Articles

Here at Living Wines we love to write articles to explain our philosophy regarding the natural wines we import. We also like to address interesting questions relating to winemaking, vineyard management, terroir and the matching of food and wine.
We encourage you to read these articles and to share them with others but would ask that if you quote these articles that you acknowledge their source and provide a link if possible.

Frontispiece from Nathan Bailey

A brief history of the term “natural wine”

We love the term ‘Natural Wine’. Let us explain why. We have always been educators and communicators. That is why we love writing to explain our wines and what they mean to us. And that is why the term appeals, because it helps people communicate exactly what they mean about a naturally-fermented wine that has been made without additions and without anything being taken away from the wine.

Flavour of wine

Aromas and flavours in wine: Part 2

In the first part of this article published in Wine Talk for April 2017 we discussed the importance of the human aroma receptors, volatile compounds associated with wine, the link between aroma receptors and the brain, how aroma is a construct of the brain and how different people smell totally different things in wine sparked by different memories.

It all starts with the soil Part 4

It all starts with the soil – Part 4

In three previous articles we have examined different rock types, how soils are formed and the creatures that work the soil for us. In this final article in the series we are going to explore the scientific literature that informed us about the negative effects of systemic sprays to prove that there is scientific merit in our claims.

Minerality

Minerality in wine – Part 2

Minerality of the soil – Introduction We want to explore the importance of minerality of the soil in more detail, because in Part 1 of this series, published in the April 2013 newsletter we explained that only three of the sixteen essential elements for plant growth enter the plant via […]

Rocks scattered in Muscadet

Minerality in wine – Part 1

Minerality in wine and the role soil plays in contributing to minerality was the topic of a Masterclass at an early Rootstock natural wine festival in Sydney. It was interesting to participate in this event and to see how different people viewed the topic through completely different ‘lenses’. Vineyard managers […]

Terroir - Fanny Sabre limestone and iron soils

A new look at terroir

We explore some of the research that is emerging about the importance of living things in the landscape that contribute to terroir including the biota layer – the effect of living things. These living things range from the macro including birds, wasps and spiders down to the micro such as […]