Class Is In Session!

Join us every Sunday at 4:00pm EST for a regular helping of wine wisdom and levity courtesy of Tail Up Goat Owner & Beverage Director Bill Jensen.

Watch this space for regular updates about upcoming themes. Contact us at wineschool@tailupgoat.com to participate. We’ll add you to our mailing list and send you the Zoom link necessary to join class.

Lesson #52

What Does "Natural" Mean to You?
with Importer Zev Rovine

Wine exists at the intersection of Nature and Nurture. Left undisturbed, damaged bunches will ferment on the vine or scatter broken at its feet to vinify through the action of wild yeast. Enterprising birds overindulge and are known to fall from their perches. Elephants run wild and lay waste to entire homes. I imagine our ancestors did much the same well before they domesticated the wild vine 8,000 years ago. But there is nothing "natural" about wine as we have come to appreciate it, bottled and corked 750mLs at a time to be transported halfway around the world and enjoyed in elegant crystal stemware. We have trained this vertical striver to serve our own agricultural ends, running its long canes on horizontal wires in neat vineyard rows. How then are we to understand "natural" wine? At what point do we render nature's gift unnatural by bending it to our will? Which forms of human ingenuity are we willing to accept in the name of a more stable product and which are fundamentally depraved?

As one of the country's leading champions of natural wine, Zev has been studying these questions longer than most and delivering answers of his own in the form of his portfolio. We'll be drinking our way through the pick of the litter - eight of Zev's favorites - to taste for ourselves what "natural" entails. There are three flights of two wines for the occasion: A pair of bizarro Sancerres, one with sulfur dioxide added and one without, forces us to address whether sulfites have a place in natural wine. An orange wine double down showcases what a little skin contact can do for white wines. A red duo begs the question of whether wine must taste "natty" to be deemed "natural". We'll close things out with a pair of pét nats - available only by the bottle - to bring levity to the occasion and assess how the movement has changed the wine industry for the better. All the wines in each flight are also available in full 750mL form. We're offering Sunday delivery as always this week through our new online platform. Stock up at Reveler’s Hour Wine Shop here.

The Natural Wine Movement traces its roots to France in the '60s and '70s when a loose gang of winemakers - largely in Beaujolais and the Loire Valley - reacted against the aggressive chemical interventions that had become de rigueur throughout the country in the post-war period. Renegades like Jules Chauvet, Michel Lapierre, Jo Pithon, and Christian Chaussard advocated for a softer touch in the vineyard and the cellar, and their wines proved the merits of this non-interventionist approach. There was no organizational structure, just a band of like-minded iconoclasts reclaiming the wine of their forefathers. Writers and buyers like Alice Feiring and Isabelle Legeron discovered the burgeoning movement through French tastings and the natural wine bars emerging throughout Paris' hippest enclaves.

Zev Rovine first caught the bug as a server in New York City. He discovered Montreal's booming natural wine scene after a brief stint operating his own bar in Park City, Utah. He resolved to give Americans a taste of what they were missing and launched his importing company in 2009. The business has grown exponentially ever since, now spanning seven countries with over 90 winemakers in the book, up from the original three. And through it all, Zev has never lost his passion for wine made on a small scale by passionate artisans with deep and abiding respect for the natural world. In his own words: "Every wine is a little different every year and [is] the combination of a thousand tiny decisions. I try to visit every winery [in my portfolio] every year and taste everything."

Because we remain stubbornly tied to the three-tier system of alcohol distribution (even a century after Prohibition), those of you participating from afar cannot buy wine directly from Zev. His products are sold in 30 states, and you can find a list of the producers he works with here. Otherwise, hit up your trendiest local retailer and ask if they have any natural wine to offer. It's always worth checking the back label for the sign of an importer that specializes in natural wine. Some of the best names to look for are: Kermit Lynch, Louis/Dressner, David Bowler, Jenny & François, Indie Wineries, José Pastor, Selections de la Viña, Savio Soares Selections, and Selection Massale. Our old friend Eric Asimov serves up his own advice here about "How to Find (and Discuss) Natural Wines."

Have a fabulous week, keep an eye out for those rampaging elephant drunks, and join us come Sunday to mark a full year worth of class.