REAL (London, UK) [11]
  • La Remise (Marseilles, France) [12]
  • Vini Circus (Dingé, France) [13]
  • A la Rencontre des Vins Naturels (Grenoble, France) [14]
  • La Beaujoloise (France) [15]
  • La Dive Bouteille (France) [16]
  • Villa Favorita (Italy) [17]
  • Salon de Vinos Naturales (Barcelona, Spain) [18]

Key individuals

The following people were or are particularly instrumental in the inspiration, production or communication of contemporary natural wine:

  • Giorgio De Maria, Mike Bennie, Linda Wiss, Matt Young, James Hird. Founders and organisers of Rootstock Sydney festival.
  • Rudolf Steiner, curator of biodynamics.
  • Maria Thun, author of the biodynamic calendar.
  • Masanobu Fukuoka, Japanese philosopher of farming.
  • Jules Chauvet, developer of carbonic maceration fermentation, sulphite free winemaking, and author.
  • Claude Bourguignon, French agricultural scientist, consultant and author.
  • Nicolas Joly, wine producer, head of Renaissance des Appellations Controlees, and spokesman for biodynamics.
  • Marcel Lapierre, wine producer, mentor, and early adopter of low to no sulphite winemaking.
  • Alice Feiring, American writer.
  • Josko Gravner, Italian wine producer and mentor.

Controversy

The term "Natural wine" is considered by Tom Wark to be a misleading term. There is no established certification body and the term has no legal status. Winemakers who describe themselves (or are described by others) as "natural" often differ in what they consider to be an acceptable level of intervention. The term might also confuse consumers into assuming that the wine is organically grown.

References

  1. ↑ Breton, Félicien: Organic wines
  2. ↑ http://www.lesvinsnaturels.org/
  3. ↑ http://vins-sains.org/category/La-charte/English
  4. ↑ http://renaissance-des-appellations.com/charte-de-qualite-renaissance-des-appellations/
  5. ↑ http://www.viniveri.net/en/il-manifesto
  6. ↑ http://www.vinnatur.org/pesticidi-free/?lang=en
  7. ↑ http://vinosnaturales.wordpress.com/vino-natural/
  8. ↑ http://weinverkostungen.de/was-ist-ein-naturwein/
  9. ↑ http://rootstocksydney.com
  10. ↑ http://www.rawfair.com/
  11. ↑ http://www.therealwinefair.com/
  12. ↑ http://laremise.fr/
  13. ↑ http://www.vinicircus.com/Exposants/Les-Exposants.html
  14. ↑ http://www.alarencontredesvinsnaturels.fr/
  15. ↑ http://beaujoloise.blogspot.com.es/
  16. ↑ http://diveb.blogspot.com.es/
  17. ↑ http://www.vinnatur.org/?lang=en
  18. ↑ http://www.elauladelvino.es/index.php/home-mainmenu-1/81-salon-de-vinos-naturales

Bibliography

Cinema

See also


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