Alice is Working Up to Something

http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/is-eco-wine-better/print But she first has to go out and meet some friends for Indian (ros and rhone) and get a grip on her possibly neurotic reaction to this misbegotten piece. But my feeling is that the writer's attitude is a bit like someone pushing away the peas because of their texture or color. And it's also a little like rejecting Finnegan's Wake as a masterpiece saying Joyce's work was riddled with typos and mistakes. Maybe a vindaloo will cool me down. Lime pickle should help, too. Okay, I'm back and have digested. This whole things started because I have a friend in Texas who sent me the link and said, "BioD cat fight!" You know, lately I've been feeling like people want to put me in a ring and watch me fight. Sort of like the cock fighter of the wine world. An assortment of wife-beater wearing men conspiring.."Let's put Alice up to it! Man, she's got nerve. Let's wind her up and see her rip apart that smarmy sommelier/winemaker/colleague/thief/marketer/dung-ish cowhorn lover/fake. Do they care if I get two fangs sunk into my neck? Hell no. At least, sometimes, that's the way it feels. And when I first saw that email from said Texas gent about BioD cat fight, I must say, I did start to smoke. Adrenalin kicked in. I looked around for some Rene Mosse oxidized wine to whet my whistle. And then I thought. I just don't get it. This piece could have been so good, it could have exposed a great issue to a mainstream audience about wine's green washing...'hey! I use less foil! Buy me!' But the good was shrouded in so much confusion and even a touch of swiftboating that the opportunity was missed. And I didn't want to fight. I just wanted to call up Lettie and say, 'Hey, let's go out drinking. Let me show you some of the good stuff." But, I'm packing my dancing shoes and headed to balance and swing for the weekend, maybe even drink old riesling by Long Pond and do plenty of up-a- double-and-backs. And so, I am limiting my commentary because I just don't always want to be the bad guy. Let someone else do it for a change, okay? There are two stinging issues that came up when reading the Food & Wine Magazine piece. +The article erroneously put sustainable and natural wines in the same stable. + The idea that vigneron Ren Mosse was making bad wine and finding success because he was marketing himself as natural was not an informed one. Last issue first: I am not terribly fond of the Mosse wines except his Anjou blanc, which I adore. On the other hand, I don't have trouble with oxidation, on the other hand, I don't perceive oxidation in his wines and anyway, a bit in my book isn't always a flaw. Perhaps the article's intolerance for oxidation--if it was oxidized-- is the same as my intolerance for oak and wine amelioration. In the end I’d rather have something natural and oxidized than squeaky clean and soulless. First one last: To discount sustainable wines, is one thing. It is a meaningless term. I smack it around as often as I can. But it is almost criminal to cast natural wines in with their lot. Most of the best of the Vin Naturel movement would just as soon rip out their 110 year old cot vines than cling to the frayed coattails of the marketing swagger of sustainability. Here's a pick from the story. "I’d have a problem with the sanctimonious manner in which natural wines are often produced—an attitude I describe as, “We’re Saving the Planet One Pinot Noir at a Time.”" Working with out chemicals in the soils is different than not using them in the winery. It is terribly frustrating to have this myth that organic viticulture=natural wine--of which, by the way, there is extremely little of in the U.S.A. Natural and sustainable have nothing to do with each other. They're not even distant cousins. Being so dismissive is akin to saying 'I don't like cheese because I tried orange something called American, once.' Oh yeah, there are sometimes problems with the natural wine world—especially amongst those young and frisky, who believe natural at all costs, and then make fizzy, unstable wine. Yet, there are others, plenty of them who make serious wines, great wines. No one works this way unless they are dedicated, and guess what? They rarely have a marketing budget. The best point of the piece, is to know your producer as best you can....if you care.