book review: Authentic wine J.Goode, S. Harrop and The Science of wine, J.Goode

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In order to complete the first semester of the Diploma course of the WSET (Wine & Spirits Education Trust), I had to do an assignment that had this title:  The role of science and technology in wine production.  I had quite a lot of fun in preparing it (I’ll publish it after it’s been marked),  I read a lot of interesting articles from AWRI – Australian Wine Research Institute and other resources, more than 50 in total I’d say. I wish I had more time to keep updated on this things, but it takes a lot  of time browsing the Internet for articles, deciding which ones are relevant, which ones aren’t backed by formal research evidences, etc.

I particularly found two books very useful and pleasant to read:

- Authentic Wine, of Jamie Goode and Sam Harrop MW (University of California Press, 1 edition September 15, 2011) For sale on Amazon.

Jamie Goode is aPhD in plant biology that has turned into a wine writer. He writes regularly on is resourceful website and blog , he is a wine columnist, and, more recently has written 2 books (this and another one discussed below). What it is interesting to me is that Jamie seems to have developed an interest on the so called “natural wines”, which are very often discussed on his blog (often chosen from the vast and interesting portfolio of Les Caves de Pyrene, my UK’s importer) whilst maintaining his scientific attitude. As a wine-maker that also come from reasearch (I have a PhD in plant biotechnologies) I particularly understand this feeling: being attracted by the artisan nature of these wines and not being able to fully buying into the exoterism of the most extremist wine-making that is sometimes associated with them.  In this book, written with Sam Harrop MW (than among other things is also a wine producer, co-founder of  Domaine Matassa, in Languedoc), the issue of producing wines that are true to the terroir, that are sustainable, that are made with low intervention, is faced from different angles. First of all, the notion of “natural wines” itself, is replaced by the author with the less confrontational term “authentic wines“. Then you’ll find the notion of terroir being analyzed and explained, the use of modern techniques and tools (commercial yeasts and bacteria, cellar technologies, etc), and, finally, the GM vines and microorganisms, with their possible role in the future of wine-making.  There are many case histories that are enjoyable and interesting to read, showing how different people, from different wineries, from different parts of the world, have come to decide to change their way of vine growing and wine making, embracing partially or totally this notion of authentic wines and the different options that may be available for different wine-makers (and different wines, from the small producers to the large ones), from Integrated Pest Management, to Organic viticulture and finally to Biodynamic viticulture and wine-making.

-The Science of Wine, of Jamie Goode. (University of California Press, 6 Dec 2009) Amazon

This is the first book published by J.Goode.  It’s more similar to an actual review of science facts about viticulture and wine-making, but you can already see the embryo of the second book, the willingness to discuss further some of the arguments treated, especially when it comes to biodynamic wines and wine-makers. You can find here a lot of information about the scientific background that is behind modern wine-making and an excursus on the fascinating history of wine, interwoven with the history of man. I’ve particularly liked the history of some pests (ex. Phylloxera) and the state of the art of the knowledge about fermentation (alcoholic and malo-lactic) and the yeasts (another hot argument for debate).

What I liked about these two books is the fact that no matter which issue is discussed and regardless the point of view of the author(s), I know that the facts that are brought over are solid, backed by substantial evidences, selected by someone that knows how to distinguish between news that are sometimes brought to the attention of the public without any verification about their integrity and truthfulness and pieces of research that have been published by proper scientists, often in peer-reviewed papers. I also particularly like that real scientific attitude, typical of good researchers, that is taken by the author(s) when discussing phenomena that aren’t explained by science yet, like many of the claims made by Biodynamic viticulture: we don’t know, it might not be true, it is not demonstrated yet,  but we are open to change our minds and opinions in front of the evidence. Science teaches us that the truth is always transient and that we have to be ready, and humble, to change our ideas, no matter how rooted they might be, when new evidences emerge.