If you re looking for a refreshing (hello, Arkansas heat!) and versatile white wine that won t break the bank, look no further than chenin blanc. This grape has been grown in France s Loire Valley for centuries, but it is now found in many other parts of the world, including South Africa (where the grape is known as steen), California (where it was the dominant white grape until the chardonnay craze took hold in the 1970s), and New Zealand.
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