A fad long past its time: "Natural Wine":

Thanks to Nick for sending me this article about high-priced "natural wine:"

Ugh. I hate this fad. This is a peculiar form of insanity that needs to be stamped out yesterday. My thoughts:

1. Native yeasts? OK. But risky, as some produce off flavors. Why not use a cultured yeast you know will work? That said, some winemakers believe that all their past yeasts lurk on the winery walls, waiting to detach and waft into the juice when they sense sugar. Maybe so. But in that case, it's not necessarily wild yeast--it could be a blend of all past years' cultured yeasts used.

2. Not adding sulfite to protect the wine: Insanely stupid idea. Causes the wine to spoil, rot, fester, and ruin.

3. Biodynamic: Biggest hoax in the history of the world. The idiot who created the concept knew nothing of growing plants, and just invented stuff that was sort of like his philosophy re how to live, without having ANY underrstanding of what plants need to thrive. (Rudolph Steiner)

4. Cloudy, smelly, sour wine? WTF? Really? With an expensive dinner? Wow. 

5. Pesticides and fungicides and herbicides ruining vineyards and workers health, everywhere? You bet! But my modern varieties need no spray, and nobody gets sick.

6. Fads for the sake of fads, in the instance of something so serious as good wine, disgust me. 

Guess you can tell where I stand ;)

Just because it was done one way, a millenium ago, is NO REASON to keep doing it that way today. 2000 years ago, nobody understood the germ theory, or various forms of microbial spoilage or complex chemical interactions. Most of the wines of 2000 years ago were sick, spoiled, insipid, dangerous, sour, retching, and injurious. People drank them because (a) they knew drinking the local water (in most locations) could make them sick; (b) they liked the effect that alcohol had upon them; and (c) they didn't have any better choices.

If you want to pay for a glass of cloudy, spoiled wine, have at it! I'll be the one laughing at you.

This photo of Agia Galini Beach is courtesy of TripAdvisor

On Farming and Winemaking

 On Farming and Winemaking:

It is said that farmers do not grow plants. They grow dirt. And that is correct. Yes, they tend plants and that is important, but the plants know what to do, and growing plants is secondary to growing good dirt. Our South African Peppadew peppers are still chugging away outside, turning a new set of peppers red every week or so (when I pick and pickle them), laughing at the ridiculous improbability that it is still sunny and warm and dry on October 27??? But it's the dirt--the mix of compost, manure tea, other organic material, and native soil, and sand, and gravel, that makes earthworms and microbes and the peppers' roots happy.  

In the same way, winemakers do not really make wine. Winemakers grow yeast. And if we create a good environment for yeast, they make wine for us. Yes, understanding the chemistry, and intervening in different ways when necessary, are important, but those are secondary to growing yeast. Some winemakers just cut open a yeast packet and dump the yeast on the pomace, thinking the yeast will find their way to the wine and do their job, and in trruth they probably will, but that is like unloading your high school soccer player ten miles away from the game, without having fed him lunch or dinner before the game, and telling him, "Good luck!" I've researched yeast-growing for many years, and have written a pamphlet for winemakers explaining how to treat yeast, and why. If your yeast grow throughout the grape juice rapidly, and start fermenting earlier, then you have just radically reduced the time during which bad things can happen to your wine. 'Nuff said.

​Look for the new wine offer coming soon, and in the meantime please enjoy this truly spectacular Fall!

And to anyone in the ether who may read this: I am a virtual wine retailer (no shop, so low overhead and low prices), and a small commercial winery (Epona brand). If you would like to be added to my email list, please email me at kenton.erwin@gmail.com . And there is never an obligation to buy anything. Thank you!

The photo is of the lovely Epona Vineyard this week, near Woodland WA.