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WINEMAKING "The fear is that without chemicals, wine is defenseless; but in fact it has built-in defenses." —Tony Coturri, Coturri Winery shipping and storage conditions. None of this automatically means they are "bad wines," but it does mean that a vast swath of casual wine drinkers will look else- where, even as a small slice of wine enthu- siasts revel in them. One of the elements Goode and Harrop include in their recipe for authentic wine is that it be sound—that is, not so marred by one or another fault that the sense of place gets lost. Their book includes a long chapter about the nature and origins of major wine faults, while suggesting that strict adherence to natural wine doctrines can increase the risk of developing most of them. A slight touch of this or that can be a complexing agent, but that's a very slip- pery slope. What does have great potential, Goode and Harrop argue, is for the entire wine industry to embrace movement in the di- rection of more natural winemaking as part of a commitment to authenticity— and, of course, as part of a narrative that would distinguish wine from generic bev- erage alcohol and thus be good marketing. What they aim for might not be "natural enough" for Feiring, but it would clearly be "more natural" than current practices. Something along these lines is already happening in vineyard practices with or- ganic, Biodynamic and broadly sustainable farming methods steadily gaining ground. Major retailers have had success by high- lighting sustainability/green-ness/purity as part of the appeal of wine. In the cellar, plenty of steps can be taken to reduce the environmental impact of winemaking and limit unnecessary manipulation and adul- teration. And there is plenty of room to challenge the dominance of a half-dozen "international" varieties with the amazing diversity of regional specialty grapes. Converting the industry to doctrinaire natural winemaking is not likely. But moving the industry's practices, not just its image, in a more natural dimension is quite possible. Winemakers speaking naturally Time to hear from some real-life winemak- ers. I spoke with four California producers whose wines would certainly fit Feiring's "natural enough" criterion; all four, in fact, are mentioned favorably in her book. Coturri Winery in Sonoma has been on the pretty-darn-natural path since 1979; Steve Edmunds at Edmunds St. John has made highly regarded, low-intervention, low- sulfite Rhone-style wines (and others) since 1985; Duncan Arnot Meyers and Nathan Lee Roberts are in their 10th unconven- tional vintage at Arnot-Roberts in Healds- burg, and Jared and Tracey Brandt, who learned their trade with leading French naturalist Eric Texier, have been putting out hands-off wines from warehouse space in Berkeley for several years, this year mak- ing The San Francisco Chronicle's short list of winemakers to watch. A prominent school of thought holds that making wine with no sulfites and whatever yeast happens to float by is a recipe for disaster. But if that were always true, these wineries would have been out of business long ago. Yes, there are some risks, but clearly those risks can be man- aged, sometimes for a decade or two at a time. So instead of asking these winemak- Trusted partners are hard to find. Founded on sustainable practices, Longview paper and packaging delivers high quality wine shippers and corrugated packaging to the wine industry. Serving California and the Northwest, our state of the art facilities are ready to meet your packaging needs and to exceed your expectations. Put your best box forward, call us direct or ask your glass vendor for Longview. Wine Shippers | Corrugated Cartons | Solid Fibre Slip Sheets | High Graphics Longview Fibre Paper and Packaging, Inc. longviewfibre.com Product info: wine@longfibre.com • Phone: 877.734.9321 Wines & Vines DeCeMBeR 2011 43