Pale pink or cherry-red? Dry or sweet? How to choose the right rosé

First published in The Irish Times, Saturday 12th July, 2018

We tend to buy rosé by colour. If the wine is very pale salmon pink, it will be dry; cherry-red and it must be sweet. It isn’t quite that simple, but it is a good starting point. Rosé wines vary hugely in their sugar content and it isn’t always easy to work out which is dry and which is sweet. One useful indicator is origin. California blush is generally sweet, as is Rosé d’Anjou and Mateus Rosé, while pale Provence Rosé is bone-dry. In between there is a host of pleasantly fruity dry wines that are perfect for summer drinking. The success of Provence rosé seems to have convinced some of us that this is the only pink to drink, but there are plenty of other options, including Spanish Rosado, that are every bit as good – and frequently a lot cheaper.

If your memories of Spanish rosé (Rosado in Spanish) are of cheap plonk guzzled on holidays on the costas, then it is time to think again. Spain has a long tradition of making rosado, and today makes some very good wines. The Navarra region made its name producing fruity, dry rosés, apparently a tradition that goes back to the 12th century, when it slated the thirst of pilgrims walking the Camino. These days, Navarra also makes some really good red and white wines, but is still best-known for rosados. The grape variety involved is usually Garnacha, or sometimes Tempranillo. Other parts of Spain, from Catalunya to Alicante have got in on the act and now offer some very stylish rosados. In the past, clarete, made either by fermenting red and white grapes together, as with the wine below, or by simply blending red and white wine, was very popular.

The best Spanish rosados have masses of ripe red fruits – cherries, strawberries and raspberries yet finish bone-dry. This means they go really well with savoury foods. Dry rosé in general is one of the most food-friendly wines of all, perfect with all kinds of summer salads as well as milder Asian dishes. Not surprisingly, Rosado goes very well with various Spanish foods, including mixed tapas, seafood and of course paella.

As well as the wines below, Tesco has the Revero Tempranillo Rosado for an incredible €3.99, and O’Briens the Finca Vadmoya for €9.95. Look out in independents for the excellent Lopez de Haro for about €16. Wines Direct (Mullingar, Arnotts and online), has the very tasty Olivares Rosado for €12.50.

If you do find yourself in Spain this summer desperately looking for a Spanish Rosado, the Torres Sangre de Toro, not available here in Ireland, is a good inexpensive bet.

Gran Fuedo Rosado 2017, Navarra

13.5%, €12.99-13.99

Very attractive, refreshing, light strawberry fruits with a bone-dry finish. Serve well-chilled with tapas and grilled white fish.

Stockists: Very widely available through independents including McHughs, Kilbarrack Road and Malahide Road, mchughs.ie; 1601 Off-licence, Kinsale; Matson’s Wine Store, Cork, matsonswinesandbeer.com; Burke Londis, Kinvara, Galway; Daly’s, Boyle, Co Roscommon; Ardkeen Stores, Waterford; Eldons, Clonmel; Higgins, Clonskeagh; Shiel’s Londis, Malahide; The Coach House, Ballinteer, thecoach.ie.

Montesierra Selección Rosado 2017, Somontano

13.5%, €13.50

Medium-bodied stewed red cherry and strawberry fruit. Rounded and smooth. Try it with grilled salmon, sea trout or mackerel.

Stockists: Jus de Vine, Portmarnock, jusdevine.ie; Sweeney’s Wines, Glasnevin, swenenyswines.ie; Clontarf Wines, clontarfwines.ie.

La Maldición Clarete, 2017, Viños de Madrid

13.5%, €15.90

A captivating rosado (or clarete) with real interest. Relatively full-bodied with light tannins and concentrated savoury strawberry fruits. This went really well with a mozzarella and tomato salad on a warm summer’s evening.

Stockists: Green Man Wines, Terenure, greenmanwines.ie; Lilac Wines, Dublin 3, lilacwines.ie; Redmonds, Ranelagh; redmonds.ie; 64 Wine, Glasthule, 64wine.ie.

Sonrojo Garnacha 2017, Navarra

13.5%, €16.50

Wonderful pure freshly crushed raspberry and strawberry fruits with a lively acidity and a snappy dry finish. I could drink this all summer long. Cold chicken with panzanella.

Stockists: Baggot Street Wines, Baggot Street, baggotstreetwines.com; Liston’s, Camden Street, listonsfoodstore.ie; Kelly’s, Clontarf, kellysofflicence.ie; Green Man Wines, Terenure, greenmanwines.ie.

Yes to flavour, no to hangover: great low and no alcohol wines

First published in The Irish Times, Saturday 16th June, 2018

Our tastes have changed; most of us are now looking for lighter, fresher wines. We are also much more aware of the need to limit our intake of alcohol for health reasons. If you are looking to lose weight, both alcohol and residual sugar contain calories. Some of the world’s greatest wines are naturally low in alcohol, including Hunter Valley Semillon from Australia, Portuguese Vinho Verde, and Riesling, one of my favourite grapes. Many Alsace, Austrian, German and Australian Rieslings come in at 12-12.5 per cent and Riesling from the Mosel in Germany is even lower at 6-10 per cent. O’Briens have the fruit-filled off-dry Selbach (10.5 per cent) for a very reasonable €13.95, and the Dr L from Loosen is widely available too.

The big problem with low-alcohol and no-alcohol wine was always obvious; they didn’t taste like wine and most of them didn’t taste very nice either. Maybe it’s because our palates are used to “normal” wines, but until recently, most seemed confected and a little bit weird. A lot of them still do. Alcohol carries the flavours that make wine such a compelling drink. But over the past few years, things have changed. The increased demand for lower-alcohol drinks has encouraged producers to find ways of making the wines taste better. The technology is improving every year, and some of them are now very drinkable.

It is very easy to make your own low-alcohol wine low-alcohol simply by adding water (or ice in sunny weather), sparkling water or soda water to create your own cooler. Generally I like to drink my wine the way the producer intended, and I wouldn’t recommend doing this with your finest wines, but in warm weather it can be really refreshing. I find it works better on white wines and lighter reds than full-bodied red wines.

The supermarkets offer a range of de-alcoholised wines at 0.5-5 per cent alcohol; most are pretty awful. I would much prefer to drink less wine, switch to beer or an interesting alcohol-free drink such as kombucha or water kefir. However, wines with 8-12 per cent can taste very good. Marks & Spencer leads the way with lower-alcohol wines; the Sumika range (€11) has 8.5% alcohol and 50 calories per 100 ml, and M&S also has the very tasty Marlborough Rosé below.

Innovative Spanish producer Torres has pioneered very low or no-alcohol wines for years, and their Natureo wines, both red and white, are very good and now have no alcohol. Australian producer Rawsons Retreat makes two pleasantly fruity wines, a red and a white, with 0.5 per cent alcohol. All of the above are available in Dunnes Stores. Spar, Eurospar and Mace have Nosecco, an alcohol-free sparkling wine for €5.99. In independent wine shops, look out for the Fritz Müller sparkling alcohol-free wine.

Santa Rita Early Harvest Fresh Sauvignon Blanc 2018

11.5%, €8 

Elderflower aromas with crisp pear and apple fruits. One to sip well-chilled before dinner on a summers’ evening.
Stockist: SuperValu

Most Xarel.lo, Catalunya

0%, €8 for a 50cl bottle

This is posh grape juice, but it is very good; not too sweet, just bursting with very moreish delicious fresh grapes balanced by good acidity. A very smart alcohol-free drink.

Stockists: Blackrock Cellar, blackrockcellar.com; Donnybrook Fair, donnybrookfair.ie; Liston’s, Camden Street, listonsfoodstore.ie.

Marlborough Rosé 2017

9.5%, €16

A very impressive low-alcohol wine, nicely aromatic with plenty of light fresh red cherry fruits and good acidity. With salads, or a stir-fry of prawns and scallops.
Stockist: Marks & Spencer

Zeppelin 2016, Mülhiemer Riesling, Max Ferd Richter

9.5%, €17.50-€18.95

Lovely lifted floral aromas, with crisp green apple and pear fruits, zingy citrus acidity and an off-dry finish you hardly notice. With a herby crab salad.
Stockists: Jus de Vine, Portmarnock, jusdevine.ie; Mitchell & Son, CHQ, Sandycove, and Avoca, Kilmacanogue & Dunboyne, mitchellandson.com; Green Man Wines, Terenure, greenmanwines.ie; Martin’s Off Licence, Clontarf, martinsofflicence.ie; Fallon & Byrne, Exchequer Street, fallonandbyrne.com; Blackrock Cellar, Blackrock, blackrockcellar.com; Redmonds, Ranelagh, redmonds.ie; Wicklow Wine Co, wicklowwineco.ie.

Prosecco isn’t the only sparkling wine in town

First published in The Irish Times, Saturday 9th June, 2018

A chilled glass of sparkling wine goes down a treat as the sun sets on a warm sunny evening.

I love good Champagne, but the budget doesn’t always stretch that far, and cheap Champagne is rarely worth the money. Sales of Prosecco continue unabated, but there are plenty of alternatives around at prices that won’t break the bank. Some are a lot more interesting too. I have come across some great alt sparkling wines recently from Cava, Franciacorta (in Italy) as well as England and even Luxembourg. However, all these cost well over €30; all of the wines I’ve chosen cost substantially less.

 For several years now hipsters and cool kids alike have been sipping Pét Nat (or Pétillant Naturel) wines. These are lightly fizzy wines, made by the oldest sparkling wine method of all. In the past, they often happened by accident; half-finished wine stopped fermenting in the cold of winter, and then began again as temperatures rose in spring-time. If the wine had been bottled in the intervening period, then a second fermentation took place in the bottle, giving the wine a light sparkle. Production was (and is) hard to control, and the results can be unreliable.

Pét Nats are typically lower in alcohol and have fewer bubbles than Champagne. They are funky, rustic, cloudy, fizzy, fruity, unpredictable – and fun. Often sealed with a crown cap rather than a cork, they make a refreshing change. They produce Pét Nats in Prosecco, where it is labelled col fondo.

Tax

Champagne, Cava, Spumante Prosecco, the various Crémants and most New World sparkling wines are all taxed at twice the rate of frizzante Prosecco and Pét Nats, both of which are classified by Revenue as still wine. All the more remarkable then that the two fully sparkling wines below still come in at less than €20.

I have written about the Aldi Crémant de Jura before. It remains one of the best-value bottles of fizz, but for a change I’ve chosen the Crémant de Loire instead this week. The Loire Valley produces plenty of good well-priced sparkling wine. The best I have tasted recently is the amazing Triple Zéro La Taille aux Loups from Jacky Blot (€35.60, Winesdirect.ie). SuperValu has the very decent Bonnamy white and rosé for €19.95. Alternatively Tesco has the ultra-reliable and very tasty Jacob’s Creek Rosé Sparkling for €17.99 (promoted to €16 at times). Spar, Eurospar, Mace and Londis all offer the fruit-filled Jaume Serra Cava Brut for €15.99. On a more adventurous note, the Tesco Finest Pignoletto (€15.99) will please Prosecco lovers, or Marks & Spencer even have a Brazilian sparkling wine for €14. For those who want Prosecco, the organic La Jara below was my favourite for less than €15.

Four of the best bottles of fizz

LaCheteau Crémant de Loire NV Blanc de Noirs
12% €12.99

Lightly floral with ripe raspberries on nose and palate. You could use this in all sorts of summer cocktails, or drink simply by itself.

Stockists: Aldi.

La Jarra Prosecco Frizzante, Organic
10.5% €14.95

Elderflower and pear aromas, clean and crisp with very moreish rounded pear fruits with good citrus acidity.

Stockists: La Touche, Greystones, Latouchewines4u.ie; Liston’s, Camden St., listonsfoodstore.ie; 64 Wine, Glasthule, 64wine.ie; Green Man Wines, Terenure, greenmanwines.ie; Fallon & Byrne, Exchequer St, fallonandbyrne.com; Martin’s Off Licence, Clontarf, martinsofflicence.ie; Clontarf Wines, clontarfwines.ie; Kelly’s, Clontarf, kellysofflicence.ie.

Langlois l’Extra, Crémant de Loire
12.5% €17.95

Langlois, is owned by Champagne house Bollinger, and while you won’t mistake this for Champagne, it is a lovely glass of fizz, with a lightly creamy texture and subtle peach and yellow fruits.

Stockists: O’Briens

Col Tamaríe, Vigna San Lorenzo
11.5% €23-€24

A single vineyard organic wine treated with “unicist homeopathy”. Lightly fizzy, mildly funky with delicate citrus and pear fruits. Much more interesting than Prosecco. The prefect summer aperitif.

Stockists: Green Man Wines, Terenure, greenmanwines1.ie; Sheridan’s Cheesemongers, Dublin and Kells, sheridanscheesemongers.com; SIYPS.com.

The best rosé wines to try right now

First published in The Irish Times, Saturday, 2nd June, 2018

Is there anything more summery than a bottle of chilled rosé? Wine producers lament the fact that we Irish will only crack it open when the sun comes out and the temperature rises – and that doesn’t happen very often.

They argue that rosé is a great wine 12 months of the year, and they have a point; rosé goes really well with a variety of foods, including warm-weather salads, but with most chicken and shellfish dishes too.

It can also make a great partner for mildly-spiced curries and Asian dishes. Medium-bodied rosé is incredibly versatile, matching up perfectly with grilled and barbecued white meats, paella and risotto, as well as pâtés, charcuterie and goat’s cheese.  And of course, it makes a great aperitif or party wine. As some of them are off-dry, they can be easier to drink solo or with nibbles than a nerve-jangling crisp acidic white wine.

Yet there is something distinctly sunny about rosé. While posh versions are all the rage (see this week’s Irish Times summer food guide for Whispering Angel) I have a soft spot for light uncomplicated inexpensive rosé, sipped well-chilled while sitting in the shade on a hot sunny day.

There are plenty of decent inexpensive rosés to be found, although I would steer clear of the really cheap, sweet versions. Marks & Spencer held its annual spring wine tasting recently and included a range of wines priced at €7-€7.50. Normally wines in this category are fairly anodyne, if not very confected, but I was very taken with the House Rosé, along with several white wines. M&S also showed the very gluggable low-alcohol (9.5 per cent) Forrest Marlborough Pinot Noir Rosé, one of the best low-alcohol wines I have tasted.

Aldi has three rosés, all for less than €9; as well as the Côtes de Provence listed below, the Exquisite Touraine Rosé (€8.49) is worth trying out.

SuperValu has a rosé promotion (ends July 7th), with 10 wines, including the excellent Graham Norton Marlborough Rosé (€10), the very elegant, smooth La Petite Perriere (€8), and the crisp, dry Bendel (€10) from Provence. In addition, they stock the recently arrived fruit-filled Santa Rita Rosé 2017 (€12.50) from Chile, as does Tesco.

O’Briens off-licence runs a summer-long rosé promotion every year, offering a second bottle at half-price. I featured the Hedonisme Rosé from Gérard Bertrand in the food magazine, and the Chateau Rioter below is a tasty option, but I also enjoyed the food-friendly Petit Bourgeois Pinot Noir Rosé (€15.95, buy one, get one at half price).

Lastly while I am not completely convinced by expensive rosé, for me the finest rosé of all is pink Champagne, and a glass of the Veuve Clicquot Rosé below would go down very well on a balmy summer evening.

Four rosés wine to try

Marks & Spencer House Rosé
12%, €7
Essence of summer. Light fresh strawberry fruits and a clean dry finish.  Perfect on its own or with lighter salads with prawns or other shellfish. Stockists: Marks & Spencer

Aldi Exquisite Côtes de Provence Rosé 2016
13.5%, €8.99
Attractive relatively full-bodied rosé with rich ripe strawberry fruits and a rounded finish. Perfect with barbecued white meats, and richer seafood dishes. Stockists: Aldi

Ch. Rioter 2017, Côtes de Provence
13%, €17.95 – buy one get one half price
Very attractive medium to light-bodied rosé with raspberry and red cherry fruits, finishing dry. A great all-purpose summer wine to match with chicken, pork or richer fish, such as salmon or tuna. Stockists: O’Briens

Veuve Cliquot Champagne Rosé NV
12.5%, €69.95
A very elegant Champagne with refined strawberry and raspberry fruits, alongside subtle notes of biscuits and toasted almonds. Perfect with poached salmon and a hollandaise sauce. Stockists: O’Briens, obrienswine.ie; 64 Wine, Glasthule, 64wine.ie; Le Caveau, Kilkenny, lecaveau.ie; Mitchell & Son, chq, Sandycove, Avoca, Kilmacanogue and Dunboyne, mitchellandson.com; Redmond’s, Ranelagh; Molloys Liquor Stores, molloys.ie; Tesco.

Alsace Wines – perfect for a posh summer lunch

First published in The Irish Times, 26th May, 2018

A tasting of Alsace wines last week was a timely reminder of just how good the wines of this part of France can be, and how I probably don’t drink them often enough. I don’t think I am alone. Alsace wines seem to have fallen off our radar a little, despite being made in a style that is universally popular.

Riesling tends to get most of the publicity and praise, rightly so, as it produces some the world’s greatest wines both here in Alsace and elsewhere. After that our knowledge of Alsace tends to get a little sketchy. Leaving aside Gewürztraminer – which I generally try to do – there are two other important grape varieties, responsible for some very enjoyable wines.

Pinot Blanc and Pinot Gris, better known as Pinot Grigio in Italy, both produce fruit-filled, unoaked white wines, generally lowish in alcohol, that can offer great value for money. While they can certainly be drunk as an aperitif, they really show best when matched with food. It may not be a coincidence that Alsace is home to some of the great foods and restaurants of France.

Blended wines

In addition to the varietal wines, Alsace also produces a number of blended wines. Known as Edelzwicker (noble blend) in the past, these were often seen as inferior, a means for the producer to tidy up the leftovers, although a few were very good. Some were involuntary blends, made from various varieties planted together in the same vineyard. The term Gentil is used more often nowadays, to signify a blend made up of at least 50 per cent Riesling, Muscat and/or Gewürztraminer, and the remainder is the rest made up of Pinot Blanc Sylvaner, Chasselas and/or Pinot Blanc. Before blending, each grape variety must be vinified separately. Sounds complicated, but I am very fond of these.

Combining the floral aromas and rich fruit of Muscat or Gewürztraminer with the crisp acidity of Pinot Blanc or Riesling can yield a delicious summer wine, perfect with al fresco lunches or with many of the lovely pork dishes of Alsace. With their ripeness of fruit, they can go very well with lightly spiced Asian dishes too.

I have chosen four relatively expensive wines, with a posh summer lunch in mind. Alsace does offer cheaper versions although some of these are a little too sweet for my tastes. Trimbach, Hugel, Sipp Mack, Schlumberger and the Caves de Turckheim are all reliable, widely available producers in independent wine shops. O’Briens has the excellent Kreydenweiss. Most supermarkets have less expensive Alsace wines – Lidl will have a rounded fruity Pinot Gris for €10.99 from June 11th. But if you are having an upmarket al fresco meal featuring salmon, pork, chicken and salads, all of the wines below are worth investing in.

Alsace wines: four to choose from

Gentil d’Alsace 2016, Meyer-Fonné
12% €17.95
This wonderful wine is a blend of four grape varieties. Seductive aromas followed by plump melons and passionfruit laced with ginger and a touch of honey. As an aperitif, or with lightly spicy prawn dishes.  Stockists: Baggot Street Wines, Baggot Streetwines.com; Bradleys Off-licence, Cork, Bradleysofflicence.ie; Fallon & Byrne, Exchequer Street, Fallonandbyrne.com; Green Man Wines, Terenure, Greenmanwines.ie; Le Caveau, Kilkenny, Lecaveau.ie.

Trimbach Pinot Blanc 2015, Alsace
13% €17-€17.99
From one of the great producers of Alsace, a light refreshing wine with quince and yellow fruits, finishing bone dry. With nibbles before dinner or with shellfish, cold meats and salads. Stockists: Donnybrook Fair; 64 Wine, Glasthule, 64wine.ie; Whelehan’s Wines, Loughlinstown, Whelehanswines.ie; McHugh’s, Kilbarrack Road and Malahide Road., McHughs.ie;  Jus de Vine, Portmarnock, jusdevine.ie; Higgin’s, Clonskeagh, higginsofflicnece.ie; The Wine Centre, Kilkenny, Thewinecentre.ie;  Martin’s, Clontarf, Martinsofflicence.ie.

As de B 2016, Agathe Bursin, Biodynamic
12% €23.50
A field blend of six varieties from the Bollenberg vineyard, this is a delightful wine with floral aromas and delicate soft ripe pineapple and melon fruits. Perfect summer drinking on its own or with light white fish dishes. Limited quantities available. Stockists: Terroirs, Donnybrook, terriors.ie

Pinot Gris Tradition 2016, Domaine Pfister
13.5% €29
Ripe exotic fruits on the nose, leading to a crisp taut palate that finishes long and dry. One to try with tartes flambées, quiches and other pies. Stockists: 64 Wine, Glasthule, 64wine.ie; The Wine Library, Dún Laoghaire, thewinelibrary.ie

Natural Wines and where to find them

Pierre Foillard and Thierry Puzelat

 This is an extended version of an article from the Irish Times, 28th April, 2018

NATURAL WINES

Mere mention of the words natural and wine is still guaranteed to start a row amongst wine lovers, although less so than in the past. This is partly down to critics being won over, but also because the wines are improving every year. There are fewer wines that smell of poo or taste like cider.

I like the comparison of natural wine to punk rock. Punk burst on to the music scene in the late seventies and early eighties, an antidote the mega bands that used three drummers and an entire orchestra to produce a concept album. Instead you had three or four piece bands playing simple (often very simple) three minute rock songs. It was a breath of fresh air. For the first time, you could go and see your favourite bands locally. I am old enough to have experienced it all; in the first few heady years, I saw The Jam, the Stranglers, The Clash, The Ramones, and even a few of the Sex Pistols, and many many more.

In the same way, the natural wine movement brought wine back to its roots. Small producers making tiny lots of wine, generally from unfashionable areas, using local grapes. Instead of hugely expensive ‘luxury’ wines pampered and cosseted every step of the way by a large corporation, or cheap mass-produced wines that had been made in a laboratory, you had simple wines, made with minimal interference. You can take the punk analogy further; many of the bands were truly awful. The ability to play an instrument was considered optional, and a host of ‘artists’ deservedly sunk without trace. Others went on to achieve international stardom, wealth and, in time, joined and improved mainstream music. You can say exactly the same about natural wine; along with some thrilling fresh fruit-filled wines, you have others ‘that taste like they’ve been filtered through a porcine duodenum’, to quote Observer food critic Jay Rayner. I suspect the natural wine movement has obliged mainstream producers to question their production methods, while commercial realities may have reined in the more extreme natural winemakers.

My first encounter with natural wine was back in the mid-1990s while on a wine-buying trip in France. Looking for a supplier of Crozes-Hermitage and Hermitage, we visited Dard & Ribo, a producer we had heard good things about. The wines were incredible, fresh and invigourating with superb fruit and an amazing vitality. Monsieurs Dard and Ribo explained in French their new way of working with low or no added sulphur. Thrilled with our new discovery, we asked for samples to be sent to Dublin. There they languished in my office for a month or so. When we finally go around to tasting them, it was a massive disappointment. The wines were dull, some oxidised, others stinking of Brett. We didn’t buy.

Fast forward twenty years to April 2018, and I tasted a Crozes Hermitage Rouge Les Baties 2016 from the same Dard & Ribo at the Le Caveau spring portfolio tasting. It was stunning; fragrant and bursting with fruit, charged with that same wonderful vibrancy and life. Obviously, this natural wine producer has changed for the better and Le Caveau know how to store them.

Two high priests of the movement visited Ireland recently. Both gentlemen are very French in very different ways. Thierry Puzelat is enthusiastic and passionate, Jean Foillard is less effusive and initially withdrawn. Both paid homage to ‘the Pope’ the late Marcel Lapierre, a producer in Morgon who started it all back in early 1990’s. ‘Lapierre was the father of it all’, says Foillard. ‘He converted a small group of people (his youngest friends) and the message spread out from there. It (natural wine) seems obvious today, but it was very lonely back then. Everyone, even your neighbours, told us we were doing it wrong.’ However, Lapierre in turn was a disciple of Jules Chauvet, a traditionalist who railed against much of what was happening in Beaujolais throughout the 1960’s and 1970’s. Foillard was joined by Jean-Paul Thévenet in Mâcon, and Guy Breton in Beaujolais. Lapierre passed away in 2010.

Jean Foillard also owns vineyards in Morgon in Beaujolais, and Thierry Puzelat in the Loire valley. Inspired by Lapierre, they began to take wine back to it’s roots. ‘We did not invent anything, We simply returned to what our grandfathers did,’ says Puzelat. ‘I went to school where I learnt to make wine in the normal way, using all the standard treatments. Then one day I tasted a glass of wine and thought s**t! That’s what I want to drink; and to make.” Neither uses organic or biodynamic certificates or symbols on their labels, but say the have all the certificates. ‘It is all about the quality, not the signals’, says Foillard. Both say they prefer less ripe vintages. With his father, there were only a few ripe vintages in a lifetime. Now they are commonplace and less interesting to make. 2014, Foillard says, was a long slow maturing vintage that doesn’t have the richness or power of the 2015, and had higher yields, but the wines are good, (his are excellent).

There is no legal definition for natural wine. Many argue that all wine is natural, yet that ignores the level of manipulation, – additives and treatments – that are standard in a great many ‘normal’ wines, inexpensive wines in particular. These days, many prefer to use the terms low-intervention or light-touch instead of natural. The basic tenets are organic or preferably biodynamic viticulture, but certainly never using herbicides or fungicides. In fermentation there is no indigenous yeasts, no enzymes, filtering or fining, no chaptalisation or acidification, and most controversial of all, little or no sulphur. A winemaker walks a tightrope when they under-sulphur or don’t add any at all. Sulphur (a natural byproduct of fermentation) has been used since Roman times to prevent bacterial spoiling and oxidising.

I came across an interesting article about bread in The Guardian by Joanna Blythman. Much of what she writes could also apply to wine. “Others prefer to stick with tried and tested “natural” foods made by traditional methods because they quite legitimately interpret the presence of multiple additives in products as signifiers of debased factory food, mainly used for purposes of fakery….proponents of our industrial food system slur defenders of traditional food standards and practices as luddites, hopeless romantics, scientifically incompetent scaremongers railing against technological progress. They would love to tie us up in a never-ending philosophical debate about what “natural” means. She writes that our own Food Safety Authority of Ireland has tried to define the word natural (alongside three other debased terms – ‘Artisanal’, ‘Farmhouse’ and ‘Traditional); “The ingredients are formed by nature and are not significantly interfered with by man.” Obviously this is open to all sorts of interpretation, with many food (and sometimes wine) producers using all sorts of ‘natural’ flavourings, and additives as well as complicated processes that can hardly be described as natural. Blythman finishes ‘We live in a world where big food manufacturers and retailers constantly use our food vocabulary to fit their own agenda. The word “natural” is in the frontline of our battle to reclaim it”.

Natural wines are a mixed bag. Some are clearly faulty, or at least, have aromas that have little to do with wine (or ‘terroir’ as some claim). Others taste more like cider. Puzelat agrees: For the first five years, we made a lot of vinegar’, he says, adding that it takes a decade or more to convert your vineyards to sustainable viticulture. But the good natural wines have a wonderful freshness and purity, a liveliness not always found in everyday wines. They are a joy to drink.

While it is easier to farm organically in warmer, drier climates, wines from cooler regions have higher acidity, which acts as a natural antiseptic. It may be no coincidence that the highest concentration of natural wines are found in the Loire and Beaujolais, both regions that produce wines high in acidity and low in alcohol.

The natural wine movement has gathered momentum over the last five years and generated huge in interest in wine amongst younger consumers who may have been put off by a perceived (or real) stuffiness in wine drinking. It has also brought focus back to genuine artisanal growers. I believe that generally, the best, most interesting wines come from small producers who care for their vineyards and often work organically or biodynamically. They also use as few treatments as possible in the cellar. Some may describe themselves as natural, but others clearly are not. Pascal Rossignol of specialist importer Le Caveau probably got it right when he argued it is not just about levels of sulphur. ‘Honest wine is about trust; wine that is made by good growers, working with good importers and sold to wine drinkers who care’. ‘Natural wine is not the aim’, says Puzelat. ‘It is not enough. We have to make good wine naturally’. Few could disagree with that.

Soave Colli Scaligieri Castelcerino 2015 Filippi
12.5%, €18.65
A delicious light Soave with a waxy touch, some peach and yellow apple fruits mixing in with marzipan and a lively streak of mineral acidity. Made from biodynamically grown grapes with minimal sulphur, it has a pleasant leesy touch too. Drink by itself or with lighter seafood dishes.

Stockists: Le Caveau, Kilkenny lecaveau.ie;  64 Wine, Glasthule, 64wine.ie; The Corkscrew, Chatham Street, thecorkscrew.ie; Green Man Wines, Terenure, grenmanwines.ie; Bradley’s, Cork, Bradleysofflicence.ie

Thierry Puzelat Le P’tit Blanc du Clos Tue-Bouef 2016, Vin de France
13%, €22
Sauvignon with a difference. Organic, low-sulphur wine, lightly aromatic with clean apple and quince fruits, a refreshing texture, finishing dry. By itself or with creamy goat’s cheese salad.

Stockists: Le Caveau, Kilkenny, lecaveau.ie; The Corkscrew, Chatham St, thecorkscrew.ie; Green Man Wines, Terenure, greenmanwines.ie; 64 Wine, Glasthule, 64wine.ie.

Laderas del Valle Malbec 2015, Barbarians, Tupungato, Argentina
13%, €15
Malbec with a difference; light, vivid, mouth-watering dark fruits with hardly a tannin in sight. Instead of steak, go for lightly spicy pork or lamb kebabs. 

Stockists: Jus de Vine, Portmarnock, jusdevine.ie; Green Man Wines, Terenure, greenmanwines.ie; Deveneys, Dundrum; Redmonds, Ranelagh, Redmonds.ie

Morgon ‘Le Classique’ 2016 Foillard
13%, €25
Superb fresh crunchy red fruits, all cherries and blueberries, with a cleansing backbone of acidity. Drink now or keep for five years. Perfect with all manner of charcuterie or a grilled pork chop.

Stockists: Le Caveau, Kilkenny, lecaveau.ie; Bradleys, Cork, bradleysofflicence.ie; The Corkscrew, Chatham St, thecorkscrew.ie; Baggot St. Wines, baggotstwines.com; Blackrock Cellar, blackrockcellar.com; MacGuinness Wines, Dundalk, Dundalkwines.com; Green Man Wines, Terenure, Greenmanwines.ie; Fallon & Byrne, Exchequer St, D2, fallonandbyrne.com; Mitchell & Son, IFSC, Glasthule & Avoca Kilmacanogue and Dunboyne, mitchellandson.com; 64 Wine, Glasthule, 64wine.ie;  World Wide Wines, Waterford, worldwidewines.ie