Chef Daniela Soto-Innes opened her long awaited new restaurant RUBRA with a wine dinner from Austrian producer Gut Oggau.
Ever more mainstream, the long-held stereotype of natural wine as flawed and funky is full of more holes than Swiss cheese these days. As wine consumers have continued to embrace these wines for a combination of their farming and winemaking ethos, their punk rock bonafides remain intact.
‘I believe our awareness of climate change, the need to act more sustainably overall to alter our lifestyles and reduce our footprint has led to the popularity of organic, biodynamic and natural wine,’ says Marko Kovac of Karakterre, the natural wine salon highlighting Eastern and Central European wines.
‘If we’re choosing EVs over gasoline-powered cars, why not do the same when we consider what to consume? Beyond just environmental issues, we want to be healthier. Organic, biodynamic and natural wines, being free of many chemicals used in conventional farming, are indeed healthier – though we can’t escape the reality that they are alcohol in the end and should probably be consumed in moderation.’
Marko Kovac of Karakterre. Credit: Karakterre
A natural evolution
‘Yes, the movement has seen a significant shift from what in previous years has been perceived as a bunch of underground weirdos drinking the funky stuff – and that’s a great achievement,’ Kovac admits.
‘In the early days, there was a need to fight for the place at the table, being laughed at by the conventional wine industry and professionals, hence the notions of wine needing to be cloudy, without any sulphites added, and even welcoming of certain wine faults. It was maybe the only way natural wine could have made a name for itself.
‘However, we must admit that, in many cases, those same wines were in some cases truly undrinkable. In a way, everyone needed to grow up: the winegrowers, the industry, the market and the consumer. It was just such a radical message.
‘The formula obviously worked. Today, you find organic, biodynamic and natural wines on many tables across the globe. It is not an isolated movement anymore. It’s not just a trend. Everyone has “evolved”: the winegrower trading the faults for a more sensible product, the professionals adopting the category, and the market asking for these types of wines.
‘Of course, on both sides, one still sees extremes – wine professionals who refuse to enter the category and winegrowers who refuse to use sulphur. But the two worlds have come closer than ever. That’s evident through global wine lists and how even conventional wineries are shifting to more sustainable production.’
A place at the table
As the movement has taken up space on shelves in well-pointed bottle shops and fine dining wine lists, it has found champions in the kitchen who are true believers.
These chefs see a direct connection between the embrace of care and stewardship in the farming that goes into their ingredients in the kitchen and the like-minded practices in vineyards and cellars of natural winemakers.
Ana Roš of Hiša Franko
Chef Ana Roš of Hiša Franko. Credit: Suzan Gabrijan
‘Personally, I’m drawn to natural wines because they align with my philosophy of staying close to nature,’ says Ana Roš of the three Michelin star Hiša Franko in Slovenia.
‘Just as I prefer minimal intervention in my food, I appreciate wines made with as little interference as possible. It’s important to me to know what I’m putting into my body, and natural wines provide that sense of integrity.
‘For the past 25 years, I’ve been drinking natural wines. It’s a legacy from my ex-husband’s (Valter Kramar) father, Franko, who opened Hiša Franko in the early 1970s. At that time, when natural wines were often called “wines with mistakes”, Franko was already collecting wines from pioneers like Valter Mle?nik and the Bati? family. This passion for natural wines was carried forward by Valter, an ardent…
Source : https://www.decanter.com/learn/the-worlds-top-chefs-embrace-natural-wine-546201/
