Two natural wines from Fattoria La Vialla

It's been interesting to watch the progression in winemaking at Fattoria La Vialla, an organic Tuscan estate I visited four years ago.

I went to cover the olive oil harvest but found they produced a wide range of products including pasta, pasta sauces and wine which even then was produced from biodynamically-run vineyards.

They've kept in touch and recently sent me two of their wines from the 2012 vintage which are very much in the natural wine mould. An intriguing unfiltered white called Barriccato Bianco - quite strong at 14% - which tastes of apples, pears and quince (AMBER) and a dark sparkling rosé called La Brumosa made from pinot nero which looks sweet but although fruity (it tastes rather deliciously of strawberries) is surprisingly dry. (GREEN) The white is more challenging - though I like it - but I'm sure most people would enjoy the rosé which would make an excellent party fizz or aperitif.

I like the Fattoria La Vialla set-up which is family-run. They don't sell through any intermediaries and produce hard-to-resist handwritten catalogues full of artisanal products. It's well worth getting on their mailing list to order the new season's olive oil as soon as it's released - and their delicious fresh vino novo if they're selling it.
 

Big increase in French organic viticulture

I'm still flat out on the current book project but thought I'd post this link to a report in The Drinks Business on the latest figures on the extent of organic viticulture in France which now accounts for nearly 6% of total wine production.

More interesting is the rate at which the rate of conversion is speeding up. According to Elizabeth Mercier of France Agence Bio at Millésime Bio in Montpellier last week Languedoc-Roussillon’s organic vineyard coverage increased by 51.9% from 2008 to 2009 (the last date for which statistics are available), Rhône-Alpes by 50.8%, Aquitaine by 45.2%, Burgundy by 43.2% and Provence-Alpes-Côtes d’Azur by 34.6%.

The report points out that growth was slower in the Loire and Alsace (7.1% and 13.5% respectively over the same period) but doesn't take account of the fact that those regions already have a significant number of organic and biodynamic producers.

There are also current figures for Italy and Spain.

Whilst on the subject of France I've found a new site, Club du Vin Authentique which has a very interesting - and alarming - feature on the level of pesticides in conventionally produced wine. (In French, I'm afraid)