Wine, Words and Change

Cory Cartwright, whom I have never met nor had any communication with, is doing a pretty fascinating thing. He’s celebrating the one-year anniversary of his blog saignee with what he calls “31 Days of Natural Wine.” Alice Feiring has offered some writing. So has Peter Liem. In other words, Cartwright has got the heavy hitters doing some heavy lifting for—well, not a cause, but a worthy idea.

Look, natural wine—organic, Bio-dynamic wine and food are not some kind of flash in the pan. It’s true that BioD is pretty close to a religion as Alice Feiring has told me. There are those who follow it whole, and those who take the bits and parts they like, sort of a “cafeteria plan” for foodies and winos.

But I think it worth the while to pay a visit to Cory’s site if for no other reason than you want to learn something about natural wine. Every wine, great or not, has a story behind it and that’s what makes it interesting. Inside each bottle of wine is a story. The same cannot really be said for each bottle of vodka or gin. Noble spirits though they are, they haven’t got the heart and nuance that drives a wine story.

I’m convinced that there need be no revolution or political movement to bring people around to natural and wholesome food and wine. I think putting it in those terms is so arcane, so “60’s” if you will.

No, what’s required is something at which America has always thrived and that is advocating education and change. Those are not revolutionary things. Education and change are what we have always done—sometimes painfully, sometimes slowly, granted. But we have done it nevertheless.

So I want to invite you to take that first step. Drinking a glass of wine while surfing the web just now? Go check out saignee. Learn a little bit more—and educate yourself so that, over time, you can make a change—just a small one—for the better.