grape expectations: travelling through wine
Natural wine this, natty wine that, but what exactly is it? And where can you find the best of the best? Read along as we delve deeper into the world of this trendy, biodynamic and, well, extremely delicious beverage.
Perhaps you have ventured out of your comfort zone of the reds and the whites and tried an orange wine recently; if you did, we hope you enjoyed every sip of it. Natural wines can come in all sorts of colours, shapes and sizes. It begins with organically farmed grapes, which are grown without herbicides, pesticides or other chemicals; during the fermentation process, the vineyard ensures there is minimal intervention. This makes for a funky sip! While it is not for everyone, we promise there is a natural wine bottle out there for you. Perhaps this article can guide you into the right direction for your next wine shop visit or trip to a local, or not-so-local, wine bar.
Wine—natural or not—is not only a tasty tipple, it’s reflective of a place. Weaving together history, tradition and gastronomy, the process of producing and dallying out wine influences trade routes, shapes economies and contributes to the evolution of agriculture. And this is where we want to introduce two people whose love for wine, and passion to share the joy a good one can bring, is immeasurable. Lauren and Spencer, expats in Amsterdam, realised the power of popping a bottle in the middle of a table. They say, "It became a real melting pot of cultures and an incredible way to connect people."
As soon as you overcome the pretentiousness and exclusivity deep-rooted in wine tasting, you are left with a thing that can be as simple as a tasty drink or something you can dive in and discover. This is why they created Raravina: a wine platform transforming the future of buying and discovering wine. Forget the all too often intimidating brick-and-mortar stores' and instead enter an online platform that works with local sommeliers to curate hand-picked selections of the very best wines. Raravina is created to be a personal experience. Guided by the sommeliers, customers are able to browse the not-so daunting, or exhaustive, wine list, connect with the sommeliers, visit them at their restaurants and drink with them at their wine tastings. It’s as simple as that.
Though the expertise may lie directly with the sommeliers at Raravina, the passion that both Lauren and Spencer have for sharing their love for vino is unmatched. So, when we ask them to narrow down their top three favourite natural wines, we realise this is not such an easy feat. As with picking wine on Raravina, with every wine they select they offer us a snippet of why this wine is exciting, how it reflects the place and culture of its origin and why it is just so damn tasty! Whether it's their Weight Haart Haart to Heart Riesling, cultivated from a relatively small, eight hectare vineyard where just the one grape is grown, or their Bott Frigyes Kékfrankos 2021, a natural wine from Slovakia. As Lauren posits, it’s the volcanic soils under the vines to create such a beautiful wine.
Given our love for a glass of orange wine, it seems only apt to mention Raravina’s Douloufakis Muscat Amphora 2021. This is a prime example of traditional techniques fusing modern concepts: the wine is first vinified in a clay amphora before being aged in a stainless steel tank. So whilst we’re all for a wine simply being a tasty tipple, looking at a bottle through Lauren and Spencer’s lens brings out the oenophile within us.
When we asked Lauren what her favourite places were to grab a glass of wine, she responded with a lovely list of hidden gems around the world. Let’s start local in Amsterdam with Oocker and Bar Parry. Both places are a must-try for foodies and wine enthusiasts.
Recently Lauren and Spencer have been spending lots of time in Lisbon, where they found a new natural wine spot called Graça do Vinho. Earlier this year they visited Bologna and fell in love with the city. Dreamy days sitting outside enjoying a glass of wine in the orange streets and porticos. Their favourite spot was Vineria La Confraternita Dell’uva.
At gloobles, we know a thing or two about natural wine as well. One of our favourite spots to enjoy a funky glass is Daytrip in Oakland, California. This fermentation-driven restaurant has a great selection of biodynamic glasses to choose from. In Paris, we like to grab a table at Recoin, a cool restaurant with a rotating menu. From the family of one of our favourite neighborhood bistros in London, Brawn, comes SARGASSO. A place where small plates are passed, great wine is shared and live music plays against a scenic backdrop of Margate's harbour arm. The food is great, but what sets this spot apart are its unequivocally groovy vibes. When you're there, you never want the evening to end!
However, enjoying a glass of natural vino doesn’t just have to be done at one of our funky favourite wine spots. Here, we go back to Raravina who are mastering tailoring a wine menu for your home. Welcome to The Nosey Club. It’s not a one-size-fits-all wine club. Members of Raravina’s Nosey Club prosper from Lauren and Spencer’s solid relationships with wineries and importers; the wine subscription is curated specifically for your taste buds, your price range, the number of bottles you would like and how frequently you want them.
Is an in-house wine tasting on the cards? We think so! Though you may always grab the same Chardonnay from the shelf, being part of The Nosey Club is like having your own somm on call. The key to discovering via Raravina? "Keep an open mind and try lots of it!" You don’t have to tell us twice. Empty your cupboards and restock your shelves. A brand-new wine shelf is brewing: whether it be a Merlot, a Pinot Noir, a pet nat or the whole lot, Raravina has you covered.
Hannah Rees-Middleton & Marilise de Buck
