Joanna Foster, Stella Crinita
Mendoza, Argentina
To me, wine is the continuation of a beautiful relationship between farmers and the land. When wine is naturally made it is vibrant and alive, it is always authentic and is constantly evolving, and it ultimately creates opportunities for us to express our values. The way we make wine can say a lot about us. It is of course intended to be shared and enjoyed with friends and family, preferably in a ritual with food and to provoke beautiful conversations and even dreams, natural wine reminds us that we can all contribute towards taking care of our environment and of each other. What makes us tick are our values and the wonderful people in our team who share these ideals and work excellently together to make this all possible.
We have been practicing for 18 years and have been Demeter-certified since 2012. My partner inherited a piece of land from his family in 2002. The first thing we did was to get rid of all the pesticides and herbicides and started searching for the best way to naturally manage the land. We were inspired by reading the works of Nicolas Joly and embarked on our own adventure, looking for harmony in our terroir. After years of dedicated efforts we have cultivated a mature biodynamic system. We make wine with our hand-harvested biodynamic grapes, using only native yeasts and spontaneous fermentation, no additives, including no added SO2. We play with different vessels for fermentation and aging, mostly concrete, stainless steel, clay and old oak. We aim to accompany the process in the most gentle way possible so that our wine is an honest expression of our terroir. We believe that if you preserve the microbiology in the soil and do not manipulate or intervene in the work of native yeast that the wine is not only more vibrant and expressive but also more stable and resilient.
In our engagement with biodynamic farming our main objective is to regenerate the soil... it is never depleted, always replenished and improved upon. Growing natural wine is about working with nature, and not taking from it more than it can healthily bear. You accept and account for smaller yields and productions. You provide habitats and encourage diversity of fauna, flora and fungi. It also requires manual labor, which means less machines and more jobs.
The shared values in the natural wine movement mean that people are taking an active stand together to protect the land from exploitation. In Mendoza the government recently tried to eliminate water protection laws to open up the way for more extensive mining operations. Activists, musicians, artists, producers, communities; all came together and managed to revert the government's decision.
Natural wine differs in that not only does it make a positive impact on the land, but it also connects people in meaningful ways. Consumers may be concerned about inclusion and interested in supporting small producers who would normally find it hard to market their wine. Women for example are very prominent in the movement; Georgian women who have traditionally made their own wine now have a market that is curious about them and wants to support them. I believe that the natural wine movement has the potential to create new opportunities and economies for marginalized communities, impoverished regions or even for producers in areas of conflict like those along the Palestinian and Israel border or Syria for example. Natural wine can be made with very little infrastructure so as long as there is interest from the consumer to put a spotlight on it, it can bring more awareness and maybe improve livelihoods.
I would like people to know that beautiful natural wines can be found in South America. There are producers who have been making natural wine for generations and a growing cohort of young producers who are recuperating ancient wisdom from their ancestors while having the freedom and courage to bring in their own unique creativity.
