[Workers picking organic wine grapes]
David Rothchild (interview): “The farm-to-table movement in the United States really made people concerned about what they’re eating and what they’re putting into their bodies. And I think for a really long time, we were a little bit more focused on the food that we’re eating and the food that we’re purchasing and consuming. And I think now, it’s also grown to encompass the wine that we’re drinking as well.”
[Freshly-picked grapes being collected in containers on tractor]
David Rothchild (interview): “There aren’t as many wine drinkers right now, and the wine drinking population is ageing and they’re not attracting a younger audience. I think that the younger audience is very attracted by natural wine. I think that it’s a different flavor. There has been a movement towards lower alcohol, higher acid wines, wines that are more refreshing.”
[Organic wine grapes being delivered to Pax Wines]
Pax Mahle (interview): “The natural wine movement is great for the consumer because it is providing an alternative to the mass-produced wine that may have a lot of chemicals in it or have vineyards that are farmed with pesticides or chemicals that have proven to be very bad for you. So, we insist that our vineyards are grown a minimum way organically.”
[People crushing grapes by foot]
[Crushed wine grapes being poured into tank]
Pax Mahle (interview): “Once the grapes come into the winery, we do very little to them. We step on them with our feet, and then they’re picked up with the forklift and dumped into a tank with gravity. So, no pumping, no mechanical crushing. Everything is done the way it’s been done for hundreds of years.”
[Megan Glaab, Ryme Cellars, and another worker pouring crushed grapes into amphora]
Megan Glaab (interview): “These are amphora. They’re clay vessels that we really love to ferment white varieties in. So, we have been making skin-fermented whites since 2008. We love the texture and aromatics that you get from the amphora. It is definitely an ancient method of holding any sort of liquid, but also fermenting wine.”
[Amphora sign outside natural wine bar]
[Sign in a bar window that reads “Natural Wine”]
[Bar Gemini interior]
Dominique Henderson (interview): “We have people coming here all the time. They’re like, I don’t like natural wine. That’s okay, you came to the right place. But at the same time, we have so many different wines that people leave here being like, okay, I thought all natural wines tasted like kombucha. So, it’s really great to be able to change people’s minds.”
[Henderson pouring different natural wines]
Ziggy Eschliman (interview): “There’s not a lot of reliability from bottle-to-bottle in a lot of these – quote unquote – natural trending wines right now. I don’t think that you’re seeing a lot of consistency. I had a sparkling natural wine recently, and I had one bottle that was very flat. And then I bought another bottle, and it was very effervescent. So, I don’t know, my bang for the buck was a little bit at a loss there.”
[Minimo natural wine shop exterior]
[Bottles of natural wine inside Minimo]
[Erin Coburn, owner of Minimo natural wine shop, pouring and drinking wine]
Erin Coburn (interview): “It tastes a little bit more tart and there’s more sort of acidity to it. And it feels like it’s dancing on your palate. And I sort of describe this as a way of feeling like the wine is alive. You’re tasting something that is this living product. It feels like the most honest expression of what that grape was like in the vineyard. That’s the exciting part about natural wine.”
[Natural wine being poured into glass]
This script was provided by The Associated Press.