An Argument for Natural Wine: Part 3

We have now followed the progression that has led to the current state where wines have largely lost their individuality and their ability to express their unique sense of place.  The problem, we have determined is more fundamental that just a shift in tastes, but begins with industrialized processes that have stripped soils of their ability to grow healthy, happy vines and thus healthy grapes.  The deficiency in quality of the fruit must then be made up for in the wine-making process by employing all sorts of mechanical and chemical dressing-up.  So, what's wrong with that you may ask, as long as we are getting a consistent product?  Well, I for one am not willing to give up the wonderful living, characterful qualities of wine that come from living soil for consistency.  And yes, I am willing to accept the occasional funky or downright nasty bottle in the process.  Consider my opening paragraph in part one of this article.  If wine is created through hundreds of chemical reactions of over a thousand compounds, just think what kind of havoc every bit of human intervention can wreak in that process.  Just think about how much of a wine's natural character is lost.  There is no way a grape's natural depth and complexity can shine when we start with fruit that has been robbed of it's natural chemical integrity through sterile, artificially nurtured soils, and then treated with mechanical and chemical processes in the winery that further upset the natural progression towards what wine should be.  

But, you may ask, is it realistic to expect wine makers to turn back the clock and forgo the benefits of modern technology and risk loss of profits?  Maybe not.  At least not in the short-term.  But I do think that the clock has begun to turn back in subtle ways as consumers have begun to discover the beauty and depth of naturally produced wines.  One thing I am definitely not in favor of are the superficial marketing ploys of some large producers who claim to be "organic," "Biodynamic," or "green," but do not fully buy in to these principles in practice.  Some of these producers may even have good intentions, going part or all the way towards keeping vineyards free of chemicals, but still feel the need to manipulate their wines in the cellar in order to please today's wine palate.  Some make the argument that large-scale producers cannot afford to take the risk or the higher production costs of going all in on natural wine production.  This may be true for large-scale producers who are interested only in creating marginal wines for the masses, and I suppose there is a place for that.  But in the end I am not interested in those wines and my goal is to prove to the world that there is no reason to drink such mass-produced plonk.  I have tasted plenty of truly exciting wines in the value price range that are naturally produced and I want to get others to experience them.  That is the main mission of this blog.  My experience and my intuition tells me that when people taste naturally produced wines, nine out of ten will have no problem breaking their allegiance to today's boring fruit and oak bombs. 

So, I think the answer to the acceptance and return to naturally produced, terroir-driven wines lies in what has already begun to happen in the wine world.  Over the past few years small producers have begun to realize that the way to break into and compete against the globalized big-wine industry is not by mimicking and amplifying the accepted international wine styles, but with a return to authenticity.  At some point, I suspect, big producers will have no choice but to accept the reality of new, refined consumer palates and will make the shift towards more costly, labor-intensive practices.  This process may take it's sweet time, but my guess is that it will happen.  In the meantime, there is the wonderfully exciting prospect of an ever-growing number of small producers all over the world working in concert with nature to grow healthy grapes and allowing them to do their thing with minimal intervention in the cellar to create superbly unique and truly wonderful wines.  Here on the Grapes of Rand we will continue to seek out these wines and to profile their producers.  We will continue to follow the natural wine renaissance in its seminal hotbeds such as the Loire Valley, Alsace, Burgundy and Austria, as well as places such as Oregon, Southern France,  South America, and New Zealand, where exciting natural wine producers are popping up like cover crop.  I hope you will continue to join us on our journey and spread the word to those still swimming the seas of industrial wine.