“Vin Nature” - the natural wine movement with a future

Today, the 59-year-old Beaujolais-vintager is known in his area as a pioneer of new developments in terms of the future of the wine economy and he is 100 percent for the “natural wine movement”, the French call it”Vin Nature”.

At a two-day food festival in the Normandy, in the beach resort Deauvill this week, supporters, producers and among them also plenty of innovative chefs and sommeliers gathered to talk about the future of wine production and their hedonic wishes with a glass of wine and some nice meals. About 200 decision-makers of the “Vin Nature” discussed the current nature conditions in the growing regions up to the preferences of wine lovers and wishes of restaurant customers.

“Natural wines go through a minimalistic production process with the least amount of interference possible”, explains Isabell Légeron, a wine consultant from London. “These are closest to the grape with 100 percent. It is no secret that worldwide, many vines are grown on grounds that are infected with chemicals. The bottle on the shelf can contain yeast, sugar, but also wooden chips and aromas - all this made for the consumer's satisfaction. But people tend to believe that wine is a natural product – however, they need to realize that wine is not always such a natural product”.

Marcel Lapierre, who annually produces 60.000 bottles of wine in his bio-winery, says that the idea of natural agriculture is a lot easier to realize these days, based on scientific progress and modern means, than when he was still a teenager. However, he admits that sometimes his wines need a little bit of sulfur dioxide (SO2 – an anti-oxidant that stabilizes wine), so that the grape juice can turn into wine and it does not come out as vinegar. “We do not use any sulfates in our wine production, but sometimes we have to support the wine in its production process, always when the production just takes way too long or when we have to balance temperatures”, says Lapierre.

Lapierre exports part of his wines to California and Florida, there, wines can contain small amounts of E222 and E224 (additives that can be contained in food and drinks up to a certain amount), while a third of his production goes to Brazil, Singapur and Taiwan, where sulfates are not allowed in any wines.

“All of us are very careful in what we eat and the same goes for wine”, says Lise Jousset, a 32-year-old sommeliere in the Loire-region. “It is the young vintager generation that is particularly sensitive when it comes to natural wine-making. Together with my husband I produce wines on a natural level, and not because it is a trend right now. I have respect for nature and also for my health.”

Wine critics like Légeron describe the new vintages of naturally produced wines with attributes like “light to drink” or “complex” as well as “pure and more easily digestible” - however, they also point to the disadvantages, like the higher price, the shorter shelf life and the missing certifications. “Of course the natural wine production requires more time, more man-power and at the same time the average yield per hectare makes up only half of the acceptable amount”, explains Légeron.

“When it comes to wine production, it is not only the soil, the grape types or the climate that is important, much more it is the philosophy of the producer that counts”, says Légeron. “These naturally producing wine-makers have to get an eco-ceritication. Otherwise they will not get out of the unknown area that they are in and thus will hardly have any chance on the market. At the same time, they have to take care of enlightenment, for the consumers to understand what they are all about”. David Kinch, chef at the Manresa Restaurant in San Francisco and a fan of naturally produced wines adds: “Bio-wines have to be good 100 percent and they have to be tasteful, if they want to have a chance on the market”. (aw.yoopress / translator c.siegel)