[WHAT'S GOING ON] Mobile app "Raisin" →

Lost, far from home and thirsty? Don’t settle for dodgy food and industrial wine… use your Smart Phone!

A team of dedicated benevolent natural wine lovers are working to bring natural wine possibilities to your Smart Phone. They have developed a mobile app called “Raisin” (Grape in French). You can open it up and search for bars, cellars and restaurants serving natural wines in your vicinity. And much more…

With your help, Virtuous Vine will be developing the Australian database for the Raisin app.

Please get in touch if you would like more information or would like to be registered in the app.

To be registered, at least 30% of an establishment’s wine offering must be “natural”.

[WARMING WHITES] from La Pinte (Jura) →

The endless summer has finally ended. And since autumn lasted no more than 2 weeks, the fires of winter have now been permanently lit, and we want some comfort stuff.

There’s nothing better for by-the-fire dining than the powerful white elixirs of the Jura. Start with some unctuous, generous, glowing Savagnin, or a rounded, plump, oak fermented and aged chardonnay. Then when the game meat dishes are served, don’t forget Poulsard, the curious cousin whose herb and spice aromas and fine acidity make it a great match.

More than a trend, wines from France’s Jura region are unstoppable in Australia at the moment. I believe the structure of Jura wines perfectly match the modern food revolution, asserting big flavours, yet hiding layers and layers of fine detail.

We are currently stocking the following great winter wines from Domaine de la Pinte in Arbois (Jura): Chardonnay Classic, 2011 (Blue Marl soils); Chardonnay Fonteneille, 2012 (Limestone & Clay soils); Savagnin, 2007 (Blue Marl soils); Poulsard, 2011 (Red Marl soils).

[CO-PLANTING] Field of dreams - The Natural →

Co-planting is an ancient practice, so old that it would have existed unconsciously and instinctively, not as a purposefully sought out method of agriculture.
 
In fact, its antithesis (i.e. planting a field with a single variety of plant, or more accurately in today’s era, we should say the planting of a single cloned genetic individual), is likely no more than a hundred years old at most, and is nothing more intelligent than a consequence of the hunt for easy farming and high yields.
 
GMOs, clonal selection, super-productive clones, resistant clones, etc. These were the 20th Century’s solutions to the age-old dilemma of farming (seasonal changes, weather variations, crop diseases, differing yields). Prior to this, diversity, instinct and superstition were relied on.
 
Today, there is a return to the ancient practices, more harmonious, holistic and sustainable, but now with more intelligence and less superstition. Co-plantation is one such response. Today, in viticulture, we call it a “field blend”, where multiple grape varieties are planted in the one field. They all live together, grow together, are harvested together and ferment together.
 
Field blends are an echo of a well functioning modern multicultural society, where individuals are allowed to identify with and express their macro and micro cultural specificities of origin, yet function uniquely in response to their new environment, and also in response to the other cultures around them. They all impact on each other, such that the presence of each different culture has its influence on the general direction of the “local” culture. Each individual is a unique expression of the combination of its own genetic baggage, its past, its present environment, and its reaction to the other individuals surrounding it. The result is, on mass, a stronger society with more complex and complete responses to a given situation; i.e. in vineyard terms, a healthier and more resistant field. And in wine terms, the result is an end product where grape variety often slides well into the background, and terroir can speak loudly.
 
It’s actually the same argument that applies to natural fermentations. By using a high performance selected yeast, an oenologist is allowing only one individual yeast clone to express itself in the fermentation. Whereas during a natural fermentation, where the full population of indigenous yeast are allowed to have their impact, multiple and complex answers are given to the same question, i.e. a more complex wine aromatically and texturally.
 
And worse still, it should be mentioned, there is a new trend where wealthier wineries will hire a laboratory to select a yeast strain from their own cellar and reproduce it for use in their winery. This allows them to respond to the awkward question about how their wine is fermented with a more comfortable response “we use our own unique home-grown and selected yeast”. Some reputed wineries even commercialise their “home selected” yeast on the pretext that it will make other wines great like their own. But ultimately, it all falls down on the same problem: one individual gets all the say. It’s a bit like a nationalist dictatorship.
 
We vote for diversity! And this, at all levels, from micro-biology to plant genetics, to wine and food, and society and politics.
 
In our humble opinion…

by Charlie Simpson

[PARDON MY FRENCH] "Planter" →

Word of ze month "Planter" (verb)

Meaning: To dig a hole and fill it with a plant.

Other uses: Se planter – To make an error or miss the desired objective. i.e. FAIL. Se faire planter par quelqu’un (or “Se faire poser un lapin”) – You’re up to your 5th glass of rose, I don’t think she’s coming… The good old no show.

Santé!

by Charlie Simpson

[SKIN CONTACT] - The sensual way to wine and dine →

First, a very quick refresher course in Orange wine making. The initiated can skip forward a bit.
 
Orange wine / skin contact white / maceration white. These are all terms to describe the same thing: wine made from white wine grapes where the wine spends an unusually long time infusing with the solids (skins, seeds, and perhaps stems, etc.). Of particular importance is the contact with the skins as they contain lots of aromatic compounds and tannins, which are thus infused into the wine. The infusion (maceration) could last anywhere from a couple of weeks to a couple of months or even a year or more. Red wine is classically made in this style. Thus the easy analogy is that Orange wine is white grapes made like a red wine.
 
Orange wine is not like rose. Rose is made using red grapes which are pressed off the skins immediately after harvest, prior to fermentation. Thus the juice receives very little or no skin contact. Classic white wine is made in this way. Thus the easy analogy is that Rose wine is red grapes made like a white wine.
 
So what’s the big deal!? Orange wines, thanks to their long maceration, contain a certain amount of tannin, which is a great carrier of flavour when food is in the picture. Likewise, the wine has had a certain level of exposure to oxygen during its maturation, which tends to generate more robust flavours, again good for food.
 
In gastronomy, we tend not to match white wines with robust food dishes, especially aromatic whites. This is because the majority of classic white wines would not stand up to the power of the food, i.e. the delicate aromas of the white would be wiped out by the richness of the dish. Orange wines, however, can provide the chance to match aromatic “white” wine flavours with robust dishes, thanks to the robust structure of the wine. An orange wine can therefore behave like a sprig of rosemary or a handful of bay leaves in a rich osso bucco, for example.
 
Marc Kreydenweiss co-planted 1 hectare of white grape varieties in his Rhone domaine in 1999. The field is planted with 3 Rhone varieties and 3 Alsatian varieties – Grenache Blanc, Vermentino, Viognier, Reisling, Pinot Gris, Gewurtztraminer. This diverse population of differing cultures lives together. Surprisingly, the grapes reach ripeness at the same time, despite the different varieties being genetically prone to being over a month apart. The whole field is harvested together and made into a delicious orange wine, filled with aromatics including orange and lemon rind, lavender and herbal tea, with a very grippy tannic structure which melts in the mouth once food is introduced. Delicious!
 

Santé!

by Charlie Simpson

[THE UPSIDE(down)] Of eating out these days →

The last 5 to 10 years have seen the gradual but total unpicking of all the remaining stiches of what fine dining used to be. But the pieces weren’t discarded; rather, they were re-shuffled and re-built into new and stunning forms.

What’s out? The traditional construction of a meal seemed like cycling up and over the Col de Tourmalet followed by a rapid descent on the other side: Appetizer – Entre – Main – Cheese – Dessert Light – Savoury – Powerful – Sweet Small size – Medium size – Big size – Small size Vegetables – Fish – Meat – Sauce – Carbohydrate – Dairy Chefs competing on the one playing field with classic dishes Champagne – Aromatic White – Oaky White – Big Red – Bigger Red – Sweet Wine What’s in? Emotion, magic and surprise. A meal is built more like a winding footpath through forest, field, cliff face and valley, where every turn hides a new emotion, aroma, flavour or discovery. Multiple dishes (often share plates) arrive one after the other in a sometimes unexpected order, all are typically equally portioned, all are balanced and poised in their own right, none are replicas of a classic, they are all inventions and expressions. Wines are no longer the only drink option, with sake, beer, juices, teas and infusions having a loud voice with food matching. And when the wines come, they are often not expected, with light chilled reds opening the score, and major flourishes of aromatic oxidative whites, tannic orange wines, then dry fresh bubbles to finish!

Santé!

by Charlie Simpson

[PARDON MY FRENCH] "Bouchon" →

Word of ze month "Bouchon" (Virtually obsolete object formerly used to close bottles in Australia)

Meaning: A cork or similar closure for a glass bottle.

Other uses: Bouchon Lyonnais – The original and best French bistro; meat, butter, potatoes! Coincé dans les bouchons – Stuck in a traffic jam. T’es bouché?! – You seem to be lacking intelligence. Mon p’tit bouchon – Oh, you’re so cute. Wanna cuddle?

Santé!

Charlie

[VIN JAUNE] Oxidation is your friend →

The magic of Vin Jaune starts with perfectly (over)ripe Savagnin grown on Blue Marl soils, fermented and aged slowly in old seasoned oak barrels containing specific yeast populations from previous vintages of Jaune. The wines will spend 6 years and 3 months in these barrels, never topped-up, such that a “veil” of protective yeast will form on top of the wine. The wine is thus deliberately exposed to partial oxidation, partial yeast and enzyme transformation by the veil, the whole long process completely transforming the wine into a new being. The wine goes in to its cocoon as a young, exuberant, overripe Savagnin, and comes out the other side as a fabulous living creature, like a Phoenix born again, with the power and grace of a dragon, and a phenomenal defence against future oxidation (it is said that the wine can survive 100 years or more). Flavours are complex and surprising, with the whole palate of autumnal delights (especially confit fruits, walnuts and curry spice), straightened up by the intensity and freshness of the famous Jura acid backbone freight train, leaving the taster with minutes of flavour persistence per mouthful. This is a moving wine experience.

Santé!

Charlie

[WHAT'S GOING ON] The Sydney Boutique Wine Fair →

The Sydney Boutique Wine Fair is on at The Oak Barrel in Sydney, on Saturday 16 July 2pm-6pm. Come and join in the fun!

Charlie

[WHAT'S GOING ON] Manifeste pour le vin naturel by Antonin Iommi-Amunategui →

The author suggests here a definition for Natural Wine, up until now missing, as well as a panorama of the different and divergent points of view which currently roam the planes of the natural wine world.

But moreover, he presents natural wine as the tip of the iceberg of societal change, which commences with agricultural revolution, natural wine being the flag ship.

[PARDON MY FRENCH] "Canon"

Word of ze month "Canon" (Like “Can on!” but don’t pronounce the last “n”)

Meaning: Same as in English (a big fat gun type thing), but with a couple of extra street uses, which we like!

Uses: C’est canon! – That’s awesome! Elle est canon – she looks pretty good! Boire un canon – have a drink Un coup de canon – a hit of grog Payer un canon – to shout a round of drinks Descendre des canons – gulp, gulp, gulp, gulp……… Canon (pronouncing the “n” this time) – cameras and photocopiers etc.

Santé!

Charlie

[THE DRINKABILITY] Scale →

One of the very noticeable outcomes of the modern wine revolution we are currently experiencing is the increasing importance placed on “Drinkability”. Synonyms include “Digestibility” and “Smashability”. In French, “Buvabilité”. These are mostly made up words, but which describe very well a concept that wines should be an easy pleasure to consume, with or without food.

This does not mean that such wines must be simple. In fact, the more complex they are aromatically and texturally the better. But their structure should be based on soft easy tannins, generous integrated acidity, fresh lifted flavours and a dry clean finish which leaves the soul cleansed and the palate refreshed and ready to sip again.

These are the sorts of wines that seem to do a Houdini disappearing act. The bottom of the bottle is an unexpected shock, it comes way too quickly, so you end up having to double up.

Naturally made Gamay wines often show a very high reading on the Drinkability Scale. Watch out for double orders…

Santé!

Charlie

[ NEVER FEAR, GAMAY IS HERE ] to save the world from over-complicated drinks →

We love terroir, and love to talk about the unique taste of place. And often with this approach the goal is to forget grape variety, such that geology and terroir speak alone, not the grape variety itself. But it seems to me that one variety needs to be mentioned, and needs to speak as loudly as its terroir. Gamay.

Gamay should speak in tongues of ripe and abundant fruit. It should remind you of days when blackberries were ripe, and your stomach not large enough to contain all that your greedy hands could loot. Once its fruit-driven destiny is fulfilled, Gamay may then begin to speak of terroir.

Unfortunately, the world’s most famous Gamay was built on an abuse of this affable quality. Beaujolais Nouveau. And the world was tricked into thinking that Gamay was incapable of making serious wine.

We should forget Beaujolais Nouveau. And thankfully lots of people have. Lessons have been learned, and the fast track cash machine that has usurped the reputation of one of France’s fine and certainly very unique terroirs now serves only a relatively few large corporations and cooperatives. The real Beaujolais is made with ripe grapes, and the time needed to bring it to bottle in an honest and delicious way is afforded. Under these conditions, Gamay can truly shine on what is a very uncommon terroir in France: granite, Gamay’s true fetish. Terroir can indeed play a role in Gamay production.

But let’s be clear, Gamay is a drink made for drinkers. In the Beaujolais, visits to producers seem not to end, rather they morph into aperitif, and spitbuckets are almost never provided. They say that the Magnum is the most appropriately sized bottle, 750ml being too little to appreciate an evening drink with friends. Thus the Magnum has been deemed about the right quantity (for one person). To every man his magnum!

As a wine geek, it seems indecent to not speak volumes on the intricate and fine details of a wine over an interminable tasting of intellectual detail. But why not!? It also seems instinctively appropriate that some fine wines be made for drinking, and no better to fill that role than Gamay. Yes, this is fine wine, but no, it is not complicated!

In our humble opinion…

Santé!

Charlie

[WHAT'S GOING ON] Natural Resistance - Film by Jonathan Nossiter →

And what if agriculture was primarily a question of culture? Gathered under the Italian sun, a handful of vignerons and a cinema director share their passion for wine and cinéma. In just a few years, liberated farmers have transformed the face of wine and its market by producing a wine called "natural". With a taste for freedom, transmission, artisanal integrity and health of the planet (and its people) they have begun a resistance. Ten years after Mondovino, Jonathan Nossiter has gone to Italy in search of this resistance, and to meet some of these choosers of life.

[PARDON MY FRENCH] "Rateau" →

WORD OF ZE MONTH "Rateau" (Sounds like “Chateau”, “Bateau”, or “Blotto”) Meaning: A rake. Good implement for gardening or starting a revolution in the absence of other arms. Uses: Passer le rateau – to rake the ground. Moustache en rateau – to have a big bushy upper lip (think Magnum P.I.). Se prendre un rateau – when a would-be suitor is sharply turned away by his would-be damsel.

Santé!

Charlie

[YOU GOTTA FIGHT…FOR YOUR RIGHT…TO TERRRROIR!] Renaissance des Appellations

A fight has been started. Organic and biodynamic producers everywhere are trying to preserve the integrity of their Appellations of Origin (AOC) and stop their identities from being standardised by industrial concerns. Burgundy happens to be one of the key frontiers where the fight is on. And Burgundy has the most intricate of all of France’s Appellation systems, very much worth saving. One group doing a lot of hard work in this area is the growers’ association “Renaissance des Appellations”, sometimes going under the alias “Return to Terroir”. Members of Renaissance des Appellations all practice Biodynamics, and share similar views on the role of wine producers as custodians of land and terroir. Most see their role as being to encourage the connection of the plant to its local and cosmic environment, and then ultimately translating this network of life and sensory complexity for the drinker.

To spend a day at a trade show or tasting organised by this group of producers confirms that Biodynamics has a real impact. The wines you can taste from virtually any of the members is usually pretty close to perfection, and always very pure. They seem to translate terroir with honesty, no make-up.

So what are they protecting, and what is terroir? In an Australian context, I thought Max Allen and his guest speakers summed terroir up pretty well at a conference held in 2013. You can listen to the whole conference on the link below. It is all really interesting, even the speech from Andrew Caillard MW, whose views I personally don’t share on this occasion. Or you can just listen to the first 5mn from Max.

Santé!

Charlie

[ MANIFESTO ] – Renaissance des Appellations →

"In terms of taste and flavour in wine, these can only ever become original and inimitable through the stamp of a terroir and its microclimate. All over the planet, terroirs exist as the unique interaction of 4 factors in a matrix: heat, light, precipitation and geology. It is the combination of these factors that each plant will absorbe in its own way, thus creating the subtlety of each AOC (Controlled Appellation of Origine).

Our understanding of the particularities of this matrix in certain zones gives rise to the greatness of an AOC and guarantees consumers a taste linked to the uniqueness of place. For a vine to be able to absorb through its root system the uniqueness of its terroir (minerality of the soil and sub-soil, orientation, slope, etc.) the terroir must be living, and thus totally free from herbicides. And to correctly capture the many factors of climate (wind, sun exposure, humidity, etc.) the plant must be allowed to develop and grow as naturally as possible. In particular, the leaves must be free from all synthetic chemical products which disturb photosynthesis and the general development of the living plant.

When healthy agriculture (organic or biodynamic) allows a place to express itself through the vines, cellar technologies (and the secondary/arbitrary flavours they can generate) become useless and detrimental to such an expression of place. The wine thus retains its original taste and its ability to mature with total transparency and honesty for the consumer."

Nicolas Joly

[WHAT'S GOING ON] Mimi, Fifi & Glouglou / Dégustateurs de combat - Michel Tolmer - Les Editions de l'Epure →

For those who don’t know yet, Michel Tolmer’s luckless heroes, Mimi, Fifi & Glouglou are back, more fervent than ever, to combat for the survival of wine. Sweat, blood, tears, chardonnay and grenache... This time, they have decided to engage more than ever in their favorite battle: the blind tasting. And no holds are barred! This beautiful satire dismantles gradually all oenological clichés, making a mockery of all those who should dare to expose themselves by talking about wine, treading on snobbery, ignorance and dogma along the way. This comic celebrates wine, especially “wine for buddies", made to be drunk, not talked about.

[PARDON MY FRENCH] "Grappe" →

Word of ze month "Grappe" (false friend, does not translate directly to English "grape")

Meaning: Bunch, or cluster. Typically for fruit growing as berries in a conical shape.

Other uses: Grappe de raisins - a bunch of grapes Grappe entière - whole bunch (as in carbonic maceration, for example) Grappe de bars-à-vin - a bunch of wine-bars, what King's Cross used to boast Lâche moi la grappe! Give me a break! Leave me in peace!

Santé ! Charlie

[CEREBRAL MACERATION] or Carbonic Masturbation →

Carbonic Maceration is a winemaking technique, brought to the height of its Art by some clever folk in Beaujolais, France. It is an utterly distasteful word, too technical and gassy to be said with a straight face, so it has been shortened to “Carbo” in France, and “Cab-Mac”, I heard recently in Australia.

And it seems to cause a really cerebral debate amongst late night drinkers, waxing on and off about whether the technique is a sacrilege to terroir, or stroke of genius for thirsty drinkers…

“Doing a Carbo” should create a juice with a very strong focus on bright and pungent fruit flavours, sometimes a bit unbelievably bon-bon-ish. The technique basically allows a winemaker to extract loads and loads of fruity flavours from the grapes, without extracting any tannin. The majority of this happens before the alcoholic fermentation starts, or before it really gets under way. This opens the door to making a deliciously fruity and complex wine, with little to no tannin. Perfect for glugging chilled on a sunny day!

But Carbo wines also have a bad reputation amongst some thinkers, saying that the technique erases terroir and creates uniform “fake” flavours. Well, it seems important to note that light chillable reds are not the only possible result for Carbo wines. It is also possible to create medium to seriously structured wines.

Used as one of the shades in the pallet of options available to a natural winemaker, Carbo is a delicious and interesting option. We have tasted some long wood aged Carbo wines, and more often, wines that have been partially Carbo treated. The variety of flavours available is astounding, and we tend to think that terroir can in fact be identified in well made Carbo wines.

So in essence, we think that the wide spreading of Carbo techniques across the world has added possibility to the flavour spectrum, not taken anything away. And it has done wonders especially in the wine-bar sector, and as an original choice for restaurants to propose matching with lots of different dishes. And we drinkers are all the better for it!

Here’s a quick and easy recipe for “doing a Carbo” (by a non-winemaker, for non-winemakers).

First, delicately place your freshly harvested, pristine, undamaged whole bunches of grapes into a tank (stainless steel or resin usually), and seal it airtight.

Open the top valve and pump CO2 gas into the tank, from the bottom up, to allow all the oxygen rich air to be pushed out of the tank and replaced by the CO2 gas. Once the tank is filled with CO2, close the valve.

Wait a while, and let it all just hang out for a couple of weeks, you may need to top up the CO2 from time to time, especially early on.

During this time, the juice on the inside of the unbroken grapes will begin leeching flavour and some colour from the inside surface of the grape skins. This happens with the help of some friendly local natural enzymes.

Because there is no, or very little juice in the tank, there will be not much alcoholic fermentation happening. This is a dangerous thing, as grapes are very susceptible to oxidation and bacterial infection if left out, prior to an alcoholic fermentation getting under way. Hence the CO2 gas! If the tank is filled with CO2, there is therefore no oxygen, and where there is no oxygen, there should be no oxidation (evidently) and the bad bacteria can’t really survive either. Genius!

Once your Carbo has done its thing, you can then choose where you want your wine to go. For a light and fruity style, press the grapes and ferment the now colourful and fruity juice until it becomes wine. For a heavier, more complex style, crush the grapes and leave the skins in there for a bit while fermenting (but be careful, as the skins may have gotten a bit pungent during the Carbo). You can then age your wine in wood, concrete, terra cotta or anything else you like.

Chill, serve, and enjoy! Charlie