Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/70680
WINEMAKING The issues Winemakers have been marching for natu- ralness a lot longer than consumers. If our parade seems aimless, a clear set of instruc- tions would help. The movement's tacit assumption—that traditional winemaking is in sync with the agendas of environmentalists, the health- conscious and the terroirists—is quite simply false. These groups require radical change in the way winemaking is done, not more of the same. The natural wine movement coalesced around two sources of consumer dissat- isfaction: boredom with industrial stan- dardization and mistrust of disingenuous winemakers. Nothing divides the natural wine move- ment more sharply than the issue of sulfite- free wines. The requirement imposed by the Organic Food Production Act and written into federal requirements for the organic wine designation in 1990 resulted in ex- cluding mainstream production of organic wine and confining it to well less than 1% of producers. The category is generally avoided by connoisseurs and collectors because of its reputation for inconsistency and poor shelf life. Bingo: a schism be- tween connoisseurs and health activists. Terroirists are skeptical of new enological practices that may make wines taste alike. We do have a short list of things the eight constituencies could agree on, but it's noth- ing to build a movement around. Reduc- tion or elimination of chemical herbicide and pesticide sprays and encouragement of cover crops is good for the environment and for wine balance. The use of GMOs goes against tradition and also raises en- vironmental and perhaps human health issues. Additives such as tannins, enzymes and Mega Purple, though commonplace conventional tools, are outside the scope of traditional winemaking and provide no environmental or health benefits. But there is room for lively debate among these groups. I'll touch on a few more points of difference. Chaptalization and acidulation: Cor- rections of deficiencies in musts (sugar in France and tartaric acid in the U.S.) have been so commonplace for hundreds of years that most traditionalists forget that the Bordeaux First Growths really should sport a "contains beet sugar" ingredient la- bel for most vintages. Without this adjust- ment, much great French wine would be thin and sour, so collectors wouldn't have it any other way, but purists understand- ably balk. Similarly, consumers of New World wines interested in balanced alcohol and rich terroir expression will prefer the re- moval of excessive alcohol via technology. Something like 40% of French AOC wines and a like percentage of California wines are alcohol adjusted to correct their bal- ance to 13%-14%. Balanced wines not only taste better, they better reflect their place of origin. COMPLETE CRUSHPAD SYSTEMS LT™ & LT™ 2+2 (MOG Separators) Fruit Receiving Systems Bin Dumpers Sorting Tables Belt Conveyors Screw Conveyors Vibratory Conveyors Presses Destemmers & Peristaltic Pumps Destemmers, Mohno Pumps & Crush Rollers USED BY THE FINEST WINERIES TO ACHIEVE THE BEST RESULTS Call Now to Schedule Design Appointments! CA Contractor's #803431, OR Contractor's #180330 WA Contractor's #PLSPELS923BZ P 707 573 3141 • F 707 573 3140 www.pnlspecialties.com Santa Rosa, California 95403 1650 Almar Parkway SOLUTIONS • EXPERTISE • QUALITY • SATISFACTION Wines & Vines MAY 2011 73