Author's note: this turned into a long one, so here's a summary of our very subjective views.
Sulphur in wine: good in small doses.
Natural wine: it can be good when drunk very young, but over time it's just too risky.
Organic wine: we love this - it's a good signal of care and quality in drier regions.
Biodynamic wine: if you must but... it's a strange supplement to otherwise laudable organic practices (to be fair it often produces some excellent wine, including the Sohler Pinot Noir).
The role of sulphur in wine
Much ink has been spilled explaining the difference between natural, organic, biodynamic and other approaches to viticulture and winemaking. However, while we're about to spill a little (ok, a lot) more below, there's only one difference that we think matters: sulphur. It's not added to natural wines, but it is added, in the form of sulphur dioxide, to almost all other wines.
It's used as a preservative; stopping the growth of unwanted yeasts and bacteria in the finished wine, as well as reducing the impact of oxidation over time. Yup, that's right, it stops wine going off. That's why it's been added to wine since the time of the Romans when sulphur candles were used to prepare the casks wine was stored in.
The downside of sulphur? It makes it harder for your body to break down alcohol, and there is some evidence that it is more likely to lead to a headache. A very small part of the population is allergic to it, but that's less than 1%, so it probably doesn't include you. There's likely more sulphur in the box of sultanas you had in your school lunchbox as a child than there is in the next bottle of wine you drink.
Thus, like most things in life, moderation is key.
Makers of industrial wines (the cheap stuff at your local bottl-o) will heap sulphur in to ensure a perfectly uniform, shelf stable, inoffensive to the mass market wine that will give you a cracking headache.
Fighting back against these abominations, natural wine producers perceive sulphur in ways similar to the authors of the bible: as the acrid fate of the unfaithful - a divine retribution for sinners who partake in a corporate wine world gone mad over margins and market share at the cost of authenticity. To them, that funkiness in your glass is not a sign that the wine has gone bad, but a sign of its purity, and a badge of your devotion. Sleep well, oh pure one, and expect a slightly better feeling in the morning.
At Vino Cammino, we take a balanced approach. Our winemakers all use sulphur (Cognac and Grappa being the only exceptions because nothing bad can survive in their 40% alcohol environment), but as artisan producers following the path of generations before them, they are careful to add only so much as is necessary to maintain the quality of the wine over its expected life.
Many of you have commented that you don't suffer from headaches you associate with drinking wine when drinking from our selection - we put that down to this measured approach by our suppliers. Care and cleanliness in the vineyard and winery can go a long way to reducing the amounts needed, but for any age-worthy wine (i.e. much of our range), sulphur is an absolute necessity to maintain the quality and freshness of a wine.
Our subjective view on natural wines
Alternatively known as low-fi, low intervention, 0/0 or other cool marketing terms, natural wine isn't a regulated space, but generally means nothing is added (including sulphur or commercial yeasts) and nothing is removed (including sediment through fining or filtering, so expect a cloudy wine). They commonly use organic grapes. It's the opposite of industrial wine, but we think it's a bit of a roulette wheel of spoiled grape juice. There are good local producers making interesting wines, but we tend not to take the gamble (expect for that time we accidentally found ourselves in a 'natty' wine bar in Japan). If you do want to explore natural wines, drink them young!
Final comment: as always, it's each to their own in the wonderfully diverse world of wine and we don't aim to offend. But, we would prefer a single bottle of champagne than a lifetime supply of any pet-nat (the sparkling version of natural wine).
The low down on organic
Organic wines are all about practices in the vineyard. No synthetic fertilisers or pesticides are the key requirements that make it a labour intensive way to farm, but the results for biodiversity, soil health and grape quality are increasingly seen as worth the investment. Within limits, sulphur is allowed in organic wine. It's a more regulated space than natural wine and, in the EU in particular, you'll see a green leaf symbol to signify that a producer is certified organic. In our range, both Tuscan producers and the Kuentz-Bas range (with the exception of the Geisberg Grand Cru due to the practices of neighbouring producers) are certified organic. Domaine Sohler are currently in conversion under the leadership of Marine Sohler - the 2022 arriving in late 2025 will be the first certified organic production of their excellent Pinot Noir. You'll notice that Alsace and Tuscany are particularly dry regions, which makes organic practices a little easier to manage than in the more humid Piedmont or Loire Valley, for example, where mildew is a real challenge.
To recognise good practices in more challenging regions, the French have developed some other "in-between" certifications to distinguish those making significant efforts relative to our favourite punching bag: the industrial wine complex. For example Domaine des Trois V holds a "High Environmental Value" certification, and Godin et Filles holds a "Sustainable Viticulture in Champagne" certification.
We're not dogmatic about organic wine, but we prefer it if there's a choice. It's a strong signal that the estate cares about its land, what they are building for future generations, and how it impacts the finished wine.
Biodynamic practices are a bit strange
Like organic wines, we take biodynamic practices as a strong signal about care for land and environment, and it's highly likely that the winemaker deeply cares about the quality of the wine they produce. In terms of vineyard techniques, biodynamic is about as far from industrial practices as you can get.
We won't get into all of the detail of what goes on in a biodynamic vineyard here, because we like science, and this is more of a belief system. Think astrology, not astronomy. That said, here are a few examples from our friends in Alsace, where biodynamic techniques are prevalent:
- timing interventions (such as pruning and harvest) with the cycle of the moon
- burying cow horns filled with manure
- watering vines with herbal teas
- placing stones from the vineyards under the vats of ageing wine
So, a bit wacky, but the sentiment behind it is what matters to us. Harnessing biodiversity and nature to produce something of high quality with less artificial intervention (they are usually organic as well) is undoubtedly a more sustainable approach to growing grapes, and we have found it is highly correlated with quality wine. And yes, they can use sulphur.