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Inquiring Winemaker TIM P A T TERSON Natural, Natural Enough, And Sort of Natural n the past decade, a potpourri of unconventional winemaking strate- gies loosely grouped under the ru- bric of "natural winemaking" have received an immense amount of press and engendered countless ar- guments. Techniques ranging from sponta- I APPROVALS TTB LABEL Low per-label costs Gov't. Liaison Negotiations or Footwork Reasonable Hourly Rates TRADEMARK SEARCHES As Low as $185 Your trade names or designs are searched at the U.S. Patent Office to help establish valuable ownership Over 100 years' total staff experience handling every government liaison need for industry. or avoid costly legal liability. Phone or write for details. Phone: (703) 524-8200 Fax: 525-8451 TOLL-FREE 1-800-642-6564 Major Credit Cards Accepted www.trademarkinfo.com Since 1957 200 N. Glebe Rd., Suite 321 Arlington, Virginia 22203 40 Wines & Vines DeCeMBeR 2011 GovtLiaison_Dir08 11/29/07 2:00 PM Pag neous fermentations to eliminating sulfite additions—from fermenting whites on the skins ("orange wines") to fermenting reds in clay amphorae buried in the ground— have gained adherents, detractors and photo ops. Now the natural wine "movement"— it is, of course, a little looser than that— has become enough of a big deal that it features prominently in two new books. In "Authentic Wine," British scientist and wine writer Jamie Goode and New Zea- land-born consulting winemaker and mas- ter of wine Sam Harrop examine a number of practical issues in wine production to sort out the philosophical and technical concerns. Writer Alice Feiring's "Naked Wine" recounts her meetings and conver- sations with an international who's who of natural winemakers who are, as you might expect, a colorful group. Both books, plus my own discussions with practitioners of more or less natu- ral winemaking, help throw some light on three major questions about this en- tire trend: 1) What exactly is the definition of "natural winemaking?" Is there one? Does declaring some wines "natural" imply the rest are "unnatural?" Is there some middle ground between letting microbes run free and soulless industrial extrusion? 2) Does the natural wine movement, however loosely defined, have any signifi- cant commercial potential? Can its influ- ence extend beyond hipster wine bars into the mass-market mainstream? 3) Whatever the contours and potential of this quasi-movement, are there tech- niques and approaches that natural, hands- Highlights • A loosely defined "natural winemaking movement," though tiny in production numbers, has received great attention in recent years. • Two new books offer informative takes on the subject. • Talking to winemakers who practice these methods offers some things for conven- tional winemakers to ponder. off, minimalist winemakers employ—in addition to all the things they don't do— that more conventional winemakers could learn from? "Natural" as opposed to...what? Interestingly enough, neither of these books puts the term "natural" in its title, though Goode and Harrop's subtitle is "Toward Natural and Sustainable Wine- making" and Feiring's is "Letting Grapes Do What Comes Naturally." Goode and Harrop apparently had "Natural Wine" as their working title, but then substi- tuted "Authentic" to signify something broader—not just minimizing adultera- tion and manipulation in the cellar, but having a sense of place, maintaining the diversity of grapes and styles and incor- porating environmental responsibility. Feiring concentrates on natural wine-