Weekly Saturday Tasting

Minimal Intervention Winemaking Values

Saturday, June 7th
1:00 - 3:00

‘Minimal intervention’ is (to us) a better way to describe the recent movement in wine, known variously as ‘natural’ wine, ‘lo-fi’ wine, ‘raw wine’ and various other epithets. This umbrella can include sub-trends such as pét-nat, orange or amber wines, and embraces non-conventional viticultural philosophies such as organics and biodynamics. Today more than ever, we are all aware of the health consequences of what we eat and drink, as well as the air we breathe, the water we swim in, and so forth. The health of the environment, as well as our own selves, is a concern reflected every day in the news media, and in our consciousness. There is no question that organically produced wines are in demand. 

There are some basic tenets which most wines that fit into the minimal intervention theory tend to follow:
~ Grapes are typically grown by small-scale, independent producers
~ Grapes are hand-harvested from sustainable, organic, or biodynamic vineyards.
~ Wine is fermented by native yeasts, using the yeasts naturally present on the grape skins or in the winery, and not inoculating the wine with specifically cultivated yeast strains.
~ No additives are included in fermentation
~ Little or no sulfites are added

Outside of loose guidelines like those above, there is no official or regulated definition of "natural" wine. For us here at Hope Valley Wine and Beverage we tend to lean towards ones that are made by winemakers pragmatic enough to know that minimal additions of certain natural additives can improve the taste, clarity, and shelf stability of many wines. We like wines that will have bottle consistency, where you know that a second bottle of a wine you enjoyed last week will taste the same this week. Certainly the same wine from different years will show differences between vintages, but we find that some wines from the hardcore "raw wine" movement can taste vastly different from bottle to bottle. That's why we prefer the idea of Minimal Intervention Winemaking, where the winemaker mostly just lets nature run its course, but can gently nudge and guide as needed.
One other trend we've noticed with these wines is that they are unfortunately getting more and more expensive. Whether this is just supply and demand, or the costs of organic certification and biodynamic processes, we don't know, we're just sure we've seen many 'natural' wines getting darn expensive. So we worked with our friend Adam Green Greene from Proof Wine & Spirits to select some wines for this tasting that both adhere to the basic ideaology, but still stay at more everyday pricing. Please come joins us and see what you think!

Vignoble Duffour Blanc
Côtes de Gascogne IGP, France, 2023

Sonnhof Social Club Grüner Veltliner Liters
Kamptal, Austria, 2023

Viña Zorzal Garnacha
Navarra DO, Spain, 2023

Rolfshark Vino Tradizionale Lambrusco
Lambrusco Grasparossa di Castelvetro DOC Italy, 2023