There is a global wine trend worth noting. Natural wine. You may already have an opinion about it. You may have no idea what it is. Either way it is something to watch and Nevada County is going to be a good place from which to be watching.
To get some perspective I met with Shana Maziarz, co-owner of Three Forks (threeforksnc.com) in Nevada City. Three Forks is a wonderful brewery. It’s also a delightful farm-to-table style café. And if you want to try some natural wines, it’s the place to go. All the wines are sourced from organic vineyards and produced with naturally occurring native yeast in a non-interventionist style of winemaking.
The process of making natural wine starts in the vineyard with grapes that are not sprayed with synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. It does not necessarily require organic certification in the vineyard but typically adheres to organic guidelines.
Once the grapes are in the cellar, natural winemaking follows a non-interventionist policy. The basic tenet is nothing added, nothing taken away. No manipulation of the grapes. No added sugars, acidity, water, yeasts, or enzymes. No fining. No filtration. Let the grapes become the wine.
It is important to note that unlike organic or biodynamically produced wines, when it comes to natural wine there are no rules, no definitions, no third-party certifying agents. It is up to each producer to determine just how natural they are.
Fermentation is a byproduct of yeast consuming sugar. In that regard all wines are natural. It happens whether you want it to or not. It is also possible to say that the natural conclusion of that fermentation is vinegar. Left untended that is what will happen.
The question is, how much interference, how much sculpting of the wine should the winemaker do while navigating those two points?
In post-prohibition California, U.C. Davis introduced scientific methodology to winemakers enabling them to deliver consistently sound, stable, bacterially free wines. That squeaky clean style of winemaking became both a badge of honor and a slur, depending on who was talking.
The terms unfined and unfiltered, first expressed by pioneering California winemaker Martin Ray and later popularized by Ridge Vineyards, were early buzz words of a non-interventionist style of winemaking as a boast of superior quality. As far back as the 1970s artisan winemakers were complaining that filtration robbed the wine of flavor.
Natural winemakers are doubling down on that path, rejecting any manipulation of their wines.
If you recall the early days of don’t panic, its organic wines, a lot of them were not good. But if you wanted the product, you didn’t care. Organic was what mattered.
Many of the early natural wines were cloudy, smelly, and downright odd: sure signs the entire concept was a total failure and an equally bright sign it was cutting edge cool. After all, if it wasn’t weird how could it be natural?
I have had enough natural wines that were odd to be leery. Fringe wines are one thing. Making it into the main stream is another. I wondered how Shana Maziarz threaded that needle at Three Forks.
I asked Shana to define her view of natural wine. “The least amount of tinkering as possible,” she answered. She believes that the less a wine is manipulated the more it displays the characteristics of that grape, from that growing season, from that region. That is part of what she thinks of as the authentic taste of wine.
First on her priority list are wines using only naturally occurring native yeasts. She also disapproves of additions like sugar, water, or acid that alter the basic chemistry of the grapes. “There is too much pressure for a wine brand to always taste the same. The reality of farming, and especially so with winegrowers, is that every year is different.”
Shana explained that while she supports all the various organic or biodynamic third-party certifications, she thinks having a relationship with the winegrower is most important. “These are very, very small producers,” she explained. “Some only make a few hundred cases a year. Getting organic certification is just not worth it. But that doesn’t mean they don’t follow organic guidelines. There are no rules so knowing the winegrower is really important.”
“We’re careful about all the foods we source for our restaurant, always selecting the best organic growers possible. We care about food. We think about grapes, and the subsequent wine, as food. The same level of attention goes into selecting our wine list as selecting our food sources.”
That all sounds great but sooner or later you have to ask, how do they taste?
“It’s about finding the balance between what customers will enjoy while introducing them to new flavors,” Shana explained. “ The wines must be food friendly. They can be different, they can push boundaries, but they can’t be funky.”
I tasted the wines. If I didn’t know I would never have guessed they were natural. I preferred some more than others but all were good. See the side bar for tasting notes. The Arquils Winery Vilia Orange Wine was exotic, different, and delicious. The Sindicat Grenache was memorable.
“It’s a cool way to make wine,” Shana said. “Doing less is not easy. In fact it takes more effort and attention. It takes a lot of skill to control the process without being controlling.”
What do natural wines taste like? Shana Maziarz, the co-owner of Three Forks Restaurant in Nevada City has done a nice job of putting together a natural and organic wine list without smacking you in the face with it. As with all wines, you will find some more to your liking than others, but if you are looking for the funky side of natural, you will not find it here. Like everything at Three Forks, it is tastefully and deliciously done. All the wines are sourced from organic vineyards and produced with naturally occurring native yeast in a non-interventionist style of winemaking. Taste for yourself. Bossman Family Vineyards 2021 Chenin Blanc, Wellington, South Africa Easy to mistake this for a delightful Sauvignon Blanc. Aromatic, fresh, very dry and crisp style, lovely balance. Tendu, 2020 Cortese, Clarksburg, California Delicate aromas of perfume, pear and honey. Dry, medium-bodied, very soft, smooth finish. Lúuma, 2021 Chardonnay, Sonoma Coast, California Aromas of cinnamon, spice, ginger bread, and graham cracker crust all mingle in this medium-bodied flavorful chardonnay. Very soft finish. Arquils, 2021 Vilia Orange Wine, Nevada City, California 70% Sauvignon Blanc, 15% Muscat, 15% Albarino Maybe the most fun wine on the list. It is fermented on the skins, unusual for whites, giving it a deeper color plus some unexpected astringency. Both delicate and full-bodied with a citrus, orange crush flavor profile. And now I hear it is sold out. That’s the problem. The quantities are so small the wines can go quickly. Queen of the Sierra, 2019 Red Blend, Rorick Vineyard, Calaveras County At least five different varietals make up this fresh and fruity bowl of cherries, raspberries and blueberries. It is full of flavor, with lovely balance and a nice finish, produced in a lighter style. Ellsworth, Zinfandel, Penn Valley, California 80% Zinfandel Loomis, 20% Petite Sirah Smartville. Herbaceous notes combined with flavors of dark berries and plums. Bold flavors in a medium full-bodied style. Sindicat La Figuera. 2020 Grenache, Monstant, Spain This wine is all about black fruit, blackberries and juicy full-bodied flavors. Nice weight, good body, beautiful balance. Lovely wine. There were only 80 cases allocated to all of California. Three Forks has 25 of them. Pretty cool. In fact, all the wines are pretty cool. {related_content_uuid}52b055c7-33a7-41a7-bc7a-6de4752041dd{/related_content_uuid}