I will check out your site and also see if I can find a bottle of your wine to taste.

The question of a natural approach to winemaking on one hand and the very real issues around how to brand and market that approach is complex and important to discuss.

I don't feel at all that the label of Organic or Biodynamic should 'be' the brand nor the major calling card, but I do believe deeply that great wine with a unique terroir and that is produced in a natural way is the winning combination.

Taste first; approach second is certainly true. At it's core though, this is a branding and marketing opportunity that I'm just starting to think through. I do this for my clients in other areas and am finding that the need for this discussion is very much welcome in the wine world.

Thanks again for you comment..

This issue of defining what is natural is something that I think will sort itself out. The broader wine consumer population wants great taste and assurances that their food and drink are from naturally grown sources. Taste first; assurances second. This only gets complex when you start to deal with what happens in the cave. In the vineyard this is somewhat straightforward.

So, I'm a believer that it can sort itself out and I'm trying to help a bit with my posts.

You hit it right on with 'collapsing the borders between producer and consumer'. That's the challenge and it can be bridged. I do this type of work with e-commerce companies and see some real upside if this can be put in use by wineries. Challenges of course there are. Considering doing some more writing and consulting in that area to lend my expertise to the wine world which I'm quite passionate about.

Thanks again.

Great post, and with passion. It makes me smile. I am not there yet on natural wines, though. Great idea, but differing standards, control and verification leaves the door wide open for intrepretation, and by extension, manipulation. And I am afraid unless someone can take the bull by the horns, natural wines will go the way of terrior and become one of the seemingly endless wine marketing tools, which in the end do more to confuse than educate, or empower.

I am, on the other hand, solidly in your camp with the rapidly evolving social media channels. And particularly optimistic this is where we can collapse borders betweem producer and consumer to get better wine to more consumers. Can social media be the great equalizer? I sure hope so.
Michael

I thank you and Ryan and Robert for having the entrepreneurial spirit and gumption to pull the EWBC together.

I've had a deep passion for wine for a long time. And I've worked as a market and brand builder for my entire career, offline first and on the social web since it started. But my trip to Austria was an eyeopener. Yes for discovering Austrian wines, but moreso to find a community of interest amongst this intersections of interests.

Well done and see you in Italy next Fall!

“The best way to create the future is to embrace it now”.

That's my motto for change. And I'm really neither ignorant nor naive but willing (as most aren't) to jump in the fray and have the discussion.

To clear up a few points:

-I don't drink only natural wines but they are my preference. I'm not a fundementalist nor purist, just a natural wine populist of sorts. My cellar is stocked with really great classic wines that I purchased and relish today before I ever though of organic in food or wine;)

-I disagree that the natural wine movement is not surging. New York is at the crossroads of the world and attention here spreads. Actually there are many more natural wine shops in Paris than here. And I bet other places. I bet if someone started aggregating the list, it would be surprisingly large.

Also recent article in the NY Times I believe about a host of California artisanal and natural wineries finding their way onto the wine lists in New York because of their natural roots, unique tastes and individualistic approach to wine making.

-I don't believe in perfect, but progress. I'm not calling for a pure play organic or anything. Your anecdote about Arbois was very instructive. I'm just voicing appreciation for the dedication, the process and the result of winemakers and shops in giving attention to this approach.

I thank you for your detailed response. I've learned something and hopefully your deep knowledge and my enthusiasm will intersect and encourage others to join the discussion and taste these wines.

Hopeful that sometime we can share a glass of wine together in the future.

-Cheaper, better, more available wines for all. I'm with you on that.

-Crowd or community sourced buying to find and support talent. Yup, Naked is living proof of this.

-End of push…I would hope so but this will be a process.

-A host of deal-a-day are cropping up all over. Some social but refined email marketing ala Groupon. Lot 18 is the local one that is gaining traction.

-Naked New York. An idea that will come to fruition sometime

Glad the post was of interest.

The subject of natural wines, labeling and certification is a heated one and I'm glad to step into the fray. It's not black and white but many shades of grey.

The great news is that small vineyards like yourself are making really fine wines, opening communications with customers and hopefully finding ways to keep building your business.

It ain't easy. Doing something of value rarely is. I believe that stumbling forward into something new is working as long as the motion is forward. It's a game of inches as they say.