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Swiss Natural Wine: Not So Fringe Anymore

11 janv.

Dernière mise à jour : 23 janv.

Article de Dennis Lapuyade, artisanswiss.com

My latest brush with the natural wine scene was at the end of August in Zürich at the 4th annual Association Suisse Vin Nature (ASVN) tasting. This year’s venue, Kantine, was bohemian enough to reawaken my love for Beat Poetry and aligned perfectly with the ethos of more than 100 zero-zero wines from all over Switzerland. As a bonus, this year’s event did not suffer from 2023’s oppressive heat wave, which means tasting was pleasant and sweat-free.

After plowing through a majority of the samples available, I took to the sidelines to gather my notes and to make way for the inevitable after-work crowd of mostly youthful adherents. Make no mistake—natural wine tastings are fun and a different kind of party.

First, to those in need of an unambiguous definition for natural wine, ASVN offers one that is clear, concise, and unequivocal: a wine labeled Vin Nature Suisse is made from certified organic or biodynamic grapes with zero additions and zero subtractions. Period. The words also guarantee that any conventional wines made in the same winery are made from certified grapes. That makes it a pretty good bet the companion conventional wines enjoy the same attention to detail required to make sound natural wine.

And despite some grumbling from outsiders, the original cahier des charges is sacrosanct. So much so, that periodic requests to relax certification requirements and to allow for small sulfite additions are politely denied.

For those with strong opinions on natural wine, good or bad, one thing is undeniable—natural wine practitioners in Switzerland are into science. The movement is at the center of a lot of new research directed at organic viticulture, low-intervention winemaking, and climate change mitigation. Most of that research is split between several collaborators, including Changins(Switzerland’s state school of enology and viticulture), FiBL (the Research Institute of Organic Agriculture), HEPIA (the agricultural school of the University of Geneva), Bio Vaud (Vaud’s organic certification body), and the members of ASVN.

Rather than offer notes on what I tasted—much of it was excellent—I think it’s more important to highlight some of the research inspired by natural wine producers. After all, the original Gang of Four’s mission was formulated by a wine scientist and disseminated by like-minded vignerons.

Natural Wine Tasting Protocol

One of the first initiatives undertaken by ASVN and its founding president, Frank Siffert, was a proposed methodology for tasting and evaluating natural wine in a formal setting. I realize the idea of acquiescence and conformity within the natural wine community is controversial, but the proposed Fiche de Dégustation is agnostic, in that it offers a platform designed to balance objective and subjective criteria equally. Something stagnant AOC tasting panels would be wise to emulate.

Analytical tasters of vin nature are now invited to rate the appearance of a sample, from limpid to acceptably cloudy, on a continuum. Under the current OIV model, 15% of a wine’s overall score is based on appearance, which unduly handicaps unfiltered wines.

The mechanics of tasting also differs from the OIV standard. Before smelling a sample, the judge is required to savor it and to reflect upon its intensity of flavor, texture, and balance. The goal is to preclude summary dismissal for perceived aromatic defects before the sample has had time to “breathe”. This makes sense to me, as I am sometimes guilty of dismissing a natural wine at the first hint of off odors. I can only imagine what less charitable tasters might do.

But it’s in the final phase of evaluation, when the taster is required to rate the wine subjectively, that the real differences are revealed. How easy is it to drink (gouleyant), what emotions does it evoke (émotion), and how does it come together as a whole. The points available from this tranche of evaluation are significantly greater than the current OIV standard contemplates.

So far, the OIV has not commented on the proposal, but I’m not holding my breath for a happy ending.

The “Contains Sulfites” Conundrum

Swiss consumer law mandates that any wine with more than 10mg/L of molecular SO2 must include a “Contains Sulfites” warning on the label. The warning is in deference to a small population of wine drinkers who are actually allergic to sulfites. This extremely low threshold is even less than the 35mg/L allowed for entry into some prominent natural wine fairs. But some producers believe that any warning label sabotages the implied “guarantee of purity” the term natural wine is meant to convey.

What to do?

Enter Frank Siffert, once again. When we spoke in Zürich, he was irritated that any wine under the ASVN umbrella should be required to post a sulfite warning. From the very beginning of the warning requirement, he was suspicious that free SO2 readings were systematically overstated when gathered using the most routine methods of measurement.

Indeed, as one commentator observed: “The Ripper method (iodometric titration) can yield significant errors when used with red wines because some of the iodine is consumed by phenolic materials (pigments) in red wines. The errors can range from 5 to 20 ppm and the results are always too high . . . the measurement indicates more SO2 than is really present. (Managing Free Sulfur Dioxide, by Lum Eisenman).

To test his theory, Siffert coaxed researchers at Changins to reexamine 30 natural wine samples that had run afoul of the 10mg/L threshold. Using the more precise Aeration-Oxidation method of measurement, every retested sample came back below the triggering threshold.

Perhaps Siffert’s grand plan to impart a sulfite-free guarantee upon Swiss natural wine may be within reach.

Copperopolis

Copper sulfate, quick lime, and water mixed in the proper proportions will yield a powerful anti-fungal solution known as Bordeaux Mixture. It is currently used in vineyards world-wide, and even though it is listed as an ecotoxin, it’s approved for use in organic and biodynamic vineyards. That makes the search for a sustainable non-toxic alternative a high priority.

HEPIA has studied the use of oregano oil as an alternative, while others have studied sprays formulated from compost teas, milk, seaweed, and clays. All of them have achieved some success in low-stress environments. Non-chemical alternatives such as UV-C light, or germicidal UV, have shown greater success, but nothing works as well in high-stress environments, or across the entire spectrum, as copper sulphate.

Recent trials in Switzerland and several other European nations have confirmed that the patented larch extract, Larixyne, is highly effective against fungal diseases of moderate intensity and highly effective in high-stress environments when used in combination with low doses of Bordeaux Mixture. This makes for exciting news in Switzerland, as larch trees are a plentiful resource. Commercialization at an acceptable cost is the current challenge.

Notwithstanding the success of larch extract, FiBL, in collaboration with Changins, HEPIA, and several ASVN members, has launched a study called InNoVaudCuivre in which a number of copper alternatives are being tested in the vineyards of Morges, near Lausanne. Duplicate studies are underway at the FiBL campus in Frick and at Changins in Nyon. Several unofficial studies will take place simultaneously in the vineyards of Fabien Vallélian, Frank Siffert, and Noémie Graff.

The study is behind schedule as unreliable results were obtained in the extremely high-stress year of 2021 and the preternaturally low-stress year of 2022. The study aims to conclude in 2026.

It’s hoped that an alternative is found soon, even if it is a stopgap combination of agents that minimizes the use of copper in the short term.

Basalt and Carbon Sequestration

This relatively new research calls for pulverized basalt to be spread on vineyard soils where it acts to mineralize atmospheric carbon. Unlike organic carbon capture, which traps atmospheric carbon within the organic matter of the soil, inorganic capture traps carbon within more stable carbonate and bicarbonate molecules.

“The idea is to boost the natural process by which carbon dioxide in precipitation reacts with soils and rocks to form bicarbonate ions, which eventually find their way into oceans via rivers. Adding basalt dust to soils increases the surface area available for these reactions, speeding up this chemical weathering process and drawing down more carbon.” (https://tinyurl.com/yc3rdmua)

The Swiss study, code-named VitiBasalte, is another FiBL undertaking in conjunction with the University of Lausanne. Once again Frank Siffert and Fabien Vallélian are the canton’s point people on the project. The venerable Château de Crans, under the direction of Gilles Pilloud, has made a plot of Chasselas vines available for the study.

VitiBasalte aims to assess the impact of regular basalt applications on the health of the vine and the soil. It will also measure the level of carbon captured. A lysometer buried in the vineyard collects the data which is then interpreted by a PhD student in Lausanne. The study will conclude in 2027.

An intriguing side benefit anticipated from the regular use of basalt on agricultural land is the runoff that makes its way to various water courses. There is some evidence that significant carbonate and bicarbonate runoff will reverse the acidification of the world’s oceans.

The Flash Points of Wine Faults

Well-timed prophylactic doses of sulfites in the early life of a wine are known to prevent the dreaded scourge of mousiness in zero-zero wines.

Might there be other non-intrusive ways to accomplish the same thing?

Deep in the bowels of Changins is current research that analyzes a developing natural wine from fermentation to bottling. Comprehensive analysis occurs weekly with the goal of pinpointing potential flash points of spoilage.

Not much is known about the study and Siffert was a bit sheepish about telling me anymore. Such is the state of proprietary research. A successful outcome from this research would mean a lot in the natural winemaking world.

Ground Cover Studies

Ground cover studies are somewhat mundane at this point, but site specific fine-tuning that optimizes the chosen variety and rootstock is still in its infancy.

To meet this need the cantons of Vaud, Valais and Neuchâtel have chosen 13 sites, including some ASVN member vineyards, to conduct a mosaic of ground cover trials. Each plot will be planted to a combination of between 5 and 8 plants. The study aims to match ground cover mixtures to a given environment. Ground covers are known to affect vine vigor, susceptibility to certain pests and diseases, water and nutrient availability, biodiversity, erosion, nitrogen fixation, and carbon storage.

This study is ongoing and the results will be shared among the members.

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Swiss Natural Wine: Not So Fringe Anymore