The Inside Story from Italian Wine Merchants

A Natural Dilemma

The on-going narrative of natural wines

The wine buying community has recently been gravitating towards wines that are made in a more “natural” way.  Capitalizing on this trend, producers are trying to produce wines with as little chemical intervention as possible—and then there are producers who talk the natural talk, but don’t walk the natural walk. Wine drinkers may notice a clear uptick in words like “natural,” “organic,” and “biodynamic,” but they might not really know what these words mean. I wanted to take the time to clear up the mystery and, in doing so, provide some clarity to your wine buying.

“Natural” means “being in accordance with or determined by nature.” Knowing the definition of the word makes hearing this expression in describing a product rubs me like coarse sandpaper because it’s so often a word deployed as a marketing strategy. For example, the word often appears on olive oil jars in the phrase “Made from 100% Natural Olives.” I wonder, doesn’t olive oil have to come from “natural” olives?  What is an artificial olive? Not to sound too much like the late, great George Carlin, but it’s a phrase whose inanity brings to mind the concept of preheating an oven.

Wine labeling presents a mystery similar to “natural” olive oil. There is no certification for “natural” wine. Some producers use the term, perhaps, to distinguish themselves from those employing organic or biodynamic winemaking methods. And yet, if wine is made from grapes (or, for that matter, any other fruit), then it is natural. While it’s true that some producers add yeast, flavorings or other additives to their wine when they make it, it’s also true that these practices don’t make the wine, well, artificial. As long as the yeasts, flavorings or additives were derived from naturally occurring compounds—and pretty much everything is—it’s natural. The term, then, is pretty empty except for being a sign that the producer of the product wants to capitalize on your love for nature.

The word “organic” literally means “of, relating to, or derived from living organisms” or “of, relating to, or containing carbon compounds.” But while the definition of “natural” led us to a clear understanding of the term, if not the marketing practice, the definition of “organic” kind of leads us down the garden path, though the practice is clearer. Organic farming, the practice of growing plants or animals without chemical intervention, does have clear, legal standards. In terms of wine, organic farming generally means that the grapes were farmed without the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers. However, there are different standards in different countries, or in different states in the US, for what makes agricultural practices organic. This means that you don’t always exactly know what you’re getting.

One major bugaboo over organic wines is the idea of sulfites. While in America, added sulfites are not allowed in organically made wine, that’s not true everywhere. Even so being organic doesn’t mean a wine won’t be free of sulfites. Sulfites occur naturally in wine, and you can’t forget that the addition of sulfites might be allowed under some other country’s laws.

“Biodynamic” takes organic one step further: it’s “a method of organic farming that treats farms as unified and individual organisms, emphasizing balancing the holistic development and interrelationship of the soil, plants, animals as a closed, self-nourishing system.” Based on the philosophical principals laid down by Rudolf Steiner, biodynamic practices are pretty complicated in practice and are not unlike relying on astrology to plan your future.

Making a multilevel commitment to the natural world, biodynamic winemakers (and other farmers) look to the moon and stars for cues of when to plant, fertilize, and harvest. Among other practices, bull horns are stuffed with flowers, herbs, manure and rocks, which are then planted somewhere in the vineyard. Whatever the voodoo, it does make for tasty wine. However, I tend to believe that the quality of wine could be attributed to the passion of the winemaker and the attention to detail that goes into biodynamic farming, rather than the mysterious practices. It’s strange, mystical and inscrutable but I am all for it.

It’s true that both organic and biodynamic wines cost more than wine from producers who don’t use these practices. Wine, like all other consumer products, is a commodity. Higher demand for a particular kind of wine will create higher costs—especially in organic wines because organic methods cause reduced yields. Instead of having a crop of 15,000 kilos with the use of traditional techniques, you may now have a crop of 9,500 kilos. On the other hand, these reduced yields also make wine taste better because the grapes have a higher concentration of flavors. It’s win in taste, if lose in money. But then, as the saying goes, you get what you pay for.

Here’s the bottom line. Sustainable and “green” agricultural practices make a lot of sense, whether you’re talking vegetables, meat or wine. I’ll buy wines made by organic or biodynamic producers not because I want to be healthy but because they taste good and because I like to support the green movement. But above all, beyond the use of organic methods or biodynamic methods or even conventional practices, I believe that winemakers should try to produce the best possible wines in the cleanest and most environmentally responsible way.

Wine should both taste good and keep the earth happy. After all, it’s natural.

Regrets, Radikon and Evolution

The too-short story of a bottle of wine

Having heard that my bottle of 1994 Radikon Merlot was in danger of evolving past its peak, I uncorked my bottle to enjoy it. The wine was pleasant upon opening, emitting scents of dried strawberries, along with Christmas spices and tea leaves. The wine felt initially giving and complex on the palate and possessed minerality and a vibrant acidity, a sign the grapes were picked early. I noted a presence of a green vegetal quality—also an indication of an early harvest— that was initially kept in balance by the wonderful dried strawberry notes. Within a few minutes the wine changed, the front and mid-palate began picking up bitterness from the seeds, while the back palate reeled from the explosion of long and intense fruit flavors. This was an intriguing development; in a wine of lesser quality, fruit flavors appear on the palate initially, and recede to be replaced by the bitter phenols from the seeds. However, the Radikon was doing the reverse.

“Where was this heading?” I asked myself. There was no denying that this light-bodied wine packed a powerful strawberry wallop in the initial moments in the glass. I wondered, “Would this wine reveal more or would it end soon, having shown its all?”  It seemed too much to ask from a sixteen-year-old wine for its performance to remain at this intense level.  Eventually, I regretfully observed, the Radikon’s delightful dried fruit flavors dissipated, leaving behind the bitter notes of the seeds. I wondered what more this wine could have expressed had it been opened earlier.

And yet, wine evolves. Two hours later a new aroma began emanating from my glass. “What was this?” I thought, “Surely the wine had gone past its way.” I tasted again and found a wine that was coming into itself. The flavors and the acids had become integrated and expressive of cherries, in a tangy, savory, umami way; the bitter tannins were now non-existent. The green quality had also dissipated and was replaced by a musky quality. It was a delicious revelation.

Wine evolves, as the truism goes, and this bottle of Radikon proves the veracity of that idea. Indeed, I’m reminded that getting to know a wine means having more than just one bottle of it. A bottle holds only a small portion of the entire vintage. Each bottle upon opening tells the story of where it came from, and where it may go. To truly know the wine and the vintage you’d have to possess several bottles from the vintage and experience them over the course of time.

This ’94 Merlot’s performance indicates it could have been cellared longer. However, I have no regrets about opening it. Rather, having experienced this Radikon, I regret not having more of it—and being able to taste more of it over time. Wine evolves, and remarkable wine evolves remarkably. Unquestionably, this ’94 Radikon is a remarkable wine.

Spread the Word

Chefs and Winemakers Talk at Brooklyn’s iCi

Two topics bookended the evening’s discussion at a recent de Montille and Deux Montille wine dinner at Brooklyn’s iCi restaurant: global warming and the subjectivity of organics. The discussion began with global warming and its effects on grape vines and wine styles, but by the end of the evening, the conversation grew much more complicated. Winemaker Etienne de Montille, who farms organically and expects to be certified biodynamic within a few years; the owner of iCi, which focuses on local and seasonal and green food; a chef from Savoy, a restaurant with views similar to those of iCi; and the owner of a Brooklyn wine store specializing in small production wines all made impassioned and cogent points in discussing whether or not it is better to buy a local product, which is more green from a climate change perspective, or an organic product, which is ostensibly safer for consumption, that had to travel a few thousand miles.  This discussion inevitably brought up the sad truth that many consumers have lost faith in the USDA “organic” label (whereas in Europe “organic” certifications are held in higher esteem due to strict, on-going soil sampling and other testing). It was an amazingly dense and layered discussion.

The consensus was that caring consumers need to learn about their food and wine sources to make informed purchases.  Tags like “organic,” “sustainable,” “local” and “imported” leave much grey area that begs for interpretation. Therefore, when we caring consumers hear about, learn of, or stumble onto good food and wine, we must all spread the word – to our benefit today and for future generation’s benefits tomorrow!  At IWM, we spread the word by sharing our insights on the producers we personally know and support and hope you will pass on the joys of wine you discover with us to your friends and family.