GOING AU NATUREL
Skirting at the edge of conventional wine is the terroir-ist cult of natural wines. Is it hype or is it here to stay? June Lee seeks out proponents of the movement in Singapore to sort out the myths and methods for getting the best out of your experience.
Are natural wines the next IT wine?
On one hand, you have Robert Parker forecasting on Twitter in 2014 that “The undefined scam called ‘natural’ or ‘authentic’ wines will be exposed as a fraud (most serious wines have no additives)”. That is the view from ‘conventional wine’ drinkers, who find the style of natural wine unbearable – wines that taste like flawed cider (a quote from Bruce Palling), smell like caged domestic pets
(so says Jancis Robinson), are cloudy and sometimes filled with sediment and bits of skin, and so on.
Converts – usually millennial, new to wines, rebellious or all three – cite its drinkability, perceived healthier values, and earth-friendly, minimalist approach for their newfound zeal. That sets the stage for a hipster vs establishment showdown, which has inevitably entered a new phases of backlash as more players enter this small, independent market and push the boundaries of what makes wines ‘natural’. We set out to gather opinions from punters in this field, including Alvin Gho and
Ian Lim from RVLT bar, Josée Yeomans from Le Bon Funk, Quintino Dellarosa from Dellarosa Wines, Philippe Chin from Open Farm Community, and Aditya Lamba from Peace of Vino, to present a snapshot of how to get the best out of natural wines, whichever side of the fence you’re on.
1 NATURAL, BIODYNAMIC, ORGANIC – WHAT’S THE DIFFERENCE?
Most customers are still not clear on the differences between the three categories – and the gap can be quite huge, so it pays to be clear on what you’re expecting. It should also go without saying that the three terms overlap at will: there are wines that are one or the other, two but not the final, or all three in combination.
Lamba likens natural, raw or real wines to “unplugged” wines, while Dellarosa goes with the oft-cited “living wine from a living soil” definition. He urges a few tangible prerequisites, such as organic or biodynamic viticulture with a minimum of technological intervention, along with intangible ones – “fundamental respect and celebration of the traditional, cultural and social traits of the whole process from the land to the cellar”.
Natural wines are (as yet) legally undefined. If a producer claims to make natural wine, then it exists by self-proclamation. This is not the case for organic and biodynamic labelled products, which are governed by regulatory boards and organisations. Organic wines are made from grapes grown organically, without use of chemical pesticides or synthetic additives, and may or may not contain a small amount of permitted sulfites. Biodynamic wines are made from biodynamically grown grapes in a similar process to organic farming, but with a wider suite of holistic practices that correspond with natural cycles of the earth, such as composting and harvesting times.
2 I’M NOT DRINKING SULFITES, AM I?
Varying amounts of added sulfites, a natural by-product of fermentation, is also permitted, contrary to popular belief. While naturally occuring sulfites, or sulfur dioxide (SO2), are present in wine, added amounts are common in winemaking and food production. Dried fruit, for instance, may contain levels up to 1,000 parts per million (ppm). Chin points to the French website vins-sains. org which promulgates S.A.I.N.S – sans aucun intrant ni sulfite as one of the strictest approaches in the market. Many other guidelines set 30mg/l as the upper limit on SO2 levels.
Sulfites have often been anecdotally fingered as the culprit behind ‘wine headaches’, but the science behind this has not been proven. Those who feel they are allergic or sensitive to sulfites, however, can take note: as tannins in red wine help to stabilise the wine, less (added) sulfites is needed in red than in white wine. Read the labels or seek guidance from your trusted natural wine source.