Winter Wine Seminar: Natural Wines

The Accidental Wines Seminar

Natural wines represent the hottest growing movement in the contemporary world of wine. Bars specializing in vins naturels are cropping up all over the world, from Paris to LA. Wine fairs showcasing myriad producers of accidental wines — so called because the wines come to be “as if by accident” with little intervention in the winery — are becoming more and more commonplace. It’s a hipster movement to be sure, frustratingly lacking in legal definitions (the inability to officially define what natural wine IS is the subject of much controversy) but it’s also a counter-cultural movement, one that has deep, far reaching implications for the future of wine.

What’s so different about them? They symbolize a rejection of the impact of large-scale distribution and retailing of wines, which have led to factory-like production conditions that aim to achieve total homogeneity of flavor, where every bottle tastes the same. The majority of wines are now designed to appeal to the largest common denominator of wine drinker, rather than expressing the quirks and originality that come from a particular vineyard and a particular grape. The natural wine movement is an informal alliance of winegrowers who believe that the less they manipulate or add to their wines, the better they reflect their vineyard origin, and the better they taste. And while natural wines can fall prey to a myriad of faults, the best among them achieve a hauntingly beautiful elegance that is impossible to disregard. So join us on Saturday, March 2^nd, for a deep dive into the ever-growing world of natural wines.

• Birichino, Malvasia Bianca Pétulant Naturel Monterey, 2017
• Can Sumoi, Xarel-Lo Penedès DO, 2017
• Le P’tit Blanc du Tue Bœuf, Vin de France Blanc, 2017
• Pierre-Olivier Bonhomme, Touraine AOC ‘Ko’, 2015
• Domaine le Briseau, Pineau d’Aunis ‘Patapon’, 2017
• Populis, Red Wine Mendocino ‘Wabi-Sabi’, 2017

The Seminar begins promptly at 2pm, please arrive a few minutes before.
Includes an appropriately paired snack
Seating is very limited.
Reservations are required, by email or phone 505.983.2100
$10 Seminar Fee, credited with a $100 purchase.