Meet the Winemaker at Lady of the Grapes

Hello Vinjoyment friends!

It’s been a while - I’m happy to return to your inbox! Below I share some insights on a recent masterclass and an invitation to join a ‘Meet the Winemaker’ event at Lady of the Grapes on 17 March - with a Vinjoyment subscriber discount. We also look forward to seeing everyone joining us for ‘She Makes Wine: a celebration of women in viticulture', this Saturday 8 March (this one is now fully booked - thank you!!).

We have other exciting events coming up in the next few months - please stay tuned!

Thank you for your support and here’s to good wine that keeps us sane!

Meet the Winemaker

Monday 17th March, 7pm - Lady of the Grapes, Covent Garden

Join us for an intimate fireside chat and wine tasting with Paula Sandoval from Cal Xurriu, coming to London all the way from Catalonia!

In conversation with Lorena, Paula will share the fascinating story behind her family-owned winery, the philosophy that drives Cal Xurriu’s winemaking and the natural elements that make her exquisite wines so special.

Paula will walk us through the past, present and future expressions of her wines and we’ll get to taste six of them, including two sparkling, three white and a red. We'll also have a selection of carefully curated cheese and charcuterie to complement the wines.

Limited seats available. No prior wine tasting experience required; this is an event for all levels of knowledge.

If you’re receiving this newsletter, please use the code CATALONIA10 for a 10% discount.

Book your tickets using THIS LINK

In light of the wild times we’re experiencing at a global level, I’ve been reflecting on my own role in preserving the planet that we (still) have - and the values that keep us human. One of the reasons why I fell in love with wine is its ability to connect us to nature. Of course, this is not the case for the entire world of wine. Mass industrialisation of wine production prioritised maximising volume, disregarding the connection to the source and treating the land and entire ecosystems as yet another thing humans are entitled to control. Thankfully, there is a movement of wine growers whose philosophy centres around working with nature.

A few weeks ago, we held the first session of our Masterclass series, which was an opportunity to dive deeper into the meaning behind the ‘natural’ wine movement - and why it matters for the future of wine, and that of our planet. These are the 5 reasons we discussed to highlight why the future of wine is natural.

Environmental sustainability

This is all about the practices that take place in the vineyard with the aim of not only minimising a negative impact on the environment, but also promoting a thriving ecosystem within it. This includes:

Maintaining a healthy soil: practices like cover cropping (growing other plants and flowers alongside the vines) and composting help to enrich the nutrients in the soil and thus avoid the need for synthetic fertilisers.

Fostering biodiversity: encouraging plant and animal life in the vineyard creates a more balanced ecosystem. For example, allowing wildflowers to grow by the vines helps attract beneficial insects that protect the plant and the soil from disease.

Water use management: recycling, dry farming and permaculture are all practices that reduce the dependency on tap and groundwater. 

Climate change resilience

This is about the outcome of the above practices. Apart from protecting the land, operating in a sustainable way enables the vineyard to adapt to the growing challenges of a changing climate. For example:

Drought resistance: healthy soils retain water more effectively, helping the vines be less vulnerable to periods of little to no rain.

Heat stress mitigation: trees and other plantings around the vineyard provide share and act as temperature regulators.

Pest control: healthy vines growing in a balanced ecosystem are more resistant to disease and less likely to suffer from a pest outbreak.

Support for small producers 

By definition, growing grapes and making wine in an artisanal, low-intervention way is not a business model that can be automated. When we drink wine made in harmony with nature, we’re highly likely to be supporting small and independent producers - often family-owned wineries. I have witnessed growers choosing to plant and harvest a much smaller quantity than what they technically could, in order to prioritise the long-term health of the land (and also at the expense of their own income). 

Small producers are also better known for upholding ethical labour practices than some of the mass-production wineries. We, as consumers, have a lot of power and our choices matter.   

Connection to tradition

With natural winemaking, we see a resurgence of traditional winemaking techniques. This isn’t just about nostalgia or a ‘hype’; it’s about re-discovering and honouring practices that proved to be effective centuries ago, based on ancient wisdom that saw agriculture in connection with other elements in nature and the cosmos. These pre-industralisation techniques include:

Using indigenous yeasts: instead of adding commercial (manufactured) yeast, this refers to the use of the naturally occurring yeast strains present in the fruit and the environment.

Minimal intervention in the vinification process: not fining or filtering the wine - but rather allowing it to develop itself as a direct product of the fermentation process.

Using traditional vessels: using clay amphora (e.g. Georgian qvevri) to ferment and age the wine allows for more contact with natural elements, considered to add a different character to the wine.

Authentic expression of terroir

Terroir is an overused and often misunderstood word. It is not just about the ‘terrain’ where a vine grows; it is the combination of soil, geological characteristics, climate, topography, microbial life… as well the personality of the winemaker, the local culture! In short - everything that plays a role in how a wine expresses itself. The use of chemicals in conventional winemaking aims to ‘stabilise’ the wine (a.k.a. make it more predictable and agreeable to a wider audience). However, these chemicals mask the true expression of the wine. Instead, in natural winemaking, the philosophy of minimal intervention allows for the wine to capture the essence of a place - and it tells a story. Yes, the wines might show up slightly differently each year, but isn’t that part of being alive?! And by the way, there are many natural fine wines that display incredible balance, ageing potential and which are a treat in every sense.... some of which we tried that evening :)

There is so much more that I can say about this topic that I love - but I will save that for the next masterclasses!

Get in touch and share the joy!

Please get in touch contact@vinjoyment.com if you’d like to explore some ideas for a wine tasting or any collaborations.

And don’t forget to share this article with anyone who would enjoy a glass of wine - it really helps us when you spread the word :)

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