Natural Wine

The other night I saw a television report about natural wine production in Tuscany. The reporter likened modern natural winemaking to that of the Romans. This is off course bunkum. Even if modern industrial technology is not used in winemaking it does not mean that winemakers have regressed.

Most modern wines have European scions grafted onto American rootstocks to protect the wines from the Phylloxera louse. The Romans had no knowledge of the New World so they would have had no knowledge of Phylloxera infestation of the soil.

The Romans would have had no knowledge of  modern biodynamic vineyard techniques and their vines would have been badly affected by insect pests and changes to the weather etc.

The Romans would have primitive methods to control yields. Planting, pruning and harvesting would have been by hand but they probably used horses for some of the harder work.

The Romans did not apply scientific methods in the winery and they had no knowledge of the function of yeast and other microbes in the wine making process. They would have been unaware of winery hygiene so much of the wine would have turned out to be vinegar or tasted rough.

We cannot possibly know what Roman wine tasted like but there is no doubt that it was different. Corks had not been invented so it was unlikely that wine could be matured for any length of time. Most wine would have been stored in clay vats anyway. Some of the wine probably tasted awful by todays standards but we shall never know.

Modern biodynamic wine production methods are a far cry from the past.

We should be careful not to assume that because winemakers use biodynamic methods their wines must be better. I have tasted some pretty ordinary stuff and some of it is only fit to be poured away. Sometimes traditional and natural does not mean better.

We have friends who make wines using biodynamic techniques but they take great care in both the farm and the winery and their products are delicious and above the ordinary; even special. Likewise we know producers that do not use biodynamic techniques and their wines are just as good.

One thing is certain industrialised wine production will not produce exceptional wines that have a unique taste. This does not mean to say that the wines taste bad or are not wholesome; most of them are perfectly acceptable for "everyday drinking" but not for special occasions.

It is, therefore, wise not to rush to conclusions and not to allow prejudice to cloud your judgement. It is also wise to taste the wine, when you visit a winery, before you spend a lot of money and time and effort to transport it home;  just make sure you are on to a winner.