One look at Tony Coturri and you could be forgiven for thinking he was just another back to the land Sonoma County hippie. You would be right, but for the wrong reasons. Coturri wines are natural, all right, but not because of any sixties sentiment or even a more modern organic health kick. It turns out Sonoma’s 21st century natural wines really belong to 19th century Italy.
Organic Beginnings
Tony started the winery in 1979 with his brother and father. They have grown their grapes and made their wine organically from the get-go. The reason, however, goes back to the late 1800’s, when his grandfather Enrico learned the art of winemaking in a small town near Lucca, Italy. Enrico passed on these traditions to his son Harry, Tony’s father.
“Dad always said, ‘never put anything in the garden that you wouldn’t put in your mouth,’” says Coturri of the family winegrowing practices. And they still don’t.
Natural Wine
Among the things they don’t put in the wine are any of the sulfur-based chemicals collectively known as sulfites, a standard addition to wine across the globe for preservation and bacterial control. Permissible under organic grape growing practices, sulfites can give wine a sharp, lit-match taste if overused. Sulfites are not permitted in the winery under the little-used organic wine certification.
This practice mirrors a growing underground movement in France, called vin naturel or natural wine. Proponents of vin naturel are reacting against a globalized wine trade that has traded overalls for lab coats and attention to the land for manipulation in the winery. Natural wine is about allowing the earth in conjunction with the vines to make great wine, which “can’t happen with chemicals,” according to Jenny Lefcourt, an importer of these wines.
While Coturri was not previously familiar with this movement, he is not surprised. He sees winemaking as an extension of canning or pickling — a way to preserve the grapes long after the harvest is over. “If you see it this way,” he says, “then what’s the point to all the technology?” Indeed.
Taste The Difference
Ultimately, the point is moot if the taste isn’t in the bottle. Lefcourt says she can’t drink anything else. “[Natural wine] tastes closer to grape juice — fuller more complex,” and not at all harsh, she says. Coturri urges people to taste the difference. “Once you taste,” he says, “we can stop talking.”
Coturri wines are available at the winery or on Wine Searcher (for global access).
