FOOD & DRINK SPRING 2020 6 5
Feel like
a natural
wine?
There is no universal definition
of “natural wine.” However,
some use the term to describe
a style that uses organic or
biodynamic grapes (see coming
pages), naturally airborne
ambient yeasts or a low-
intervention winemaking style
that adds and subtracts as little
as possible in the winery.
That means that the
wine’s acidity, flavour, texture,
freshness and other qualities
aren’t adjusted with chemical
additives, as they can be in
conventional winemaking.
It’s often described as “low-
intervention” winemaking,
and the terms “living wine,”
“grower wine” and “raw
wine” are sometimes used
to describe modern wines
that hearken back to the
way it was made centuries
ago, sometimes even using
earthenware pots (amphorae).
Taste it at Après Wine
Bar, Sapori, Bar Isabel
and Bar Raval and Grape
Witches events in Toronto;
and at Ontario restaurants
such as Archive 909, Paris
Paris, Brothers Food &
Wine and Cava in Toronto
plus Backhouse and The
Restaurant at Pearl Morissette
in Niagara.The Raw Deal
A series of global Raw Wine fairs around
the world celebrates small-batch, artisanal
“natural” wines. London, Berlin, Miami,
New York, Los Angeles and Montreal are
among the Raw Wine host cities in 2020.Skin in the game
Skin-fermented white wines (a.k.a. orange wines) are made in an ancient method
that gives them hues ranging from amber to coral and orange. Watch for seasonal
Ontario selections like Southbrook’s Skin Fermented Vidal, Cooper’s Hawk
Orange Splash and Reif Estate The Sun Skin-Fermented Vidal at the LCBO.