Weingut Emmerich Knoll - 2013 Riesling, Ried Pfaffenberg, Selection Magnum

Farming

The farming section is broken down into four different farming categories that explain in simple terms the way we view the cultivation of grapes.

The first is sustainable farming, an approach with a large interpretation between those who use an endless supply of synthetic treatments in their vineyards and others who only use treatments only if absolutely necessary. We have no interest in working with domaines/brands on the extreme and careless side of conventional farming. The producers we largely represent are vignerons, which is to say that they work in their own vineyards and are in touch with what it needs and doesn’t need, and they craft their wines from the grapes they grow.

Many of our producers categorized under sustainable farming work with organic and biodynamic treatments, however they are not certified because they want the flexibility to do what they feel they need to in order to keep their business healthy, which of course seems perfectly rational. Imagine if you lost your entire income for a year simply because you thought you should adhere a strict dogmatic approach to something in your life. Would you take such a risk when you know it could cost you so dearly, impacting everyone in your family and those who put their faith in you as their employer?

Much of our work as importers is to visit vineyards (after all that’s where good vignerons spend most of their time), not just taste the new wines and quickly move on to the next appointment. As the curator of our portfolio, I have visited the vineyards of every producer in our collection—some every year—to observe whether they are using any kinds of topical treatments, like herbicides or pesticides. The best time to see whether they are being honest about herbicidal treatments is in the spring, and that’s why I usually go then to visit the vineyards. The most difficult treatments to observe with certainty are systemic treatments (those which are not contact treatments, but are taken into the plant’s tissues to resist nature’s challenges), but I’ve always made it a point to ask our growers directly and it doesn’t take but a second to know if they’ve used them before they even say a word.

I’ve had many enlightening conversations and debates with growers and scientists about the use of synthetic treatments in vineyards and it seems there’s no effective way in which to grow grapes and make wine that doesn’t have some level of negative environmental impact, even within natural wine practices. Perhaps to the dismay of us idealists, there are many compelling arguments for the use of certain synthetic treatments in vineyards when compared to the impact imposed by the constraints of organic or biodynamic certification, and it’s a tough argument one way or the other once the research is presented.

I have come to the point where I believe that what is crucial is that the one who crafts the wine works in the vineyards to understand its specific challenges. It’s their experience and knowledge of a plot’s tendencies that gives them the knowledge to measure applications with precision instead of carpet bombing with something that can do more harm than good.

If we look at the organic and biodynamic practices honestly, the treatments seem ideologically correct when we consider what’s better for our bodies, but it’s hard to say that it’s ecologically sound if it’s required to use two to four times as much copper sulfate (a heavy metal that kills microbial life in topsoil and pollutes water systems) and sulfur treatments in the vineyards as a precision, sustainably farmed vineyard. Furthermore, unless these methods are done by hand it's three times as much tractor exhaust, maintenance and vehicle replacement, which contributes to the oil industry through more tires, oil and gas, and to the metal, mining and plastic industry (and there's more) which obviously causes more pollution, degrades the earth’s resources and speeds up the rate at which we are indirectly killing animal and plant life on our planet, including future wine drinkers. Maybe sustainable is the way to go if we place our planet above our personal ideals (and perhaps our health), but that’s an ethical decision each of us has to make. As importers of wine, we have our hands as dirty as anyone else’s with the methods needed to get wine from a European cellar to the table in the US.

Organic Farming category is one that we’ve reserved for those who maintain a certificate of organic farming within the governing body of the country in which they grow the wine. There is great sacrifice in both effort and money to maintain this kind of certification and we want to respect it. There are many out there who use organic methods without fail but do not carry the certification, who we’ve placed into our “Uncertified Naturalist” category. We may not agree with the merit of the certificate on all fronts (the most common complaint is that it’s mostly a paperwork check and little to do with someone qualified to survey vineyards to see if it’s really being done organically) and we know that all who maintain it don’t do an equal level of work in the vineyard as others with the certificate, but that’s not a consideration of ours for this category. It’s simply a matter of fact that the producer must carry a certificate to be noted as organic.

The same approach applies for the Biodynamic Farming as the Organic Certification category. If there is no certification by either Demeter, Biodyvin or another entity that certifies biodynamic farming (I don’t know of others, but perhaps they exist), then the producer/wine will not be included in this category even if they fully adhere to all the relevant practices, they are reserved for the Uncertified Naturalist category.

Our Uncertified Naturalist is an in-house category we’ve created where we place our growers who work in an enlightened way, including a commitment to using only certified organic, biodynamic or a completely natural products for any vineyard treatments. They may or may not follow some organic or biodynamic principles such as monitoring lunar cycles, but what’s important is that they are in touch with their land and have great reverence for nature and that it’s obvious when we observe their vineyards in person and ask the hard questions. These are producers whose vineyards I have in fact seen first-hand and believe them to be honest about their claims, not only by their word but also by an obvious biodiversity of nature (the biggest clue) in their vineyards. This category includes many of our so-called “natural wine” producers, but is not at all limited to them.

-Ted Vance