A New Classification System for Wine?

In the U.S. we have no wine classification system that is really informative. Our appellation rules ensure the origin of the grapes to a degree but because there are few restrictive production rules, knowing the origin of the grapes tells you little about the wine in the bottle unless you know the producer. It would be helpful if there was some labeling that indicated something about the production process in addition to the origin. This is especially needed because terms that appear on labels such as “natural”, “artisanal”, “craft” or “handmade” are systematically abused and mean nothing.

Wine writer Meg Houston Maker has an interesting proposal based on the classification of French cheese.

The vineyard and field and cellar are elements Wineof terroir, but so, too, is the maker’s mind. This suggests that our new lexicon cannot be merely about locality, it must also be about intentionality, about how those local raw ingredients get made into food.

I absolutely agree. Here is her proposal for a new classification lexicon to supplement our current appellation indicators:

Farmstead — The wine is made on the winemaker’s own property using fruit grown on that land. No purchased fruit is allowed. The winemaker uses minimal inputs and interventions in the cellar and omits all additives that modulate the wine’s properties. Production is limited to the size of the estate and production facility.

Artisanal — The wine is likewise made on the winemaker’s property but using locally sourced fruit, possibly mixed with fruit grown on the property itself. Again, the winemaker uses minimal inputs and interventions in the cellar, omitting additives. Production is limited by the size and capacity of the production facility.

Cooperative — The wine is made using fruit pooled from a group of winegrowers, in a facility owned by one of them or by the collective. The grower-makers have stylistic as well as commercial sympathies. Production is limited by the size of the collective, the yield of each grower, and the capacity of the shared production facility.

Industrial — The wine is made using fruit grown anywhere allowed by appellation laws. Winemaking is industrial, and there are no restrictions on cellar manipulations beyond the legal requirements for wine production. Production is principally limited by commercial exigencies rather than raw material availability or capacity.

The one problem I see with these categories is that I run into small producers rather often who experiment with additives, enzymes, various oak products, or micro-oxidation, etc. Their wines are not industrial. They are made by hand using local grapes, and each barrel gets the kind of attention typical of artisanal wines. But they are more welcoming toward products that are technologically innovative and probably wouldn’t qualify as “minimal inputs”. It isn’t obvious to me how “minimal inputs” could be defined precisely without enormous controversy. Are cultured yeasts allowed? What about stabilizers, oak chips, or acidification?

I think we need an additional category–perhaps “post-artisanal” would accurately describe it since such producers clearly have a foot in artisanal wine making while aspiring to move beyond those limitations.

Unfortunately, the chances of this happening via industry wide regulations are slim because it means industrial producers would have to stop lying about their product.

Yes, huge brands will bridle at having their wine referred to as “industrial,” but that term, at least, is an accurate reflection of the origins and process by which that wine was made. Valorizing farmstead and artisanal production is a way to honor both place and people, and to help secure the future of terroir-driven American wine.

They will do more than “bridle”. They will flatly oppose it and with their political influence would likely prevail.