25-10-2019, 12:30 PM
Onlangs verschenen in The New Yorker:
What You Need to Know About Natural Wine
By Michael B. Dougherty
October 17, 2019
Photograph by John Fedele / Getty
Curious about natural wine? Of course you are, because, when your friends aren’t slamming White Claw or CBD-infused matcha lattes, it’s all they talk about. But, if you want to get into this year’s third-biggest beverage trend, there are some things you should know.
Natural wines aren’t like regular wines. Regular wines are made using industrial farming techniques on a massive scale. You make natural wines in small batches with tender care, just like your uncle Salvatore does in his basement—but these go for forty-five dollars a bottle.
Natural wines are “natural” because they are produced with no additives and minimal sulfites. Regular wines are made by a Koch brother, who adds buckets of Sweet’N Low to them.
Regular wines require you to memorize pretentious, insider-y terms, like “terroir” and “mouthfeel,” and pretend that you can taste leather, granite, and even barnyard in the drink. Natural wines require you to do the exact same thing, but on Instagram, so it’s O.K.
People who make natural wines will tell you that their wines are “alive,” that they have a “personality,” and that they exude “emotion.” These people will also bury cow horns full of manure in their vineyards because a nineteenth-century German occultist told them to do so.
MORE FROM
Daily Shouts
Compared to traditional wines, natural wines have a wider range of flavor profiles, owing to the fact that they’re not constrained by oppressive concepts such as “good” and “drinkable.” You’ll find some that are effervescent and floral, while others can be tannic and herbal. Still others resemble the Syrah that your friends were expecting you to bring to their dinner party, so try to find that one, please.
Regular wines are filtered, but not natural wines. That gives them a cloudy appearance that, for any other consumable product, would elicit a “WTF” and angry demands to speak with a manager, but, inexplicably, here, it’s a good thing.
Sommeliers love natural wines, and natural-wine bars are popping up all over your neighborhood where affordable family businesses used to be. Natural-wine experts are happy to share their passion and knowledge with you—just don’t ask them to share the bottle of 1947 Château Lafite Rothschild that they secretly drained their mom’s pension account to buy.
Video From The New Yorker
Pete Buttigieg Discusses America’s Crisis of Belonging
Unlike regular wines, natural wines are unfussy and inclusive. They don’t need the validation of old white guys in ascots. They just need the obsession of young white women in oversized hats.
Forget the cheese plates and chocolate pairings; those are for boring regular wines. Natural wines pair well with everything from bulgogi tacos to Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. In fact, you can really pair natural wines with anything, because, as with every other alcoholic beverage you consume, you’re just trying to get drunk, right?
Now that you know everything about natural wine, you can walk into your nearest wine store, confidently stride over to the formerly daunting shelves, and choose a bottle like the informed, enlightened natural-wine drinker you are—by picking the one with the coolest-looking label.
What You Need to Know About Natural Wine
By Michael B. Dougherty
October 17, 2019
Photograph by John Fedele / Getty
Curious about natural wine? Of course you are, because, when your friends aren’t slamming White Claw or CBD-infused matcha lattes, it’s all they talk about. But, if you want to get into this year’s third-biggest beverage trend, there are some things you should know.
Natural wines aren’t like regular wines. Regular wines are made using industrial farming techniques on a massive scale. You make natural wines in small batches with tender care, just like your uncle Salvatore does in his basement—but these go for forty-five dollars a bottle.
Natural wines are “natural” because they are produced with no additives and minimal sulfites. Regular wines are made by a Koch brother, who adds buckets of Sweet’N Low to them.
Regular wines require you to memorize pretentious, insider-y terms, like “terroir” and “mouthfeel,” and pretend that you can taste leather, granite, and even barnyard in the drink. Natural wines require you to do the exact same thing, but on Instagram, so it’s O.K.
People who make natural wines will tell you that their wines are “alive,” that they have a “personality,” and that they exude “emotion.” These people will also bury cow horns full of manure in their vineyards because a nineteenth-century German occultist told them to do so.
MORE FROM
Daily Shouts
Compared to traditional wines, natural wines have a wider range of flavor profiles, owing to the fact that they’re not constrained by oppressive concepts such as “good” and “drinkable.” You’ll find some that are effervescent and floral, while others can be tannic and herbal. Still others resemble the Syrah that your friends were expecting you to bring to their dinner party, so try to find that one, please.
Regular wines are filtered, but not natural wines. That gives them a cloudy appearance that, for any other consumable product, would elicit a “WTF” and angry demands to speak with a manager, but, inexplicably, here, it’s a good thing.
Sommeliers love natural wines, and natural-wine bars are popping up all over your neighborhood where affordable family businesses used to be. Natural-wine experts are happy to share their passion and knowledge with you—just don’t ask them to share the bottle of 1947 Château Lafite Rothschild that they secretly drained their mom’s pension account to buy.
Video From The New Yorker
Pete Buttigieg Discusses America’s Crisis of Belonging
Unlike regular wines, natural wines are unfussy and inclusive. They don’t need the validation of old white guys in ascots. They just need the obsession of young white women in oversized hats.
Forget the cheese plates and chocolate pairings; those are for boring regular wines. Natural wines pair well with everything from bulgogi tacos to Flamin’ Hot Cheetos. In fact, you can really pair natural wines with anything, because, as with every other alcoholic beverage you consume, you’re just trying to get drunk, right?
Now that you know everything about natural wine, you can walk into your nearest wine store, confidently stride over to the formerly daunting shelves, and choose a bottle like the informed, enlightened natural-wine drinker you are—by picking the one with the coolest-looking label.
