We sit down to talk to Pamela Busch, founder of The Vinguard and it’s annual event, WINeFare — initiatives driven by women and gender-nonconforming individuals that are committed to social justice, environmental protection, and shared mentorship in the world of wine, with a focus on natural wine.
It is imperative, now more than ever, that we dig into the human side of our favorite wines, and ask how our favorite producers create sustainable work environments, not just vineyards. We wanted to know what an alternative to the existing labor system could look like for wine producers and for workers, so we took a deeper look at Stolpman Vineyards.
We’re so inspired by Nous, a progressive cooperative based on sharing resources, regenerative practices encouraging soil health and biodiversity, and enabling small farmers to succeed in an industry dominated by BIG wine. Could this be the future for small-scale natural winemaking?
A primer on organic wine certification levels and what they mean from our friend Amanda Simpson of organic wine distributor Mountain Peoples Wine.
So, you’re planning a trip to Napa or Sonoma and want the bucolic wine country experience. But now, you’re fully aware of the difference between conventional and natural wine, so you can’t just head up Highway 29 and wing it like in the old days, before you KNEW. A quandary, for sure, as most of Napa isn’t farmed organically. And generally winemaking there is very formulaic, the following of a recipe to achieve a consistent product that gets the scores and justifies the price tag. In other words, the opposite of natural. Because, let’s be honest, most visitors are coming for the Disneyland wine country experience — the perfectly groomed vineyards, the cult Cabernets, the fancy shit.
You’ve probably heard the term “volcanic wine” thrown around lately. As in, “I only drink volcanic wines these days,” from your hipster friend, or “I heard about this volcanic wine from Etna called Susucaru from Action Bronson, but I can’t find it anywhere,” from about a million followers of Action’s Vice show, F**ck That’s Delicious.
There’s a ton of excellent natural wine out there, one just needs to know how to find it. But without ingredient labels to guide you, you might be asking yourself: “how do I find such wines if my wine shop/restaurant server/local Whole Foods doesn’t know anything about how the wine is made?” Answer: acquaint yourselves with the importers who specialize in low-intervention wines! information alone will provide important clues about the style and constitution of the juice, and help guide you when choosing blindly.
I love finding new California winemakers who are making clean, delicious and extremely interesting wines that are actually affordable. The Living Wines Collective, a band of four young winemakers based in Orinda, California, are doing just that, with several edgy brands under their umbrella (among them, Populis, Elizia and Les Lunes).
Jair Tellez, chef/owner of the progressive Laja Restaurant in Valle de Guadalupe (Mexico’s wine country), is the guy behind Tecate-based Bichi, the only known natural winery in Mexico. A few years ago, he decided to make the kind of wine he wanted to pair with his food, and began resurrecting old vines in Baja to make delicious, authentically-made wine from grapes suited to Mexico’s hot, dry climate – with awesome label art (bonus!).
Those lovely, inexpensive summer rosés that go down like water? Most are industrial products, with conventional farming, high sulfur levels and who knows what else. Not these. Super clean, from smaller, family-owned estates or even smaller mom & pop shops. They’re all practicing (or certified) organic, with a few taking it one step further to biodynamics, […]
I’m a mom of two young boys, a sommelier, a former restaurateur, and a passionate home cook. I believe in eating well and celebrating life every day, not just on weekends or holidays or vacation. With delicious, healthy food, good wine and family and friends gathered around the table. This is my happy place.
My goal is to inspire to get you into the kitchen, and to take the mystery out of serving wine with food. On a Tuesday night. With picky eaters, even toddlers. It’s totally doable. Especially with a glass of wine. Trust me.
