Customer Reviews

Wild Wines: Creating Organic Wines from Nature's Garden

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This is a lovely book, written with enthusiasm and nicely presented. Sometimes it's almost inspiring.

I'm a home winemaker and bought it for the weird and wonderful recipes, though for inspiration rather than to follow literally. The reason is that her methods are unconventional to the point of endangering the wine. I add few of the commercial wine additives she lists, but one is wildly useful and important - sulfites. They've been used for hundreds of years for good reason - to suppress growth of unwanted yeasts, molds and bacteria both in the initial must and in the bottle. Beginners might play it safe, and find out how to use them properly from another source.

One other comment about organic/wild writing of this sort. Caution towards man-made chemicals is sensible, but authors often don't appreciate or stress (if they understand) that man-made chemicals are often pure and controlled versions of naturally occurring substances. Citric acid is citric acid whether it comes from a lemon or a winemaking supply store.

And likewise, some additives may not have had their health risks fully characterized, but the same applies to 'wild' plants. The health risks of making and drinking any of these wines are likely negligible, but I'd be staggered if they were less than drinking store-bought wine.

I love this book. It really opened my eyes to all the advantages of making my own wines from scratch. Not only does it give me the plants and plant parts that can be used but it also gives a description of the finished product.