Authentic Wine: Toward Natural and Sustainable Winemaking [Hardcover]

Jamie Goode (Author), Sam Harrop MW (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 15, 2011

"A great primer. . . . If you're new to the natural/organic/biodynamic wine debates, Authentic Wine is the place to start."--Huffington Post
"This is one of the most engaging, thoughtful and enlightening books on contemporary wine. . . . A manifesto for an industry looking to shape its future."--Wine And Spirits

Naturalness is a hot topic in the wine world. But what exactly is a "natural wine"? For this pioneering book, best-selling wine writer Jamie Goode teams up with winemaker and Master of Wine Sam Harrop to explore the wide range of issues surrounding authenticity in wine. They begin by emphasizing that wine's diversity, one of its strengths, is currently under threat from increasingly homogenized commercial wines that lack a sense of place. Drawing on a global array of examples and anecdotes, Goode and Harrop examine complex concepts--terroir, biodynamics, and sustainability--in clear language. They also discuss topics including cultured and wild yeasts, wine "faults," the carbon footprint of the wine industry, "natural" as a marketing concept, and more. Authentic Wine illuminates a subject of great interest to wine producers, consumers, and anyone wondering where the wine industry is headed.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A very good book. . . . One of the more balanced and detailed accounts dealing with the issue of sustainable winemaking."- Robert M. Parker, Jr.--The Wine Advocate

"An ocean's worth of savvy detail about both the more (organic farming, the endless shades of sustainability) and less (reverse osmosis, acidification) happy nuances of making wine."--San Francisco Chronicle

"A compelling manifesto for natural wine . . . the understandable, everyday terms used make this a genuine guide to wine science for the citizen."--Scotland On Sunday

"'Authentic Wine' performs the invaluable service of raising crucial questions and explaining complicated issues coherently."--New York Times

"A very well written and useful book with a long shelf life. Once read, it is one to dip in and out of regularly."--The Kitchn

From the Inside Flap

"Goode and Harrop are terroirists determined to protect and preserve wine as a unique part of civilized life. Authentic Wine is both stirring manifesto and a reasoned, practical guide. Vive les terroirists!"--Mike Veseth, author of Wine Wars: The Curse of the Blue Nun, the Miracle of Two Buck Chuck and the Revenge of the Terroirists

"Jamie Goode is a rarity in the wine world: a trained scientist who can explain complicated subjects without dumbing them down or coming over like a pointy head. It also helps that he's a terrific writer with a real passion for his subject."--Tim Atkin MW

"It is not surprising that wine often stimulates the flow of bile - often exchanged between highly opinionated groups of wine writers, drinkers and kibbitzers, each with a different aesthetic and ideology. This book by Jamie Goode and Sam Harrop mounts a passionate defense of "natural wine" from an utterly rational perspective. They make the case that we must choose to grow grapes and make wines in a natural way, allowing the wines to achieve the greatest expression of individuality, lest we drown in an a wine-dark (possibly over-extracted) sea of sameness."--Randall Grahm, author of Been Doon So Long

"Praise for Jamie Goode's The Science of Wine":

"Mr. Goode has written one of the most enlightening and clearheaded wine books to appear in years. This is a wine book you'll actually read and reread."--Matt Kramer, New York Sun

"Lively and provocative."--Eric Asimov, New York Times

"Goode's readable prose makes even the most technical subjects accessible. For anyone interested in more than just drinking wine, this is a must read."Wine Enthusiast

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 272 pages
• Publisher: University of California Press; 1 edition (September 15, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0520265637
• ISBN-13: 978-0520265639
• Product Dimensions: 7.2 x 1.1 x 10.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.7 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #537,346 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Well written, well argued and highly educational February 12, 2012

By Patrick

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am surprised this book has not yet been reviewed. First of all, it should be said that this is not a ligt read. Many of the discussions require concentration and I found myself reading them several times to fully grasp what they were tying together. Tis book is more suited someone who is interested in learning about the science of wine faults,chemistry, in addition to details related to yeast, grafting, alcohol and ripeness, how wine can be manipulated, etc. the authors have done a good job looking at both sides of an argument.

I have learned a great deal from this book and highly recommend it to anyone who wants to better understand things mentioned above. The issues are also timely and, while they are not always necessarily popular, they are topics that the wine industry should discuss. I have read several bloggers who are overly critical of this book and get hung up on a couple of controversial points (Tom Wark from Fermentation is one example).

Again, if you want to understand why you smell rubber, smoke or gooseberry in a wine, buy this book.

8 of 11 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Science Yes, Marketing No March 7, 2012

By DPHBrooklyn

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

This review first appeared in 205food.com

Authentic Wine: Toward Natural and Sustainable Winemaking is a title one might expect to find on an academic paper, presented at an obscure symposium, or perhaps at a wine industry conference. It is a yawner, isn't it? The book itself is not. The first and last portions of Authentic Wine, which try to define authentic wine and how it might be promoted, are not always well thought out. The authors' commitment to natural wine making sometimes seems a bit shaky, and their proposals rather naive. But in between the mildly polemical chapters is the broader portion of the book, more scientifically based, with interesting observations on such diverse topics as terroir, vine grafting, wild vs. cultured yeasts, and how to make wine without sulfur additions.

Did you know?

* The concept of "minerality" in wine is almost certainly a misnomer, since vines cannot absorb the aromas or flavors of blue slate, chalk or any of the other soil types wine lovers praise. What is described as "minerality" is more likely a combination of high acidity and volatile sulfur compounds, perhaps with an assist by the yeast Brettanomyces.

* Robert M. Parker, who has been accused of promoting "inauthentic wine" is a part owner of Beaux Frères, a biodynamic winery.

* A 2008 survey of pesticides in wine found that every bottle of wine made from conventionally farmed grapes contained pesticide residues. While the levels may not be injurious to public health, wouldn't no trace (as in nearly all of the organic wines tested) be preferable?...

* Producing a wine without sulfur dioxide may be somewhat risky, but is much less so if the fruit is high in quality, hand picked, has high acidity, sufficient tannin, and remains on its lees for an extended period. Good handling practices in the winery, high quality closures, and refrigerated shipping further reduce the possibility of oxidation or spoilage.

* Of the 800 or so flavor components in wine, at least 400 are produced by yeasts. Thus the flavor of wine itself can be manipulated to some degree by using engineered yeast strains. For natural wine makers using ambient yeasts, most of the work is one by only one strain, S. cerevisiae.

* Clark Smith, whose company Vinovation was the leading practitioner of reverse osmosis in the United States , believes that 45 percent of California wines are alcohol adjusted.

Leaving the world of facts, figures, and science, on which the authors are on firm ground, we enter a grayer area, namely, how do we decide what constitutes natural or authentic wine? The authors profess to be advocates for natural and authentic wine and who can doubt it given the title of the book? They take a "This I Believe" stance halfway through:

We believe that there are plenty of natural wines on the market that confirm that with the right level of attention to detail and intervention when needed, natural wine can always (my emphasis) be better quality, more interesting wine.

Yet, despite this pledge of faith to natural wine making, there is no "rah-rah, let's go natural wine makers!" in this book. They seem very wary, even a bit spooked, by the dangers of natural winemaking. Take for instance this bombshell, the last paragraph of Chapter Nine, dropped without elaboration:

Aside from quality, there's another issue to consider: health... Research shows that potentially carcinogenic compounds such as ethyl carbamate and ochratoxin A can be provided at higher levels in spontaneous MLFs (malolactic fermentations --my addition). This may be a factor to consider in choosing whether or not to allow a natural MLF.

In short, you, the natural winemaker might be responsible for another case of cancer, but not if you had used enzymes to control the MLF.

At other points in the book the authors use slippery logic or provide convenient rationales for practices that natural wine lovers abhor. Consider the following:

If a grower is stuck in a position where he or she is forced to choose between flavor development and sensible alcohol levels, whatever he or she does in the vineyard, might this justify the use of alcohol reduction technologies as a last resort? They do sound horridly manipulative... but the tantalizing possibility remains that wines that speak more eloquently of their origins... could be realized by the use of these tools.

This portion of the text is immediately followed by a quote from Randall Grahm, self-professed former user (of reverse osmosis) and "Jesus Units" (adding water to wine) who now decries the practices. Yet, the "tantalizing possibility" is not refuted by the writers themselves.

In discussing the problem of Brettanomyces, a strain of yeast that can lead to "off" flavors in wine, Goode and Harrop argue that

... inoculating with lactic acid bacteria for malolactic fermentation is advisable, and after it is complete, it's a good idea to add a dose of SO2, to protect the wine for the rest of its time in barrel or tank. Coinoculation with cultured strains of yeast and lactic acid bacteria has shown good results and may be of help here.

If these two are in the vanguard of the natural wine movement, does it have a future?

Apart from the technical issues of winemaking (a strong point of the book), two other issues are prime concerns. What should we call naturally made wine that respects the environment? How do we promote the production of naturally made wine? The answer to the first question can be found in the book's title. "Authentic Wine" is not only the preferred term; the authors get very ambitious, wondering --

Would it be possible to pool resources and create... a globally recognized standard for sustainable viticulture that is based on common standards and delivers a consistent marketing message? We believe that even more powerful would be an umbrella term, "authentic wine," with a single logo and message...

The "authentic wine" is naturally made, fault free, and expresses a sense of place. But it is more than that. It is also produced using environmentally sensitive techniques (e.g. reducing carbon emissions) through sustainable viticulture. These goals seem laudable and extremely ambitious. But what about the term "authentic wine?"

The nominal definition of authentic is "genuine" or "real." But all wine is real in some sense of the word, isn't it? All wine is made from fermented fruit, falls into a certain alcohol range, is contained in wine bottles, and so on. The true difference between the words "authentic", "genuine" and "real" is that most of us associate authenticity with the seal of approval of an organization or an expert. An art historian decides whether a painting is authentic. A committee in France decides whether a bottle of Savennières is an authentic wine of that region. So the term "authentic wine" would depend on the creation of some type of bureaucratic apparatus to certify the wines as authentic.

Would this be a good thing? Would the creation of such an organization tear the wine industry apart (My wine is authentic, yours is... "unauthentic")? Would it produce standards that are too lenient, given the need for all producers to agree on a single rule? Both of these outcomes seem quite likely. The current messy melange of "biodynamic", "salmon safe", "organic", "certified sustainable" and so on doesn't look so bad.

Before the dawn of "authentic wine" and a single set of standards, the authors have an interesting solution to the natural wine "problem," namely, better marketing. After admitting that "neither of us is a marketing expert," they nevertheless make an interesting point, that "...the New World has performed better than the Old World in sophistication and effectiveness of marketing activity..." But wait, isn't the Old World the locus for most organic and biodynamic winemaking?

Goode and Harrop have lots of advice to offer "key industry stakeholders." All of these stakeholders should know that "the millenials herald the demise of the supreme wine critic." Natural winemakers should realize they have the "best story to tell." Grocery stores need to "practice restraint in their cost cutting and margin hunting in the wine category." Specialist retailers must "sell the story, the point of difference, the experience."

Apart from the fact that much of their advice is glib and sometimes even silly or condescending, there are two curious omissions from the list of wine industry stakeholders, namely consumers and the government. Are not consumers "stakeholders" in the wine industry? Increasing numbers of us cast our votes for natural wine. But in this book "the majority of consumers lack understanding of what wine is, let alone what wine might be." In short, consumers need to be told what is good, through effective marketing.

It is especially odd that almost nothing is said about the role of government. Have they no suggestions for the U.S. TTB (Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau) and its often bizarre wine labeling rules? Are not consumers entitled to a list of ingredients in a given wine, even if this list is only posted on the web? Shouldn't the TTB require winemakers to print the true alcohol levels on their bottles?

The belief of Goode and Harrop in natural and sustainable winemaking seems beyond doubt, and much of the scientific discussion in the book is extremely interesting. Yet, their willing exploration of ways to twist the logic of natural winemaking and to turn the advancement of natural wine into a marketing game is a bit creepy, even distressing. If this is their mantra, I for one favor the current state of chaos. Let's put our faith in wine consumers who, one by one, purchase bottles of natural wine and spread the word. Read more ›

4.0 out of 5 stars A worthwhile read June 1, 2013

By Thomas J Pace III

Format:Kindle Edition

First off, this is not a guide nor is it all about "natural wine." While this book is a bit advanced, it is not a textbook. Authentic Wine reads like an academic paper touching on the various topics in winemaking. It explains clearly the issues facing winemaking from viticulture to must adjustments, yeast inoculations to packaging. Clearly this was designed for those with serious interest in wine and not for the average consumer as it borders on being very technical (although shying away from serious chemistry and science). What I appreciated was the vast amount of discussion that the authors had with viticulture experts, enologists, consultants and winemakers who are involved at all levels of making wine - authentic, natural, organic or sustainable. I also enjoyed discussions on biodynamic farming as this is one of the more confusing trends in wine growing today.

The goal of this book is to demystify "natural wine" and to encourage everyone, from winemakers to consumers, to seek out sustainable wines that display character and a sense of place. It isn't all about organic farming, no SO2 additions and indigenous yeast.

This book is not for everyone but it does shed light on the industry as a whole with a focus given to healthy vineyards and less-manipulated wine.

0 of 1 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Systemic approach of authenticity vs. terroir identity June 3, 2012

By Delphine Veissiere

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I am just a little bit disappointed about the sense of the word "Authentic" when you talk about wine making in the old world. Is it just a substitute to the organic or biodynamic concept which are linked with fashion and new marketing for wine? The multi-variable approach of authenticity seems a priori naive and not really new in an European view. Innovation in wine making may be the simple return to just tradition and familiar habits in making wines? I just need yet to go further in the reading of this book to understand it.