How Natural Wine is Making The World A Better Place
Let’s face it, natural wine is not going anywhere, anytime soon & neither am I! Help make the world a better place by indulging yourself into all things natural wine, you will feel good about it.
Unfortunately our planet earth has seen better days. We as the human race have collectively destroyed it, and the task is up to average people like you and me to reverse the impacts whichever way possible.
Don’t worry though, it’s not all doom and gloom. Minimal intervention wines and everything about them is a step in the right direction for our planet. Start a working relationship with your local natural wine shop, understand how these wines are produced organically at a minimum, or even follow the movement of an independent winemaker you like from Sicily, for example. As your about to read, there are plenty of ways in which this industry is helping make the planet a better place.
Sustainable Farming Methods
Independent winemakers pay great attention to the soil that gifts them their bread and butter. These people practise farming in a very sustainable manner, putting only what comes from the ground back into their crops. Once you get your hands on the end result, the wine, you can quite literally taste the purity of the producer’s hard work. A pleasant experience that you will want to have again.
Natural Wine is Fun
Although there’s a lot of tedious work put into the making of each bottle of greatness, natural wine is still fun. The mere fact that each bottle different from the last one is exciting, it’s eclectic and very entertaining. Something that brings such joy and excitement will reflect in the mindset and make you happier.
A happy planet is a healthy planet.
Proper Recognition to The People Behind The Bottle
You stop by into your local natural wine shop and start looking for something fruity and juicy for the weekend. The problem is, they’re all upwards of £22, how expensive!! I can’t disagree, natural wines can be expensive and don’t expect anything too special for sub £20.
But there’s good reasoning for this, first of all, there are very few natural winemakers like Ben Walgate of Tillingham Wines, based in the UK so we already have to deal with importer & distributor fees.
Ben Walgate is a natural winemaker based in Sussex which is the south of the UK, for those interested in his wines drop him a follow on Instagram @tillinghamwines or check out his website at tillingham.com.
Secondly, making natural wine is quite an intricate profession requiring a lot of attention to detail, hard work, and many sleepless nights. Now I don’t know about you, but I have no problem paying a little extra for a bottle of natural wine so that these winemakers can be rightly rewarded for their endeavours, as opposed to cheaply made corner shop pinot grigio.
The Alternative Option in a World of Status Quo
Most of the major corporations in today’s alcohol industry dominate what’s available in our local wine shops and bars due to their watered-down terms and asking prices. Meaning the world richest man gets richer and the selection at almost every place you go can be very basic, and irritating, to say the least.
Natural wine is not only an artisanal work of magic, but it also offers a new option when you go to that bar on Friday to embrace the weekend and chill out. Or, you’re looking to stay up until 4 am chatting breeze and swigging from the bottle? There’s glou-glou for that my friends, averaging at 9% these wines are very chuggable!
Change is good.
Intellectually Challenging the Younger Generation
Now that’s a mouthful, isn’t it?
Anyway to my point, once you get involved in natural wine you realise that this world strongly resembles an onion. Picture an onion as your preparing it to be cooked. You’ve got that rough-looking skin off, the aroma is striking, and there are 8 more layers to get through before your done with it (There’s also no guarantee you won’t cry along the way…).
Now considering natural wine has such a powerful appeal to the younger generation including myself, (thanks to celebrity advocates such as Action Bronson ramping up the hype online) once we have fully embraced natural wine and start to realise there are many layers to it? It’s game over, we want all the information we can find, searching high and low, through the night and as rude as it sounds even during breakfast.
After all, we are the spawn of the IT age and we must compute…
Rare Wine that’s Not Rare
You would think because natural winemaking is such a niche, independent operation these wines would be difficult to find. And don’t get me wrong, some are, plenty are, to be frank.
But there’s also a massively growing online community buying and selling rare, funky wines all the time. From all corners of the globe too! Meaning, although vintages older than 2015 may be difficult to find, there is a surplus to requirements of kind-of rare, natural wines surfacing the web and you’d be surprised just how easy it is to find some.
Liberty For Unique Winemakers
It’s no hidden secret natural winemakers thoroughly enjoy going against the grain and doing things their way. Unfortunately, as a result, most of their regions wine bodies deny them of any recognisable name or title to associate their wines with which can diminish an entire reputation.
This predicament can be a bit of a catch 22 for winemakers because to be officially recognised with any regions appellation is quite the achievement. On the other hand, most of these winemakers are extremely independent and have truly embraced the liberty of making wine naturally, many of which couldn’t care less about a title of any sorts.
To Sum It Up
Like most things in today’s world, realising just how badly we have hurt this planet is anxiety-inducing, to say the least.
And it can be really difficult to decide which way is the best way to get involved. Natural wine is an option. It’s a responsible and ethical option and I assure you the feeling of joy once you get your feet wet is immense.
