Organic and Natural Wines from Southern Italy that are Included in Raffle Item
If you get headaches or feel sick after drinking conventional commercially made wines (or scientific wines), you may want to consider natural or organic wines which do not use chemicals or pesticides in the vineyard and use minimal or no additives in the cellar. As described below, natural wines do not use selected yeasts to convert sugar into alcohol, rather natural wines are made with indigenous yeasts. Natural and organic wines add small amounts of sulfites (between 10 ppm to 75 ppm), which is far less than the 350 ppm allowed by USA standards. After the list of wines there is a discussion of natural and organic wines, as well as the Raw Wine, Triple A and FIVI organizations. In short members of Raw Wine and Triple A produce natural wines, and members of FIVI produce organic wines. Note there are two natural wines that do not have sulfites added. I suppose you could classify these two wines as “perfect natural wines”.
White Wines
Torrefavole, 2018, Greco di Tufo, Dell’Angelo (member Raw Wine)
Particella 928, 2018 Fiano, Cantine del Barone (member Raw Wine)
Rose` Wines
Il Marinetta,2019, Gaglioppo, Sergio Arcuri (member Triple A)
Il Fric, a sparkling wine, 2019 Aglianico, Casebianche (member Raw Wine – no sulfites added)
Red Wines
Aglianico di Baal 2016, Aglianico, Casa di Baal (member Raw Wine)
Mofete Etna Rosso 2016, Nerello Mascelese/Nerello Cappuccio, Palmento Costanza (organic)
Pantum Vino Rosso 2017, Primitivo, Pantum (member Raw Wine)
Campantuono 2016, Primitivo, Gennaro Papa (member FIVI)
Piancastelli 2014, Pallagrello Nero/Casavecchia, Terre del Principe (member FIVI)
Le Drude, 2012, Aglianico, Michele Laluce (organic)
Poliphemo Taurasi, 2013, Aglianico. Luigi Tecce (natural)
Nero Ne` Taurasi, 2015 Aglianico, Il Cancelliere (member Raw Wine – no sulfites added)
The wines listed above are produced by Southern Italian small family owned farms that produce low intervention wines made with organically grown grapes. What is the definition of a producer of low intervention wines? Non-interventionist winemakers use as few additives as possible and as little manipulation as they can. http://www.morethanorganic.com/definition-of-natural-wine (“More than Organic”). As More than Organic notes winemakers have to compromise at some point. Where and why they compromise depends upon what they are trying to achieve and how much they are prepared to risk in order to achieve. There are certain elements that compromise a total non-intervention wine, but as More than Organic notes that making a “perfect natural wine” is difficult to achieve. Sometimes winemakers will achieve this “perfect natural wine” but many times winemakers have to improvise in order to prevent the wine from spoiling. Winemakers that adhere to a natural process will intervene minimally and only when necessary.
Organic wines are not necessarily natural wines, but natural wines are organic. Organic definition pertains mostly to methods and procedures in the vineyard – i.e. no chemicals or pesticides, only organic or natural fertilizers and integrated pest management processes are used. Organic wines are required to have far less sulfites than conventional wines. Natural definition pertains to the winemaking procedure in the cellar. Non-intervention or natural winemakers do not use additives, or as pointed out above, if necessary, use additives in the least amount of quantities required.
In the United States 76 different additives are permitted to be used to manipulate wine. Here are a few of the additives: tartaric acid to boost the acidity in white wines, sugar to adjust alcohol, egg whites or bentonite to clarify wines and remove tannins, fish bladder to remove proteins, yeast and other organic particles which are in suspension in wine making, nonindigenous or cultured yeasts, powdered tannins for texture and astringency, gum arabic to soften tannins and reduce astringency to make a red wine more silky or the magic potion Mega Purple. Mega Purple is a concentrate made with the rubired grape, a hybrid grape grown exclusively in San Joaquin Valley, CA. A couple of drops of the gooey concentrate is added to red wine to add color, make the wine sweeter and cover up flawed flavors. It is prevalent in wines produced in large quantities at a low-cost and even some high-end wines. The wine conglomerate, Constellation Wine Company produces Mega Purple and reportedly sells over 10,000 gallons of it per annum. Although few wineries will admit to the use of Mega Purple, based on its annual sales, it is widely used.
Of the 76 additives, how many are added to natural wines? Some natural wine makers add none (a “perfect natural wine” which as noted above is a goal that is not always achieved) and others may add sulfites to preserve the wine at bottling at an amount far below permissible amounts that can be added to biodynamic or organic wines. Natural wine makers will never add tannins or products to clarify wines.
A distinguishing feature of natural wines is the use of native or wild yeasts from their own grapes resulting in spontaneous fermentation, whereas non-natural wines use nonindigenous yeasts for a controlled fermentation. Luigi Moio, a leading wine consultant and a winemaker, takes the position that the distinction between wild yeasts and selected yeasts is overstated. https://vinoway.com/approfondimenti/vino/interviste/item/7551-luigi-moio-un-lievito-selezionato-non-ha-niente-di-chimico-%C3%A8-un-lievito-naturale.html In this Vino Way magazine article Luigi Moio stated the following:
Yeast plays a minor role in this process, particularly in the vinification of reds. Moreover, to make a wine that is an expression of a territorial identity, one must avoid olfactory deviations, and it is possible to do so even without the use of a selected yeast, although this ensures greater safety and better alcoholic fermentation. A selected yeast has nothing chemical, it has nothing strange, it is a natural yeast that has been isolated from others present in nature and categorized.
Selected yeasts are more reliable than wild yeasts, thus lessen the risks associated in the fermentation process. Natural winemakers are willing to take the risk that organic and conventional producers are not. There are many selected or commercial yeasts available for winemakers. Some selected or commercial yeasts are flavored, hence, results in the olfactory deviations that Luigi Moio says must be avoided. Moio and other organic winemakers that we have met use “neutral” yeasts; the same cannot be said of all winemakers, however.
A final note – there are several associations that assist in the promotion of natural/non-intervention wines such as Raw Wine, Triple A Movement and the Italian Federation of Independent Winemakers. Raw Wine http://www.rawwine.com. members meet the following requirements: (1) organic grapes grown without the use of chemicals, (2) wine produced by hand using artisanal techniques, (3) wine made with traditional processes that enable balance, (4) create a living wine, with low intervention in the cellar, and (5) promote well-being in individuals and communities. The Triple A Movement http://www.triplea.it – Agricoltori Artigiani Artisti (Farmers Artisans Artists) was started in response to the standardization of wines throughout the world. Three A promotes farmers that produce healthy and ripe grapes with natural agronomic interventions; artisans that do not alter the original structure of grapes and do not alter the structure the wine; and artists that give life to a great wine where the characteristics of the territory and wine are exalted. The Italian Federation of Independent Winemakers (FIVI). FIVI promotes the quality and authenticity of Italian wines. http://www.fivi.it.
