Natural Wine Isn’t New
A timeline of the return to sane winemaking
As long as wine has been a commodity, someone was destined to cheapen it. Famous historical additives were nasty, like arsenic, vinegar gum (still used today), and starch. Our modern decline from grace started shortly after World War II, when nitrogen-based bomb products and pesticides needed a new home. With vineyards accepting pesticides and herbicides, the map was laid out for a sad wine future. Then, to every action there is a reaction, and at the nadir, when soils were barren and wines were vapid, the natural wine movement found its voice.
Forty years later, this not-so-overnight sensation has bloomed, and we are now in its boom. As we see the fruits of second- and even third-generation natural winemakers who treat the soils with love and respect, I predict we’ll see new benchmarks set for some truly delicious wine. It’s easy to look at the natural wine movement as a fad, the new pet rock. But the truth is, it is a cycle. Natural wine is nothing new. As far as I see it, it’s a return to sanity.
Reprinted with permission from “Natural Wine for The People: What It Is, Where to Find It, How to Love It” by Alice Feiring, copyright © 2019. Published by Ten Speed Press, an imprint of Penguin Random House.
