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Helmut Christ | Silvaner | Nordheim, Franken, Germany | 2021 Although Michael’s father was the first in the family’s lineage to make wine (1974), the Christ family has been farming grapes for countless generations. They adopted biodynamics the same year they started vinifying the estate fruit, despite the Demeter certification not being offered to alcohol producers at that point in time. It was healthy soils that mattered to them anyways, not the orange badge.  The Nordheim, Franken region of Germany is located further north than most German wine regions, so it’s too cold for red grapes and even Germany’s flagship...

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Mas Gomà | Garnacha/Xarel-lo Pét Nat | "L'Alba as Turó Rosat," | Catalonia, Spain | 2021 The Vendrell family of Mas Gomà has been working their farm for five generations. Just west of Barcelona, in the middle of the Penedès region in the northeast of Spain. Father and son, Pere and Eloi, have recovered several native grape varieties and work with indigenous plants such as thyme and nettle to provide a true biodynamic habitat for their vines. Their aim is to work hard to provide future generations with vineyards rich in biodiversity, living soil, and organic matter. Father-son duo Joan Manel...

Some may argue that reductiveness is a flaw and some may argue that it doesn't matter. Personally, although my nose is super sensitive to it, I would rather pop a bottle and find out it's a little farty than drink a wine with way too much new oak. At least the reductiveness will blow off fairly quickly allowing the rest of the aromas to shine through. Whether minimal intervention winemakers are adding trace amounts of sulfur to their wines or not, many natural wines are prone to flaws and faults. With minimal to no preservatives (sulfites) in natural wines, you...