drink seco issue no. 7
Exploring the not-so-new kids on the wine block and the future of wine culture!
Hello!
Thanks for tuning into the 7th edition of the drink seco newsletter!
I hope you all had a lovely Valentine’s Day if you were celebrating it. My friend in Australia told me that bizarrely there were public transport ticket inspectors on her tram at 11:30 pm! Ruthless! This tells me one of two things, either the head of Victoria public transport is either extremely anti-valentines day (think Jennifer Garner in that movie Valentine’s Day), or they’re recently single…
We had a great time in my live class in Denver. If you missed out but were keen to join a class, my next classes will be announced soon!
I also just managed the bar for a 5-day birthday party for a private client on the East Coast, and the pictures are amazing! I’ll be posting pictures, cocktails, and recipes over the next few weeks, so if you’re not already - follow my Instagram accounts to see them!
I thought Valentine’s Day in all its commercialized glory was impossible to escape these days, but it turns out at least one of us was unaware. In an interview promoting his latest book, Bernie Sanders was blissfully unaware that it was Valentine’s Day. This quote when he was told makes me chuckle a little.
“The senator had no idea it was Valentine’s Day. “When is that? This weekend?” Bernie Sanders asked when I greeted him for dinner on February 14 at Young Chow, a Chinese restaurant on Pennsylvania Avenue that he likes. No, I told him, it is Valentine’s Day currently, right now, as this very meal is taking place. He was grumpy. “Why is Valentine’s Day in the middle of the week?”
Honesty, fair play.
With Christmas, New Year's, Valentine’s Day, and the Superbowl officially over we are well and truly into the new year and in limbo until the next holiday.
I hope you have been enjoying the last few newsletters, I feel like there has been a lot of focus on the past in the world of cocktails and wine. Therefore, this week I decided to turn to the future, in particular, turn to the not-so-new kids on the wine block!
This week we’ll be talking about:
The new(ish) / actually ancient kids on the block; Orange Wine, Pet Nat, and Natty Wines
Judging wines by the label?!
The impact of TikTok and social media on the wine industry and future wine drinkers
Don’t mind if I do…
Let’s get into it!
The new(ish) kids on the block:
Okay, I think we can all agree enough time has passed for these three types of wines that have been popping up on groovy wine lists for them to no longer be considered a ‘fad’. With the increasing popularity and an expanding range, it’s interesting to see what orange wine, pet nats, and natural wine say about the up-and-coming generation of wine drinkers. Before we begin if you haven’t yet tried one of these wines, here’s a little refresher:
Orange Wine: It can be argued that we are in the third wave of orange wine. Past reintroduction and the wave of experimentation. Orange wine is a skin-contact wine that allows the white grape to soak and often ferment in its skins for a period of time. This creates the orange color and textures of the wine. It aims to add some of the dense texture, body, and tannins to white wine that you find in red wine. Despite this being an ancient world technique, it reappeared in the north of Italy (particularly the Friuli-Venezia region) in the 90s. A commonly asked question is if it’s similar to rosé. There are two main differences between orange wine and rosé. The first is the grapes, orange wine is made with white wine grapes and rosé is made with red wine grapes, or sometimes a blend of white and red. Secondly, despite them both using skin contact, rosé wine has minimal skin contact while orange wine has much more. Rosé is generally a much lighter and more summery drink while orange wine tends to be denser and is generally paired with foods that would typically call for red wines.
Pet Nat: Pet Nat- Pétillant Naturel is a fun fizzy wine, it’s low intervention and natural sparkling wine made with red or white grapes. It’s an ancient wine style that originated in France and has recently made a big comeback in the wine scene. Grapes are picked young and pressed off the skins. The wine is sealed while alcoholic fermentation is still underway. Meaning the bubbles are a byproduct of the first fermentation. There’s nothing added to the process and nothing filtered out. It’s hard to narrow down the flavor profile as it can be made from red or white wine grapes. It’s a great option to drink fizzy wine without the often crippling price of good champagne, or the sad industrialization of prosecco. Bonus; they’re lower in sugar and alcohol!
Natty Wine (Natural Wine): Natty wine has really taken off in the past 7 or so years. It’s both a type of wine and a philosophy, although there is quite a bit of debate on what actually counts as a natural wine. Most agree it’s a minimal intervention wine produced with organically or biodynamically grown grapes, fermented without commercial yeasts or other additives. It’s stripping wine down to its purest form. Natural winemakers use various grapes, you can find white, red, rosé, sparkling, or orange. Because of the minimal intervention, it can be unpredictable and unique which is possibly where it gets its reputation for being ‘funky’. The philosophy of natural wine is to produce a wine that reflects the unique characteristics of the terroir. The philosophy also focuses on sustainability, environmental care, and experimentation. It tends to attract a younger audience, less concerned with tradition and the at times snobbier wine sommelier culture. Personally, I’m a huge fan - but you do need to check your producers, as there are plenty of terrible natural wines that, quite frankly, could have benefitted from a bit of intervention.
Okay, so what does the rise in popularity of these wines mean? I think it comes down to three key things.
First, the natural wine movement has resonated with a lot of people (especially young people) who are interested in sustainability, and organic and biodynamic agriculture. At a moment in history where we are reckoning with our existential future under climate change, it is only natural that as we begin to shift towards more sustainable alternative ways of living, the wine industry follows.
Secondly, natty wines and pet nats are fun. Less bound by tradition and strict rules and flavor profiles, natural wines offer a place to explore new things. Not only is there more flexibility in the flavor profiles because of the low intervention process of making the wine, but socially and within the industry, there is more flexibility to explore and define what these wines can be.
In the last newsletter, we spoke a lot about class and how that interplays with the hospitality and beverage industry. I also mentioned how a decade or so ago, many professional young wine drinkers turned on Bordeaux, not because of the wine itself but because they associated it with older, wealthier people and status seekers. A lot of these same young wine drinkers feeling this way are instead turning their focus to the world of natural wines. Natural wine doesn’t have the historical weight and class associations of traditional wines. So many younger drinks feel that it's more approachable and accessible. As we know the wine world can seem daunting and exclusive to people who don’t know much about wine or don’t want to spend much money. The natural wine industry has broken down some of the class, gender, and racial barriers often faced in the old wine industry.
Likewise, it’s still such a new area that there is so much space to establish as a brand without having to compete with the heavyweights of the old wine world. Although it would be naive to pretend that in some circles the natural wine industry has come to be a signifier of the bourgeois.
It’ll certainly be interesting to see where these wines go and if the trend of young wine drinkers follows them.
Judging wines by the label:
My last note on the new kids on the wine block is this. The labels are fun. It encapsulates a lot about what there is to love about orange, pet nat, and natty wines. It’s as much about the wine as it is about the story and the design. Personally something I think the new wine world could take some notes on.
Check out some of the art of these labels!
Impact of TikTok and social media on the wine industry and future wine drinkers:
Since we’re talking about the next generation of wine drinkers and the accessibility of natty wines, it would be remiss of me to not talk about the role social media has played in engaging a younger audience.
We already know that Gen Z is drinking less than previous generations, if at all.
When the pandemic started and a lot of hospitality venues had to close down or reduce service, many sommeliers and wine professionals were out of work. Some of them turned to TikTok and social media to share their knowledge and education with people. As we’ve already discussed, the wine industry can seem very daunting and overwhelming at first. TikTok has helped to break down these barriers and expand the audience and accessibility to people who otherwise might not have had any interest or availability to learn about wine. Learning through social media has helped younger people explore and begin to learn about wine without judgment.
According to data that TikTok shared the use of wine-related hashtags like #sommelier and #winetok on the platform increased by nearly 50% from March 2020 to August 2021.
Exploring and learning about wine should be open to everyone and learned without judgment.
That’s the kind of environment I aim to create in my classes, the at times pretentious and gatekeeping world of high-class beverages is so not my style, cocktail making and wine tasting should be fun and exciting!
Don’t mind if I do:
In honour of Rihanna and the iconic Superbowl performance, here’s a collage of her and her habit of taking wine glasses (and sometimes even the whole bottle) from the club. Don’t mind if I do. She must have quite the collection now.
Unfortunately for her, her second baby is on the way so it’ll be a little while before she’s back to her old tricks.
Thanks for reading another week of drink seco!
Let me know if you try and enjoy any orange, pet nat, or natty wine! Plus any of the great artwork on labels you come across!
I would also like to add that if you read my other newsletters you’ll remember me talking about the Australian drinking ‘ritual’ of doing a ‘shooey’. I can confirm Harry Styles partook in this the other day on his Australian tour…
Enjoy your week!
Carlie x