According to us at Winejoy, natural wine is the result of a high level of culture, so we can only link the concept of natural wine to that of cultural heritage.
When natural wine is compared to the “wine of the farmer” there is a risk of making several mistakes. In fact, although the latter is produced with the absence of chemicals, it is not necessarily that in producing it are fielded essential elements to obtain a quality product: care, attention, competence that allow you to get an authentic and alive wine that represents your territory and that is faithful to it. The identification of the lucky place on which to cultivate the vines and the job of keeping the territory by the winemaker together with his skills and common sense, are the basis for obtaining a natural wine.
The culture of the TERROIR
In the English language this word translates into “Sense of place” (sense of place), and defines very well the multidimensional concept used to explain the relationship between man and the environment that surrounds him. So terroir is not only the “territory” as many think, but it is a set of different factors among which certainly the territory is part with its enormous importance, but there is more.
There is man, his work, the vine, the climate, the tradition. There are all the experiences that time has brought to that particular area of the planet.
In natural wine all these variables are fundamental to understand its value. In the cellar man transforms what nature has put at his disposal without the need to intervene chemically, the only exception is the addition of a minimum amount of sulfur dioxide that in many cases is not even present.
The culture of SUSTAINABILITY
In 1987 there was the first definition of sustainabilitywith the document “OUR COMMON FUTURE” published by the World Commission on Environment and Development of the United Nations. It defines sustainable development as “a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the possibility of future generations to satisfy their own”.
This definition therefore underlines the right of future generations to have access to natural resources. This concept belongs to most of the producers of natural wines who first of all are guardians of their vineyards within a much bigger context, that is the “Planet Earth”.
The culture of RESPECT (self, land and consumer)
Responsible winemakers who love their land do not poison it, just as a mother does with a son who tries to give him always and only the best. Thus those who guard the vineyard will not spread herbicides, pesticides, chemical fertilizers and other substances that harm the earth and also to those who consume wine.
The culture of TRADITION
Cultivate vines typical of a territory, work the land and take care of the vines with ancient knowledge handed down from father to son, do not give in to the promises of those who propose pesticides to prevent plant diseases, succeed in completing a spontaneous fermentation, Use sulfur dioxide in small quantities and only when necessary, replace the sterile filtration with natural decantation. These and other are ancient gestures that are projected into the present by responsible winemakers and prepared in wine making, bringing into the glass wines that will always tell us something personal.
The culture of RENUNCIATION and EXPECTATION
It is not often mentioned, but in some “not good” vintages some winemakers decide independently not to vinify their grapes as they would not lead to the production of a good wine; In fact, there are those who, on the contrary, with the help of chemistry, might think not to miss the harvest for example starting the fermentation also from unhealthy grapes and putting in bottle a liquid that perhaps could also please the consumer. Wine however is also renunciation, it is the refusal of practices that do not respect the principles of sustainability, respect, tradition.
Wine is WAITING: waiting for the decantation of the wine, its aging, its aging…
Those who make natural wine know that waiting is a must, because like all beautiful things, wine also has a slow pace.
