“sans” – does it make sense?
There is a new trend, still a bit discreet. But it will perhaps – probably – increase. We see it in France and it probably exists in other wine countries as well. I’m talking about the “without sulphur” trend, sans sulfites ajoutés. Or rather, “without added sulphur”. This is nothing new, you may think. But it’s not about natural wines. Not even about organic wines. It is about satisfying consumers who want to avoid sulphur. That’s it.
The way in which the wine has been made is of lesser interest. It is not about avoiding additives (except sulphur) or various processing aids. On the contrary, in order to make these wines – which are often quite cheap and unpretentious – stable without sulphur, other additives or techniques are used e.g. flash pasteurisation. There are for example volume producers such as Gérard Bertrand, the Vignerons de Buzet cooperative and Cellier des Dauphins, among others, who have so far launched wines without added sulphur. Sometimes the wines are organically certified, sometimes not. It is often reliable wines, of good quality in their (relatively low) price range.
As I said, the trend will certainly continue. The more wines that boast “no sulphur” on the label, the more consumers will question the use of sulphur. But if you then replace sulphur with something else? Is it better or worse? And is sulphur really that bad?
The wine tour season starts
Soon we will leave for this year’s first wine tour, which will take us down to Argentina and Chile. It is quite nice to get away from the winter a little, although this year in Paris winter has mainly given us rain, rain, and more rain. The Seine is 5 meters above its normal level. So now is a good time to go find some sun and warm weather. First in Chile-Argentina and then to South Africa. Come with us some time!
Britt & Per
PS: Recommend to your friends to read the Brief !
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