Will new rules make “natural wines” more normal? | Britt on Forbes

Share / Like:

Share / Like:

Natural wines are the darlings of sommeliers and wine bars around the world at the moment. But what is a natural wine? For some people, it is a style of wine, a style that you recognize easier than the origin or the grape variety. Often the “style” is unusual, not to say odd, with wines that can smell of barnyard or cider.

For some “natural” wine producers though, it is a style of winemaking rather than a style of wine. They want to make “normal”, clean wines using as little additives as possible.

VinNatur in Italy is an association that is very serious about making natural wines that in some ways breaks with the “tradition” of natural wines in that they want to have clear rules on what “natural wine” means, something that is rare on the natural wine scene. They have defined strict rules both in the vineyard and in the wine cellars, that their members are obliged to follow.

What is the result?

When the "blind" part is over at the VinNatur workshop
When the “blind” part is over at the VinNatur workshop, copyright BKWine Photography

What follows is a longer version of an article published on Forbes.

“Natural wine” is one of the trendiest segments on the hip wine scene these days. And it is making inroads on the consumer market. But one of the issues with this is that there is really no definition of what “natural wine” is, no agreed or accepted rules on how to make it. And the style varies hugely, from cider or barnyard smelling “funky” wines to “normal” wines.

Some people are trying to change that. I recently met with Angiolino Maule who has created the organisation VinNatur in Italy.

Natural wine is not an easy concept to grasp. I don’t particularly like the word “natural” – used by too many people in a rather flimsy way, and implying that other wines are not “natural”. But we use it for lack of a better word. An association in Italy called VinNatur, however, proves that natural wines don’t have to be flimsy or even taste funny or funky.

VinNatur has around 200 wine growers as members, spread all over Italy and a few abroad. They work hard to make good wines according to very strict rules in the vineyard and in the winery. They are serious about making natural wines.

The aim of VinNatur is to “grow vines and produce quality wines, using natural methods that are tied to the territory, without being forced by technology”. This means, to start with, that the members also have to be European Union (EU) certified for organic wine.

So, no synthetic pesticides, insecticides or herbicides are permitted, no GMO and only organic fertilizers. Copper and sulphur (which are organically approved pesticide) to fight fungus diseases can be used but in smaller quantities than allowed by EU organic rules. VinNatur members can use only 3 kilos of copper per hectare (2.46 acres) and year, instead of the organic EU limit of 6 kilos. Also, only hand picking is allowed.

Angiolino Maule, founder of VinNatur and winemaker at La Biancara
Angiolino Maule, founder of VinNatur and winemaker at La Biancara, copyright BKWine Photography

“We do a lot of research and experiments. We need to learn how to respect the ecosystem, to understand the different weeds, how not to disturb the balance between different insects”, says Angiolino Maule. He is a wine grower in Gambellara, near Soave in Veneto, at the vineyard called La Biancara, as well as being the founder of VinNatur. “We want to understand what we have in the soil, understand why vines in certain plots have diseases”, says Angiolino.

It is inside the winery that the term “natural” as opposed to “organic” becomes evident. VinNatur members have to refrain from using most of the tools and additives open to other wine producers.

Tasting wines at the VinNatur workshop
Tasting wines at the VinNatur workshop, copyright BKWine Photography

Only wild yeast is permitted for the fermentation. In fact, the only additive VinNatur members can use is sulphur dioxide, and only in very low quantities. For white, sparkling and sweet wines the limit is 50 milligrams/litre and for red and rosé, 30 mg/litre. This is very little but the guidelines also state that the members should work towards reducing it even more.

Temperature control during the fermentation is permitted. They can do a light filtration and also use gas (carbon dioxide, argon or azote) to keep the wine protected from air (from oxidation). And that’s it. Everything else, such as bentonite, enzymes, heat treatment, reverse osmosis, acidification, deacidification, electrodialysis etc. is forbidden.

The VinNatur blind tasting workshop
The VinNatur blind tasting workshop, copyright BKWine Photography

These guidelines are not recommendations and this is where VinNatur stand out from most other “natural wine” groupings or independent producers. They are rules that the members must follow. An independent certification institute, recognized by the Italian Ministry of Agriculture, checks that they respect the rules.

VinNatur is, at least for the moment, aimed at small wine estates, using their own grapes. Is it not possible for bigger scale wineries to work in this way? “It is difficult when too many people are involved”, says Angiolino. “You have to be present. That is the key role of the person in charge”. The 200 member wineries have on average 9 hectares (22 acres) of vineyards.

Over 200 wines at the VinNatur workshop
Over 200 wines at the VinNatur workshop, copyright BKWine Photography

At a tasting in June in Veneto, I tasted around 200 VinNatur wines together with journalists from different countries. It was an interesting tasting in many ways, not least because it contradicted some tasters’ opinion of natural wines. One taster, a true natural wine aficionado, expected easy drinking, juicy, not-so-serious-wines, the style natural wines often have, and was disappointed when he found none. And it was also quite different from my own, quite extensive experience of tasting “natural wines” previously in other contexts, wines that have often been strange of funky.

Most VinNatur members make “normal” wines. It is just that they make them in a way that is as natural as possible.

I was sitting next to Franco Giacosa at the tasting. Franco is a quite famous person in Italy as he is the former head winemaker at the big producer called Zonin. He is now retired from Zonin and doing what he really loves. He is working as a consultant for VinNatur and helps the growers to make flawless wines with these very strict rules. It is not always easy to do, he says, and he did find some faulty wines at the tasting. “But”, he says, “it is an ongoing process, we are all learning.”

You can find a list of the VinNatur members here.

Chose your language. Read the article in:

Author:

Author:

Share this post:

One Response

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  Subscribe to comments:

Notify me of followup comments via e-mail. You can also subscribe without commenting.

SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER!

25,000 subscribers get wine news every month. You too?