This magical elixir was once controlled by the gods, just like the sun and war and love.
Dionysus, the god of the grape harvest, winemaking and wine had his spot in the heavens too, where he was known for inducing ecstasy and debauchery.
The mortal practice of winemaking, however, requires careful precision, attentiveness and attuned passion. There is far more to wine than the giddy, delicious effects that it induces. And while we all enjoy these indulgent benefits of wine- the tastes, the aromas, the feel of it inside our mouths- we need to also critically reflect on what it took to make the wine.
Many people today think of wine as being inherently natural- a commodity that is spared from the industrialization of commercial agriculture. Unfortunately, that is not true. Many wines that are sold are the result of a lot of chemical and mechanical labor. Our friend, Dionysus, would risk being evicted from Mount Olympus because his divine role is becoming obsolete. So much technology has been developed for the production of wine that, tragically, the ancient divinity it possessed is all but lost. So has its innate variability- across years, grapes, terroirs, etc. and this variability is traded for standardization and higher yields. It would seem, in many cases, that Dionysus has been forced to retire his powers of mysticism and unpredictability.
Still today, however, there exist wines that honor his legacy. I am most interested in these sorts of wines. I am in the pursuit of wines that haven't been treated with chemical products in the vines or unnatural additives in the cellar. They show a subtle reverence for simplicity and tradition. The wines I want to drink and write about are those that best reflect the terroir of the place they were grown. They honor the land and embrace the inherent stochasticity of winemaking.
Not only do these wines, which have been named authentic wines, often offer the most interesting tastes, they also tell the best story.
My role: to be a storyteller.
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