The Wandering Wino Blog
Natural Wine - Q&A
Written by shawn on date 13 August 2012 in Natural Wine
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(Above) Art by Gary Conway
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Early this year I had the pleasure of walking into Carmody McKnight tasting room in Paso Robles California. Upon my visit, I learned the winery is owned by Gary Conway, an actor that starred in the late 6o's TV show "Land of the Giants."
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While tasting some very nice wines, I overheard Gary behind the bar sharing about "natural" wine. He was passionate about what he was sharing and it was a very intriguing subject. After asking some questions, we had a fantastic conversation on his vineyard/wine views.
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The term "natural wine" is unheard of at the great wall of wine from the grocery store shelves and is typically discussed more amongst the wine industry. Natural wine has not technically been defined, creating greater challenges and many more perspectives.
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Not long after meeting Gary, I wrote "What Is Natural Wine" on Mi Wine Barrel http://miwinebarrel.com/blog/whats-natural-wine We have kept in contact and the facination of learning more had me coming back for questions on his view of natural wine.
Q: What is your definition of natural wine?
A: I would like to think of it as "wine." How wine has been made for 8,000 years until the last fifty or 100 years. The vast majority of what is produced today should be called "unnatural" wine. I am an artist. I create art the way it has been done for thousands of years. The only difference is that the artists over the centuries, for the most part, were technically better than today. But we employ the exact tools – canvas, a palette, brushes, pencils, charcoal and paints. I have few other tools. It is really not complicated. I don’t get cute with painting or employ machinery.
Q: How many other wineries do you know that are producing Natural wine?
A: Okay, we'll go with the "natural" wine. None as far as I know. I would like to find one.
(Above Photo - Head Trained Vineyard)
•Q: Any difference between the way vines are planted? Head trained, trellis, etc. Why?
•A: Absolutely. Aristotle made a “natural wine.” He also grew the natural grape.
In a phone conversation Gary shared how his vines are about 600 per acre and planted 7 x 11. He went on to say that anything less than 11 feet apart then the vines will shade each other and disturb photosynthesis.
Carmody Mcknight Vineyard
•Q: Is the vineyard treated throughout the year any differently?
•A: You do not “treat” a natural vineyard.
•Q: Do you mow every row/some rows to allow insects?
•A It is mainly irrelevant, but allowing nature to take its course in the rows is generally a good idea.
•Q: Do you plant anything additional in the vineyard to help add nitrogen etc?
▪A: No.
•Q: Do you take any action to prevent frost damage? Sprinklers/fans?
• A: No.
•Q: Tell me about how you harvest? Hand picked? Machines? Does it make a difference in it being natural?
• A: You will never make a natural wine from natural grapes and employ modern harvest machinery. If you are using machines to pick grapes you are far from any natural wine making.
•Q:How is the wine making differentiate?
•A: You add nothing… none of the at least 150 chemicals available.
Q:Are there varietals that are more challenging as a natural wine producer?
Phone A: Some are not to be messed with.
•Q: Is the fermentation process impacted? Longer? Lower alcohol?
•A: Higher or lower alcohol -- if it is natural -- is site and area specific. The more photosynthesis, as in California, the more alcohol.
•Q: How about yeast, what is acceptable? If the wine does not fully ferment, is it acceptable to add yeast?
•A: Only natural or native yeast – which means your winery must be a natural winery – sustainable… no unnatural cooling or heating. It must be like a cellar.
•Q: Do you think the vineyard or the wine making process have a greater impact on natural wine, or are they equal?
•A: There is no “process” as one would think of it. It the same “process” that has been around for 8,000 years.
•Q: What are your thoughts about chemicals in the vineyard? How about what are often called "soft" chemicals?
•A: Chemicals for the most part have become a disaster in the vineyard and in wine, especially chemical fertilizers. As bad, maybe worse, are the fungicides. Most of the areas of the world are using hard chemical fungicides, which are scary to our health and certainly affect the “flavor” of the wines. This is not an opinion. This is science.
More Q & A in a coming part II of a great conversation with Gary Conway of Carmody Mcknight, located in Paso Robles Ca. In the interim, I'll be looking forward to a session at the wine bloggers conference discussing natural wine, organic, biodynamic in depth this coming weekend.
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