• NATURAL WINE, A MAJOR MOVEMENT

    par | Mar 10, 2018

    From ELIN MCCOY | DECANTER Newsletter – March 9, 2018

    Natural wine has arguably been the major movement of the 21st Century wine world, writes Elin McCoy, ahead of the Raw Wine Fair in London and after visiting the New York version of the show, reporting on how natural wine has become a ‘lifestyle choice’ for a new generation.

    I had that thought in mind at New York’s second annual Raw Wine fair [November 2017], the global exposition of natural wines founded by French MW (‘Master of Wine’) Isabelle Legeron.
    First off, the NY fair was squirreled away in a warehouse district in hipster Brooklyn, rather than in glitzy Manhattan. The producers’ tables were lined up in a reclaimed industrial space with a cavernous, artist’s loft appeal: high ceilings, rough brick walls, giant windows, exposed beams and concrete floors.

    Natural-winesThe unmistakable vibe of ‘We’re all rebel artisan producers here’ sent a warning and a promise: don’t expect polished or, heaven forbid, luxury bottles; this is the gritty, real stuff, made by real people from real grapes grown in real vineyards.

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  • DO WE NEED A NATURAL WINE ALTERNATIVE?

    par | Fév 8, 2017

    From HUGH JOHNSON / DECANTER Feb 3, 2017

    Can you send a ‘natural’ wine back because it’s horrible to drink, or have you implicitly accepted the possibility and committed yourself to paying when you ordered it?

    I’ve been caught out that way once or twice.  With today’s new ideas of what’s deemed to be acceptable or appropriate, or even threatening, I’m not sure how to react.

    Part of me says: ‘Come on, you old square. New generations see things in different ways.  Taste them differently too, no doubt.  You’re not great on Tracey Emin, either, are you?  Wines like unmade beds are the In Thing.  Just right for confusion foods.’

    If I go to an art gallery, the evidence is before my eyes: I can see, judge and not buy. (suite…)

  • WHAT’S IN ‘NATURAL’ WINE?

    par | Mai 31, 2013

    By ERIC ASIMOV — From ‘The Pour’ in The New York Times — May 30, 2013

    In London, RAW brought together producers of ‘natural’ wines with others in the trade and the public. The producers who took part in the artisan wine fair were required to list additives and processing techniques used.

    If only the grapes were the whole story!
    Wine has been described as the perfect beverage because the grapes contain all the ingredients necessary to create their transformation. Put grapes in a vat, and over time the yeasts coating the skins set alchemy in motion, converting the sugar in the juice into alcohol. It was just this sort of unbidden fermentation that inspired humans so long ago to spend the next few millenniums improving their methods of winemaking.

    A few wines are still made in this way, or at least in approximation, with no other ingredients except the possible addition of sulfur dioxide, which has been used for eons as a stabilizer and preservative. Yet it’s no secret that many wines (most, in fact) include a lot more than grapes, yeast and sulfur. The list in some cases can be staggering. (suite…)

  • THE COMING WINE WAR

    par | Juin 30, 2011

    By JAMIE GOODIE — THE WINE ANORAK — June 27th, 2011

    There’s a clash of cultures in the world of fine wine, and before too long it could become a war.
    On the one hand, we have the fine wine establishment, which is dominated by Bordeaux, but also includes the top Champagne houses, as well as a few others such as the super-Tuscans.  Wine as a luxury good or an investment vehicle.  It’s where the money is.
    On the other hand, the emerging terroiriste/natural wine movement.  This is somewhat counterculture, and its development as a category threatens the status quo of fine wine.

    As the message of authentic wine with a sense of place – made by people driven by passion rather than profit – gains traction, it is causing a degree of discomfort in the fine wine establishment.

    While things are currently very rosy-looking for the top Bordeaux properties, I wouldn’t be surprised if the more enlightened proprietors are casting an anxious glance at the success of events such as the three day natural wine fair held in Borough market this May, just as the large (and currently dominant) Champagne houses have been discomfited by the critical acclaim given to grower Champagnes.

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