onsdag den 22. juni 2011

Naturlig vin – skitser til en definition

Egentlig er det mig imod at forsøge at give en definition af naturlig vin. Naturlig vin er grundlæggende ikke et koncept; idéen bærer i sig selv på en en modstand mod skarpe grænser eller definitioner, der inkluderer eller eksluderer konkrete vine. Naturlig vin er bare vin, der ikke er manipuleret for meget. Det er i nogen grad i mod ånden i naturlig vin, at foreslå en definition.

Desuden har amerikanske Joe Dressner allerede begået et markant, men temmelig flyvsk 14-punkts-manifest, som jeg umuligt kan overgå i underholdningsværdi eller one-liners: http://saignee.wordpress.com/2010/06/24/day-6-the-official-fourteen-point-manifesto-on-natural-wine/ .

Man kan desuden følge Cory Cartwrights to blogføljetoner om emnet:

http://saignee.wordpress.com/31-days-of-natural-wine/

http://saignee.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/32-days-of-natural-wine/

Indlæggene er skiftevis underholdende, spændende, nørdede og kedelige. Men der er masser at komme efter alt i alt.

Endelig er der Association des Vins Naturels, hvis officielle charter findes her: http://www.lesvinsnaturels.org/charte-signee-par-les-vignerons/ . Her gives helt konkrete anvisninger på, hvad man må og ikke må.

Når jeg alligevel - på trods af alle forbehold - forsøger at skitsere en definition, er det, fordi jeg håber at kunne give en forklaring på nogle af intentionerne og idéerne med at lave naturlig vin, en forklaring som rækker ud over et konkret regelsæt. Og måske indlede en debat, der kunne være andet og mere end en skyttegravskrig for og imod.

1. Naturlig vin laves ud fra ønsket om at formidle en oplevelse, der har en konkret fysisk oprindelse i et område eller en vinmark.

Det er ambitionen, at vinen skal fortælle en lille historie derudefra; til den der er følsom nok til at lytte. Vin kan berette om et sted og en tid, der er gået; vin kan således være en oplevelse, der rækker ud over den konkrete situation 'mand drikker vin'. Vin er først og fremmest forpligtet på at smage godt, men i lykkelige tilfælde kan den nydelsesorienterede logik overskrides.

2. Naturlig vin er ikke målfokuseret eller teleologisk. Der er ikke en ønsket retning, men en vifte af muligheder for at lykkes.

Vinen skal først og fremmest afspejle de muligheder, som samspillet mellem natur og arbejdet med vinen har givet. Den er ikke nødvendigvis lavet for at behage. Det betyder ikke, at man skal drikke alt muligt, der smager skidt, men en naturlig vin er kun vellykket, hvis den ikke er tvunget et bestemt sted hen. Vindrikkeren må altid forholde sig åbent og kritisk til det, hun hælder i gabet. Det er også et spørgsmål om et normalitetsbegreb, hvad vi opfatter som vellykket, og har man levet sit liv med afrettede, smagsforudbestemte vine, kan nogle naturlige vine forekomme besynderlige eller decideret fejlbehæftede.

3. Naturlig vin omfavner en bred definition af, hvad der opfattes som vellykket.

Vin er under alle omstændigheder en 'acquired taste', og ikke alle vindrikkere kan rumme det samme. Diversitet og mangfoldighed må dog her – som i de fleste tilfælde – anses for et ubetinget gode. I praksis betyder det, at mange vindrikkere med tiden ændrer deres opfattelse af, hvad vin er, og hvordan den skal og kan smage. Naturlig vin fordrer en bred og rummelig – men ikke ukritisk! – definition af vellykket vin.

4. Naturlig vin skal basalt set smage godt og være rart at drikke.

Mange vinmagere begyndte at lave naturlige vine, simpelthen fordi de kunne tåle at drikke mere af den. I praksis følges naturlig vin altid af en vis løssluppen hedonisme og en stor generøsitet. Det er ikke en teoretisk tilsnigelse, men simpel empiri. (Omend jeg skal afholde mig fra at erklære det statistisk signifikant, har en hurtig rundspørge vist en 100% tilslutning, idet samtlige adspurgte (min hustru og jeg for at være mere præcise) erklærede sig fuldstændig enige i denne konklussion).

5. Naturlig vin dyrkes som udgangspunkt uden brug af kemiske hjælpemidler.

Vin skal trække mineralitet og næring fra jorden, den gror i. Dette kræver, at jorden er fuld af planteliv og fauna. Det er en forudsætning for at lave naturlig vin, at der arbejdes med jorden, og at de høstede druer er sunde og besidder en vital gærpopulation. Det ene kemiske hjælpemiddel trækker det næste med sig, da planternes og jordens naturlige balance forrykkes. Ideelt set kan vinmarken passes helt uden brug af kemi. I praksis er det langtfra alle naturlige vine, der laves helt uden kemiske hjælpemidler, og svovl og kobbersulfat (også kendt som bordeauxvæske) er almindeligt accepterede præparater (og således også tilladt inden for økologisk og biodynamisk brug), men de er ikke eftertragtelsesværdige og bør så vidt muligt undgås.

6. Naturlig vin vinificeres som udgangspunkt uden brug af kulturgær, filtrering, klaring, enzymbehandlinger eller omvendt osmose. $vovl anvendes i lavest mulige doser om overhovedet.

Egentlig vil store dele af den seriøse vinverden formodentlig skrive under på, at de går ind for så lidt indblanding i vinens tilblivelse som muligt. Der er dog store forskelle på, hvad denne uvillige indgriben så består af, og hvor uvillig den i grunden er. Maceration af hvidvine eller lang tids lagring sur lie kan give smagsnoter, der kan få dem, der drikker konventionel vin, til at rynke på næsen. Filtrering eller klaring kan få den 'naturlige vindrikker' til trække opgivende på skuldrene og hælde vinen ud. Grænserne er flydende, og svaret ligger i vinen. Kulturgær, enzymer og omvendt osmose hører imidlertid ikke hjemme i forbindelse med naturlig vin.

7. Minimal tilsætning af svovl ved flaskning er acceptabelt, men ikke efterstræbelsesværdigt.

Svovl har de senere år været det store diskussionsemne. Alle kan være enige i, at for meget svovl er en fejl, men hvornår for meget er for meget, hersker der dog udbredt uenighed om. AVN opstiller grænseværdier for svovlindholdet i vin, som jeg godt kan tilslutte mig, men jeg vil understrege, at vine, der holder sig inden for disse grænseværdier, i mine øjne kan være for svovlede, ligesom vine, der ikke holder sig inden for disse grænseværdier, i visse (sjældnere) tilfælde kan ligge inden for definitionen af naturlig vin. Svaret ligger i vinen.

8. Naturlige vine skal være frie og levende.

Det fine ved de naturlige vine er deres liv og 'glimt i øjet'. De skal være frie, utvungne og ustyrede. Man kan ikke beslutte sig for at lave en vin, der smager som en 'naturlig vin'.

9. Naturlig vin har ikke en statisk definition, men er en idé, der efterstræbes.

Det er selvfølgelg ikke uproblematisk på denne måde at placere definitionen uden for vinen selv, men det er ikke desto mindre den eneste måde. Man kan ikke måle sig til, om en vin er naturlig eller ej. Svaret er i vinen, men må formuleres af vindrikkeren. Druerne plukker ikke sig selv og kravler ikke op i fadene et års tid, inden vinen selv løber ned i flaskerne. Vin er et kulturelt samspil mellem menneske og mark udsat for vind og vejr. Der vil være en lang række af grænsetilfælde af vine, hvor definitionen 'naturlig' kan og må diskuteres, ligesom naturlige vine må defineres inden for en glidende bevægelse af naturlighed.

Natural Wine – outlines of a definition

In fact I'm opposed to the idea of constructing a definition of natural wine. I believe that 'natural wine' is not in any way a conceptual idea with clear boundaries and definitions that include or exclude specific wines. Natural wine is not a concept really; it's just wine that is not manipulated too much. It's somewhat against the spirit of natural wines to propose a definition.

Furthermore the American Joe Dressner has already perpetrated a remarkable 14-point manifesto which cannot be surpassed in entertainment value or one-liners:

http://saignee.wordpress.com/2010/06/24/day-6-the-official-fourteen-point-manifesto-on-natural-wine/ .

You can also follow Cory Cartwright's two blog serials on the subject:

http://saignee.wordpress.com/31-days-of-natural-wine/

http://saignee.wordpress.com/2010/05/17/32-days-of-natural-wine/

The different postings are alternately entertaining, exciting, geeky and quite boring. But there's plenty of interesting reading.

Finally there's the Association des Vins Naturels, whose official charter can be found here: http://www.lesvinsnaturels.org/charte-signee-par-les-vignerons/ . Here you'll find specific instructions of what is allowed and what is not.

Nevertheless, when – despite all the reservations – I attempt to outline a definition, I do it because I hope to give an explanation of some of the intentions and ideas in the making of natural wines that goes beyond a specific set of rules. And perhaps initiate a debate that could be something else and more than a trench warfare for and against natural wines.

1. Natural wines are made from a wish of conveying an experience which has a concrete physical origin in an area or a vineyard.

It's the ambition that the wine shall tell a little story from out there; to one who's sensitive enough to listen. Wine can recount a place and a time bygone. Thus wine can be an experience that extends beyond the specific situation of 'man drinking wine'. Wine is first of all committed to taste good, but in happy cases the pleasure-oriented logic can be exceeded.

2. Natural wine is not goal-oriented and has no teleological approach. There's no desired direction, but a wide range of possibilities for succeeding.

First of all the wine must reflect the possibilities offered by the correlation between nature and the work with the vine and the wine. It is not necessarily made to please. That doesn't mean that one should drink all kinds of things that don't taste good, but a natural wine is only succesful if isn't forced in a specific direction. The winedrinker must always remain open and critical to whatever she pours down the drain. Furthermore, it is our concept of normality that decides what we perceive as succesful, and if one has lived a whole life with wines that are levelled off and predetermined in terms of taste, some natural wines can seem bizarre or even faulty.

3. Natural wine embraces a broad definition of what can be perceived as succesful.

In any case, wine is an acquired taste, and not all winedrinkers can embrace the same. Differences and diversity, however, must in this case - as in most cases - be considered an unconditional good. In practice it means that a lot of winedrinkers eventually change their perception of what wine is, and how it should and can taste. Natural wine demands a broad and spacious - but not uncritical! - definition of succesful wine.

4. Natural wine basically has to taste good and be nice to drink.

A lot of winemakers started to make natural wines, simply because they could drink more of it. In practice natural wine is always accompanied by a certain unrestrained hedonism and a great generosity. This is not a theoretical misrepresentation, but simply an empirical establishment(even though I shall refrain from declaring it statisticcaly significant, a quick survey showed a 100% approval, since all of the asked persons (my wife and myself, to be exact]) agreed totally with that conclusion).

5. Natural wine is basically grown without the use of chemical aids.

Wine must draw minerality and nutrition from the soil it grows in. In order for this to happen the soil must be full of flora and fauna. Soil work is a prerequisite for making natural wine, and the harvested grapes must be healthy and hold a vital yeast population. One chemical aid leads to the next as the natural balance of the plants and the soil is upset. Ideally the vineyard can be taken care of totally without the use of any chemicals. In practice, however, it is by no means all natural wines that are made totally without chemical aids, and sulphur and copper sulphate (also known as bordeaux mixture) are widely accepted preparations (and also allowed when making organic and biodynamic wine), but they are not desirable, and should be avoided as far as possible.

6. Natural wine is basically vinified without the use of cultured yeast, filtering, clarification, enzyme treatments or reversed osmosis. Sulphur is only employed in the lowest possible doses if at all.

Actually, large parts of the serious wine world will probably agree that they advocate as little intervention in the making of the wine as possible. However, there are big differences between the various forms of this (somewhat) reluctant interference and also between the degrees of tha actual reluctance. Maceration of white wines or long time maturing on the lees can produce notes which can make drinkers of conventional wines sneer. Filtering and clarification can make drinkers of natural wine shrug dispairingly and pour the wine straight out. The limits are fluid, and the answer is blowin' in the wine. Cultured yeast, enzymes and reversed osmosis, however, out of place in connection with natural wine.

7. A minimal addition of sulphur at the bottling is acceptable, but not desirable.

In recent years sulphur has been the great subject of discussion. Everybody agrees that too much sulphur is a fault; however, exactly when too much is too much, is a point of contention in many quarters]. The AVN lays down limit values for the contents of sulphur in wine that I can subscribe to, but I would like to stress that wines which keep respect these limits in my view can be too heavily sulphured, just as wines which do not respect/keep within these limits in some (rare) cases can comply with the definition of natural wine. The answer is in the wine.

8. Natural wines must be free and alive.

The fine thing about the natural wines is their life and twinkle. They must be free, unforced and uncontrolled. You cannot decide to make a wine that tastes like a 'natural wine'.

9. Natural wine doesn't have a static definition, but is an idea to pursue.

Of course it's not without problems to place the definition of natural wine outside the wine itself, but it's nevertheless the only way. There's no way to measure if a wine is natural or not. The answer is in the wine, but must be formulated by the winedrinker. The grapes don't harvest themselves and they don't crawl into the casks a year or so before the wine itself runs into the bottles. Wine is a cultural interaction between man and vineyard, exposed to wind and weather. There'll be a long row of borderline cases of wines where the definition 'natural' can and must be discussed, just as natural wines must be defined within a sliding scale of naturalness.