Book review: RED – Guide des vins naturels dans le monde – A guide to the World’s Natural Wines

RED – Guide des vins naturels dans le monde – A guide to the World’s Natural Wines
By: Michel Tuz
Jean-Paul Rocher éditeur

This small book is about natural wines. And what are natural wines? According to the author of the book it is organic and biodynamic wines and wines made in “a natural way”. To explain the latter he mentions the rules that apply to members of the Association des Vins Naturels (AVN), an association in France for organic growers, certified or not, that follow certain rules for the vinification: no added yeast and no other additives than low levels of sulphur. After a very brief introduction where Michel Tuz explains the meaning of Demeter, Ecocert, AB and other organic/biodynamic labels he moves on to the main part of the book which is a list of growers working in this manner. The growers are mostly in France, but also in Spain, Italy, Suisse and America. He also mentions quite a few restaurants who are supposed to serve organic wines. It would, however, have been helpful to have a short description of each restaurant (only a few have it – and I know it’s a lot of work to do it!). All in all it’s a handy little book for the wine lover who is into organic wines. The book is bilingual, French/English.