- So Tom, how exactly does winemaking at winemaker work?
- The winemaker nature has a (crazy) ambition: not to disguise the grape, which he produced in the vineyard, with chemicals and brutal manipulations in order to transform or accelerate the wine making process. Intervening for him means putting filters between the terroir and the wine.
His idea: all the tricks in the cellar will never give the purity, the energy, the complexity and the sincerity that a healthy and ripe grape can bring to the wine.
His principles: to be ultra rigorous, meticulous and respectful throughout the vinification and maturation of his wine, which he accompanies rather than tries to correct.
THE GRAPE FIRST.
- The harvested grapes are put in the vats. As for winemaker , it lets the grapes express their origin and all their qualities. He avoids any manipulation, chemical or mechanical, considered as traumatic and denaturing. To transfer the juice, for example, he prefers the use of natural gravity to that of a pump, more brutal. The pressing is also gentle and slow in order to recover the best of the grapes.
FLASH-PASTEURIZATION? LET'S AVOID...
- This practice consists of heating the grape must or wine very quickly to 70°C (max.), holding it for a few seconds and cooling it just as quickly. The objective is to eliminate micro-organisms (bacteria and yeasts) which can bring unpleasant aromas to the wine. The winemaker avoids this pasteurization in order not to modify the raw material (aseptic wine) and not to subject the wine to a violent thermal shock which would alter its characteristics, its living side.
CHAPTALIZATION", WHAT IS IT?
- Chaptalization consists of adding cane or beet sugar to swell the alcohol content of the wine. As for winemaker , it is forbidden, preferring to trust its grapes and its natural sugars. Depending on the year, it is more or less easy to let it happen. Depending on the weather, the maturity of the grapes is different, the berries are more or less healthy (hail, humidity)... The talents of the winemaker are sometimes put to the test!
YEASTS: INDIGENOUS OR EXOGENOUS?
Yeasts transform sugars into alcohol. Those called "exogenous" are bred in laboratories and sold commercially. There are hundreds of them (to start the fermentation quickly, to kill other yeasts, to give the wine a certain aroma, etc.). This minimizes the risk of an incident, but it reduces the identity and the expression of the terroir. As for winemaker , it uses "indigenous" yeasts, present on the skin of the grapes and in the vineyard. These are strong markers of the terroir and also release complex aromatic compounds, interesting for the wine to come. The same goes for exogenous enzymes, bacteria and tannins or oak chips; in nature, it's Niet!
SULFITES, THE DEBATE
Sulphites (SO2) are antiseptics and antioxidants, used in conventional wine making at different stages. The law requires the label to state "contains sulfites" when the wine contains at least 10mg/L of SO2. As for winemaker , it considers that its wines should not benefit from any input. However, some allow themselves a slight addition of sulfur, on a case-by-case basis, before bottling. But between a winemaker who adds a little natural volcanic sulfur for 30 mg/L and a conventional winemaker who will push up to 200 mg/L of industrial SO2, (dose authorized by the law: 150 for reds and 200 for whites and rosés)... there is a notable difference!
BONDING & FILTRATION
These processes are two quick ways to clarify the wine by eliminating solid particles that could cause a deposit or a slight cloudiness. The winemaker does not intervene to filter its wines. It is for him a modification of the raw material, and it presents the risk to remove phenolic compounds and thus to impoverish his wine.
CONCLUSION
There is a wine for every taste. The wine lover and his gustatory pleasure are the only judges. And it is not because a wine is natural that it will be good. But a more natural approach makes the essential components of the wine even more obvious: the terroir, the vineyard and the talent of the men and women who made this wine. There are no "cosmetics" to mask shortcomings and defects or to make up for a complicated vintage. Without artifice, the natural wine is a wine with a strong identity. This way of working gives birth to wines proudly displaying their singularity, just like the winemakers, more numerous each year, who choose this path.
