Natural Wine Isabelle Legeron MW

Product detailed description

We live in a society where it's fashionable to wear farmer's boots and the chit-chat de rigueur at the local butcher's revolves around how long your meat has been hung. Microbreweries and espresso bars populate our urban landscapes, and yet, even against this new agro-chic backdrop, we still, without the slightest thought, wash down our outdoor-reared sausages with the vinous equivalent of a battery chicken. Perhaps this is because, while it's become routine to look at the list of ingredients on the back of most foodstuffs, with wine, we can't, as no such labeling laws exist. This book isn't meant to be an exposé of the wine world. Rather, it is a tribute to those wines that are not only farmed well, but also fly in the face of modern winemaking practices, remaining natural against all the odds. It is also a celebration of the remarkable people who create them. Like sailors going to sea, playing the winds and riding the waves, these winemakers understand that nature is much greater than themselves. They acknowledge that not only is it futile, but actually counterproductive, to try to control or tame her, as her magic lies in her power. I am not a winemaker, nor do I pretend to know everything about the science of winemaking. However, I have an overall vision based on discussions with growers, as well as tasting and drinking thousands of wines. I always intended this book as a starting-point, an invitation to people to explore and begin asking their own questions. My personal views are clear and I don't sit on the fence. Apart from the fact that I genuinely believe all wine should be farmed organically as a bare minimum, there is no political or economic agenda behind the writing. 

Instead, my opinions are guided by what I enjoy drinking. I believe wines made naturally, with no (or very few) sulfites, taste the best, and this is why I drink nothing else. It is with this in mind that i wrote the book.  

Natural Wine is therefore a subjective look at what makes great wine, because, for me, only natural wine can be truly great. I have tried to tell as much of the story as possible through the voices and stories of others, because this world is not my creation. It is real, it exists, and many of the thoughts and experiences I share are those of a much larger community: While doing my research, I found that there's very little written information on the subject, not least because most of the conventional wine world disregards the natural as not commercially viable. Consequently, my findings are largely based on primary research: conversations, interviews, and, of course, a lot of wine tasting. Wine is something we ingest. Like other types of food, it can be more or less wholesome, more or less manipulated, and more or less delicious. In many ways, this book could easily apply to other foodstuffs, including bread, beer, and milk, that have suffered a similar over-commercialized fate (and natural revival); it's just that wine has been a little slow off the mark. So, if you understand how proper food can provide a nourishment that goes beyond  merely satisfying hunger and that the energy, commitment and intentions of natural wine producers matter, then you'll see just how special fine, natural wine is—and I hope you will never look back.   

ISABELLE LEGERON MW