Bistro LQ is offering a flight of natural wines curated by Gregg Greenbaum. The flight costs $18, and is being offered from Tuesday through Saturday.

Luis Pato Vinho Espumante Bruto Portugal NV
JP Brun Terres Dorées Beaujolais Blanc 2008
Domaine Estezargues Côtes du Rhône Rouge 2007

Add a digestif for $6 Terres Dorées “FRV100” NV sparkling Gamay

“You mean wine isn’t natural”?  Yeah, the term natural wine is somewhat ambiguous.  Wine is essentially grapes and yeast.  At least that’s what it started out as some 8,000 years ago, probably somewhere in the Caucasus Mountains.  Along it’s evolution, a variety of bells and whistles were introduced to make wine better.  But what really makes wine better? I’m not exactly sure, but I do know that wine has a way of transporting us.  Our senses get heightened and men and women have been known to swoon poetically.  Fermented grapes also tell a unique story.  The who, what, where and when…otherwise known as terrior.  Should the Syrah from Cote Rotie express differently then the Syrah of Paarl, South Africa?  Hell yes!  Naturally, if we expect the terrior to shine, wine should see as little manipulation as possible.  That’s Vin Natural.  Grapespeak.  The guitar plays the musician.  Indigenous yeasts, organic and sustainable farming, no additives or enzymes, very little, if any, oak influence, Sulphur added only at bottling.  With that in mind, Bistro LQ will present a flight of wines committed to this endeavor.  

Jean-Paul Brun is old school.  He’s not interested in the latest wine making gimmick.  He’s more inclined to kibitz about natural yeast strains and the virtues of low alcohol wines. Domaine des Terres Dorées is dedicated to indigenous fermentations and no enzymes or additives other than low Sulphur treatments.  His wines are decidedly low alcohol allowing the fruit and earth to shine.  He’s da man and his wines speak Beaujolais.  The Beaujolais Blanc is 100% Chardonnay, never touches oak and distinctly pure.  So this is what Chardonnay tastes like…

Luis Pato is a rebel.  He knew the potential of the Bairrada region in the south of Portugal had yet to be realized.  He had the vision and the will to raise the bar by farming responsibly.  The Pato Espumante is made in a traditional champagne method using a grape known in Bairrada as Maria Gomes.  Floral and aromatic with a succulent depth of fruit, this little sparkler is a flirty little thang.  Oh Maria, you hussy.  

Les Vignerons D’Estezargues is a cooperative located west of Villeneuve-Les-Avignon.  Think of a group of farmers and winemakers putting their collective efforts together to produce one outstanding product: Cotes du Rhone.  The sum is greater than the parts.  Same approach as others in the vin natural movement.  Sappy, pure fruit, a little funk to kick up the jam.  This is just happy wine. 

Not only is J. P. Brun old school, he’s funny man. Here’s a playful sparkler from Terres Dorées with a kiss of sweetness.  It’s sparkling Gamay made in the méthode ancestrale.  The wine is bottled young with some residual sugar which continues to ferment in bottle.  Fizzy, fun, fabulicious…guaranteed!  Oh yeah, the funny part is the name of the wine “EFF ERR VAY SON”. Keep repeating, you’ll get it.

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The term “terroir” has become one of the most overused and least understood concepts in the wine industry. Filtered down to its essence, however, “terroir” is a pretty simple idea: it’s a way of saying that a wine’s character is a direct expression of the land from which it comes.

Many wine producers these days recite a common refrain about their intentions—they insist their aim is to let the fruit speak for itself, that “It all starts in the vineyard,” that they are mere shepherds of the grape. Despite these claims, though, a lot of wine still gets made after the fact, with the winemaker playing the role of scientist, employing technical means to turn out a manufactured product. Wines considered to lack “proper” structure are now often adjusted via industrial intervention, dealcoholized through reverse osmosis, watered down, or acidified. These are all techniques that mask terroir—that make invisible the imperfections created by a specific natural environment—in favor of a consistent, commercially viable end result. In fact, there are very few producers anywhere in the world that will allow their wine to express terroir in unadulterated form.

By making wine that I believe truly showcases California terroir, the five wineries featured in this tasting are exceptions to the prevailing tendency. There are points of commonality among these producers, which for the most part shun commercial yeasts, farm organically or with minimal use of chemicals, avoid overuse of new oak, and focus on single vineyard bottlings. But each winery also has a distinct philosophy and applies different methods in the vineyard as well as during the winemaking process. And while some of these producers may fall under the “natural wine” umbrella more squarely than others, there is no question in my mind that their wines are all unique, particular, occasionally peculiar, and rarely predictable.

It is an honor to be able to present the wines and winemakers of Scholium Project, La Clarine Farm, Ah!/Edmunds St. John, Donkey & Goat, and LIOCO for this special event. I think you’ll see that each of these producers creates wine that could never be mistaken for the product of another—these are wineries with an individual voice and a strong point of view. They are all working without compromise to be true shepherds, rather than manufacturers, of the grape.