Natural Grocery

Independently owned, organic grocery store. Our Annex serves prepared foods and offers a selection of wine and beer. Our florists are here to help you with fresh local cuts and dried bouquets.

EL CERRITO STORE
10367 San Pablo Ave.
(510) 526-1155
Every Day Hours
PREPARED FOOD ANNEX
10387 San Pablo Ave.
(510) 526-5150
Every Day Hours
BERKELEY STORE
1336 Gilman St.
(510) 526-2456
Every Day Hours
Download Sales Flyer
Email Us
Join Our Mailing List
  • Our Stores
    • Our Stores
    • Sales Flyer
    • Departments
    • Calendar
    • Produce Notes
  • Annex
    • Annex
    • Sales Flyer
    • Menus and Departments
    • Calendar
    • Wine & Beer Notes
  • Who We Are
    • Who We Are
    • Resources
    • Eat Well
  • What’s New
    • What’s New
    • Sales Flyer
    • Calendar
  • Order
    • Order Annex Christmas Menu 2022
    • Gift Certificates
  • Contact
    • Contact
    • Join Our Team
    • Hours & Holidays
    • Maps & Directions
    • Gift Certificates
  • Annex
  • Sales Flyer
  • Calendar
  • Wine & Beer Notes
Home / Blog / The Farmer and the CEO?

The Farmer and the CEO?

April 15, 2015 by WineAndBeer

Wine made in the vineyard

You may have read some of the headlines about wines that tested positive for excessive arsenic. If not, a quick google search will turn up lots of results. My point is not to discuss the merits or truth of the claim, but rather to explore the alternative to those big, industrial wineries who may or may not know why arsenic is turning up in their wine. Since April is the month for Earth Day, let’s take a closer look at makers of wine who also actually work in the vineyards.

The French have a term for it—vigneron—which refers to a person who grows the grapes and makes the wine. This kind of connection with the land is almost unheard of in big corporate wineries. But, if we believe—as so many wineries say—that wine is made in the vineyard, then winemakers and perhaps winery owners should spend time there.

One of the alternatives to a vigneron is a négociant—the French word for a wine merchant who assembles the product of smaller growers and winemakers and sells the result.

A third way to make wine is perhaps the most common among the new California cohort of winemakers. Winemakers take out long term leases on vineyards, hire vineyard managers whose farming practices align with their own vision for the wine and planet, and visit the vineyards regularly to stay attuned with the growing season and soil health. Dirty & Rowdy is an excellent example of this approach. See this month’s featured wine for details.

The corporate model most commonly practiced is to purchase the land, hire a site manager, and employ migrant labor to routinely apply fertilizers and pesticides. Nowadays, drones are utilized to photograph vineyards and generate data to be analyzed by distant winemakers at corporate headquarters—hardly a boots-on-the- ground or grape-in-the-mouth familiarity with the land, vines, and vintage.

Our Earth Day proposal is to drink wine made by people who get their fingers in the dirt and whose children or pets are safe to roam in the vineyards! Our selection is chock-full of Earth Day friendly wines. So drink to your health and to the health of the planet!

“My only regret in life is that I didn’t drink more wine.” ― Ernest Hemingway

We’d love to hear what you are drinking right now! Share it on Twitter (@wine_ecng)

Why drink “natural” wine? The best ones have exceptional flavor, complexity, and surprise. They cause a reaction and carry you away to their place of origin. Lower sulfur addition is another reason to love “naked” wines. Sulfur can act like a seal, keeping the wine safe from microbial alteration. To eliminate it, or use very little of it (sulfur in wine is allowed up to 350 parts per million; natural-wine people only use up to 35ppm) the vineyard work must be impeccable and the cellar work, hypervigilant. The resulting beverage can sometimes have a slight acetic tang or a hint of funk. Fans aren’t bothered by these quirks, technically called “flaws,” and the wines are hugely popular across the globe. As with organic food, the demand is greater than the supply.

Wine of the Month (while supplies last):

DIRTY & ROWDY

“Familiar” Mourvèdre, California 2013

Five hundred miles of California in a glass! This wine is an argument in favor of blending different vineyards and appellations for optimal balance. Dirty & Rowdy is owned by two families who travel to remote pockets of California, searching to uncover something special from soil, sun, and soul. “Familiar” is a fresh, medium-bodied wine to pour when friends, family, and food pull you home. Notes of raspberry leaf and stem with tarragon and stone. The “Familiar” should be decanted for 45 minutes for full enjoyment! The grapes (94% Mourvèdre, 6% Petite Sirah) hail from Santa Barbara County, Redwood Valley in Mendocino, and Amador County. 100% Whole Cluster. 270 Cases. Allocated. Price: $34.99.

(Pssst! Mention reading WINE WORDS and we will give you 10% off this wine at the register!)

Filed Under: Blog, Wine Words and Beer Notes

Subscribe Here!

* indicates required
Email Format

Produce

Wine Spotlight

ALL PRICES ARE SUBJECT TO CHANGE

OPEN EVERY DAY
El Cerrito: 8:30am to 8:30pm, seven days a week
Berkeley: 8:30am to 8:30pm, seven days a week
Annex : 8:30am to 7:30pm
Wine opens at 9am
EL CERRITO STORE
10367 San Pablo Ave.
(510) 526-1155
Seven days a week 8:30am-8:30pm
EL CERRITO ANNEX
10367 San Pablo Ave.
(510) 526-5150
Every Day 8:30am-7:30pm
Wine: 9am-7:30pm
BERKELEY STORE
1336 Gilman St.
(510) 526-2456
Seven days a week 8:30am-8:30pm

Our Stores

  • Our Stores
  • Sales Flyer – Stores
  • Calendar

Annex

  • Annex
  • Sales Flyer – Annex
  • Calendar

Who We Are

  • Who We Are

What’s New?

  • What’s New
  • Sales Flyer
  • Calendar

Eat Well

  • Eat Well
  • Resources

Contact

  • Contact
  • Maps & Directions
  • Join Our Team

Copyright © 2023 · NaturalGrocery Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in