Sofia Nilsson/@goodcleanfundtla Magdalena O Neal – May 12, 2021 | Updated May 21, 2021
Over the last few months, as my friends and I drank our way through more than a dozen bottles of natural wine, I began to think: Maybe I should write about this? Natural wine seemed simple, fresh, exciting, and popularâI could put together a beginnerâs guide, with sommelier-approved bottle recommendations! That was a month ago. Today, I know, natural wine may be fresh, exciting, and popularâbut simple? I need a drink.
What Is Natural Wine, Anyway?
âThe basic framework is that natural wine should involve minimal inputs: mainly fruit and hard work, with perhaps a small amount of sulfur added,â Andrew Lardy, one of the winemakers behind Wonderwerk House of Fermentation in Los Angeles, told me. âThe golden rule is no added yeast or bacteria are allowed. Natural wine is fermented with native floraââi.e., the wild yeas
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Kim and Margo Longbottom, the mother-daughter winemaking team at Australia’s Vintage Longbottom, are planning a Champagne brunch for Mother’s Day.
“There’s a great little restaurant that we frequent with a plant nursery attached out back,” says Kim.
Margo is looking forward to it. “Their philosophy is whatever they don’t grow, they source locally,” she says. “Mum and I are big fans of supporting local businesses.”
On Mother’s Day, many people will spiritually or physically raise a glass to the matriarchs and maternal figures in their lives. How, though, do multigenerational winemaking families handle collaborations all other days of the year? Are there challenges to working alongside your parent or child in the cellar, vineyard or CEO’s office?