Natural Wine & Sustainability

Two concepts have entered the world of wine in recent years which we feel we should update you on; “Natural Wine” and “Sustainability”.  Here, therefore, is our take on them with a quick reminder of a couple of other related terms:

Let’s address the concept of Sustainable Wine first, which we should consider alongside Organic and Biodynamic Wine.  You could think of these three terms as representative of increasing levels of commitment from wine producers towards the environment.  Of the three terms only Organic carries a recognised definition.

The definition of Organic wine (or more accurately wine made from organically grown grapes) differs slightly from country to country and it’s the definition of the country of origin that matters, not the country of sale.  Differences tend to be fairly minor though, with the general acceptance that no synthetic fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides are ever used in the vineyard.  There’s a qualification period of at least 3 years for a vineyard to gain organic certification and you are likely to find a badge on the back label of the bottle to let you know if a wine has been made from organically grown grapes.  Our usual caveat applies though in that we have always cautioned that it is perfectly possible to take a beautiful organically grown harvest of grapes and screw it up in the winery. 

The point about Organic Certification is that producers who work towards it and qualify do so because they care about the environment and think that doing so helps produce better fruit.  Although the certification only relates to that which happens in the vineyard, it is not unreasonable to also conclude that equal care will be shown at every stage of the winemaking process.

Biodynamic practices tend to exist at a level beyond Organic and are based on the principles laid down by a chap called Rudolf Steiner.  Steiner was an Austrian philosopher and social reformer who was approached by a group of farmers in 1924 seeking help and advice on the future of agriculture.  Steiner responded with a series of lectures setting out not only what we would recognise from the definition of Organic farming practices, but also going beyond that.  Steiner encouraged the view that a farm should be regarded as an entire self-sustaining organism with every aspect of its agriculture being both self-supporting and mutually supportive of every other aspect. 

Steiner also proposed that the timing of various agricultural activities such as pruning, weeding, sowing and harvesting, should be timed with the phases of the moon and planets to make use of their believed effects on plant growth.  The scientific jury is still out on several aspects of what Steiner proposed, but those who follow these practices do claim that they work.  Winemakers who treat the environment with this degree of respect are surely a good thing, regardless of what you think of the science (or lack of it) behind that.

Sustainable wine has no formal definition but is a sign that a winemaker is looking further than simply what happens in the vineyard – it’s really about being socially responsible in an economically sustainable way.  Running a business with an environmental conscience if you like.  Lengths taken to reduce packaging, minimise a carbon footprint, recycle water, clad all the roofs with solar panels, use rechargeable battery powered fork-lifts and pallet trucks (for instance) could all be considered under the banner of sustainability.  Such steps might be taken in addition to following organic or biodynamic vineyard practices, and there are some organisations in some countries that offer formal recognition of sustainability in wine production.

Central to the concept of sustainability is putting your workforce at the centre of your production, no longer underpaying itinerant pickers and warehouse grunts but ensuring training, a regular year round wage and, in less advantaged parts of the world, making provision of educational and medical facilities.

You may also have heard the term Natural Wine.  It sounds enticing at face value: who doesn't like the idea of wine that sounds so redolent of cleanness and purity?  Sorry, it's not as simple as that.   There is no official definition of "natural" but it is generally accepted that it refers to a “hands off” approach from the winemaker; letting nature do as much of the work as possible.  As long as this philosophy is in the hands of producers who have deep knowledge of their own geology, microclimate and fruit, together with a fastidious brilliance in their winemaking, you should be safe.  However, as produced by growers without the wherewithal and experience to embrace the whole principle of the idea, it can be a very disappointing experience.  Please be assured that Wines of Interest is not interested in sour wines buried in clay pots for ages and paraded in the name of tradition as an ancient craft fully in tune with today's zeitgeist.  Or some such marketing crap. Many winemakers have been doing this for decades before anyone uttered the words “natural wine”, and many continue to do so without feeling the need to jump on this fashionable bandwagon and claim their wines to be “natural”.  To do so would imply that some wines were somehow unnatural.  Less natural perhaps, in the case of some of the mass produced examples, but not unnatural.  Unnatural would be that fluorescent blue stuff sold in night clubs…  Any wine for which the sales stich is," Buy me, I'm natural", should be approached with care and preferably following research.

More recently people do seem to have got something of a bee in their bonnet regarding the “contains sulphites” wording that first appeared on wine bottles back in 2002.  We have always maintained that the precise levels of sulphites in any wine should be stated on the label just as the alcoholic content is, so that consumers could make a more informed buying decision, but we’re not there yet.  Sulphites are actually a natural bi-product of the fermentation process but winemakers generally add a touch of Sulphur Dioxide to wines because doing so brings added protection to the wine from oxidation and bacterial spoilage.  Wine left without this protection is likely to be less stable and spoil more easily but, as with the other aspects addressed in this blog, it’s all about responsible viticulture and vinification.  You may be interested to know that sulphites are also widely used in tinned and processed food, soft drinks and especially dried fruits where the legal limit for their use is ten times higher than the limit for wine.

So, what should you, as someone who enjoys and appreciates a glass of wine or two, do with all this information?  Organic labels are usually easy to spot, but there’s no definition or certification for those following biodynamic practices, or any clues about sustainability.  The solution is to “know your winemaker”.  It quickly becomes evident from their general ethos who the ones are that care for the environment and take a responsible approach to their activities.  You can bet that if a winemaker demonstrates a highly responsible approach to viticulture with organic or biodynamic practices in the vineyard he is likely to be taking a sustainable approach in the winery too, and equally likely to be leaving his/her wines as natural as possible. 

If “knowing your winemaker” still seems a bit distant and unrealistic the next best thing is to “know your Wine Merchant” so just ask them (us) instead, they will know who the good guys are… We currently identify wines made from organically grown grapes on our website (use the drop down box search facility on the left hand side of the webpage called “other” and select “organic” before clicking “search”) and you will find references in tasting notes to those who follow biodynamic practices.  We will also be working towards flagging up those producers who follow sustainable practices so you’ll be able to pick out those as well in due course.  In the meantime, just ask…

Doing The Right Thing

Some things are just instinctive, like chasing that shoplifter the other day who burst into the shop just before we closed and helped himself to a six pack of someone else’s wine, boxed up earlier that day and awaiting collection.  There was no thinking required, it was just obvious.  It was simply the right thing to do.  Naturally I hadn’t anticipated the cuts, bruises and ruptured Achilles tendon I sustained as I tried to chase him down, nor the extended period which still lies ahead of me with my foot in a sweaty support boot.  However it does present the opportunity to write this long-planned piece on Sustainability and Natural Wines (whatever they are…).  It feels like the right time.



My father was always eager to stress the importance of “doing the right thing”, almost to the point of obsession, and in all my years in the wine trade I have met many wine producers of like mind.  These are people making wine responsibly, from the point of view not only of the wine, but also the environment, their customers, employees and the wider community.  The effects of their irreproachable standards reach way beyond the vineyard; this approach now has a name that’s becoming a buzzword in the trade - Sustainability.



In recent days it has surely become obvious that there are two contradicting ways to react to our planet’s need for us to live in a more sustainable way; we can either dig up lawns, block roads and generally make a nuisance of ourselves in the vain hope that our misbehaviour will persuade others to behave better (still not sure how that’s supposed to work), or we can lead by example with each of us doing our bit towards a more sustainable lifestyle.  I know which I prefer, I know which I do and I know which I think others will find more persuasive.  People choosing the latter course tend not to bang on about it though.  For most wine producers it’s not even a commercial choice to seek some sort of advantage in the marketplace, it’s simply the way it should be done.  I thought it worth illustrating what just one of our producers is doing to help.



Those who have been there (and admittedly I haven’t) say that Emiliana’s holdings in Chile feel more like a nature reserve than a winery.  Organic and Biodynamic practices have been part of their ethos for years.  They also seek to minimise carbon emissions by adding organic matter to the vineyards which helps to stabilise carbon that would otherwise be released to the atmosphere.



Emiliana began their conversion to organic status in 1998 – several years before Saint Greta was born - and are now 100% organic.  They were the first South American winery to produce Biodynamic wines (in 2006) and are now 100% biodynamic.  They produce an annual Sustainability Report and run a Bio-intensive Garden programme which now extends to 12 neighbouring vineyards.  They have an Employee Programme which sees the production of both alpaca and sheep’s wool as well as natural honey and olive oil from their own trees.  Returns from the sale of these products goes directly back to the employees.  Plastic and glass is all recycled and whatever can be composted is.  They track their CO2 emissions and constantly monitor water, electricity and gas consumption.  They don’t harp on about it (though this information is on their website) they simply see their methods as the right course to take.



In many ways it reminds me of the early days of organic wine (or, more correctly, wine made from organically grown grapes) where guidelines eventually emerged that many winemakers realised they were already working to, and which were formalised by a set of rules, policed by a governing body of some sort, with certification awarded for people doing it properly.



We’re not at that point yet with “sustainability”, although embryonic certification now exists, or for that matter “natural wines”, which is the second subject of this article.  Neither concept yet has an official definition, but it is not hard to have a stab at what the terms mean – essentially they both really amount to just doing the right thing.



A few people have had a bash at defining what the term “natural wine” means, though I’ve yet to meet a customer who really knows what they are asking for when they enquire about them.  Some people are preoccupied with sulphite levels, others with fining agents (vegans mostly…one once asked us what the glue was made from that stuck the label to the bottle) but nobody has yet come in with a question about cryoextraction. Any yet-to-emerge definition for natural wines is likely to include such things as the following which is the Natural Wines Charter of one of our suppliers.  In the absence of a recognised definition they drew up their own you see.  Here it is:

·         No irrigation

·         Hand-Picked

·         No added sugars, yeast or bacteria

·         No adjustments for acidity

·         No external flavour additives other than those imparted by barrels

·         Minimal or no fining

·         Light filtration (or none)

·         No heavy manipulation, such as micro-oxygenation, reverse osmosis, spinning cone or cryoextraction

·         Total sulphites typically less than 70mg/litre

Now it turns out that many of the people we buy from were already following some, if not all, of the guidelines that potentially govern what a Natural Wine is, they just don’t shout about it.  They’ve never felt the need.  They’ve always done it this way because it was the way their forbears did it and it worked for them, so why change?  In the early days of growing interest in organics, I remember trying to assemble a list of our producers who were growing organically and sent out a barrage of emails, “Right chaps, who’s doing this then? Customers are asking you see…” A few responded but the overwhelming response was silence.  Especially from France.  They just didn’t relate to the question and one could sense the collective shrug of the shoulders from across the channel and mutterings along the lines of “My farzer, ee made ze wine zis way, and his farzer before ‘im.  Zay ‘ad no chemicals or machines.  Just ze soil, ze grapes and ze love of ze wine and zum friends to ‘elp out picking ze grapes.” 



Be careful though folks, it is a common assumption that if a bottle of wine is labelled “natural” it’s got to be better because it sounds wholesome and reassuring but it is definitely not a guarantee of quality.  It can also suggest that any bottle not described as “natural” is somehow unnatural, which is not the case: it’s made from grapes and what could be more natural than a cleanly grown piece of fruit?



What you do, or don’t do to that piece of fruit will affect the quality of your finished wine and there’s an incredibly fine line between “natural” and unstable.  Turn down the sulphite level for instance and the risk increases greatly that wines will re-ferment, oxidise or just be spoilt by bacteria, and nobody wants to drink wines that look, smell or taste as if they’ve been drunk already… You’ve got to be prepared to poke up with sediment, and potentially higher prices which are the inevitable consequence of lower yields.  On the other hand, you’ll be able to count your purchases as part of “doing the right thing”.



This is all very well but it’s important to remember that the Wines of Interest approach has always been one that puts quality above all else.  You would rather buy clean wine of purity and character than some oxidised bottle of lightly cloudy, cidery white that has been buried in clay amphora and costs £18.95, labelled “natural”.  Badges for “organic” or “natural” or even “sustainable” are nice to see certainly, but if the quality isn’t there, and with it value for money, we won’t list it.  “This wine is delicious and, by the way, it happens to be organic”, goes down much better than “This wine is organic but tastes awful”. 



Our priority is for lovely, well made wine first and foremost.  That won’t change.  Good wine and good value first, anything else is a bonus.  That’s always been our approach, but we are seeing an increasing number of producers who are doing the right thing, in terms of the environment, their employees and the wider community and it makes sense for us to tell you about them, as and when they think of telling us…