2011 wine books reviewed – Part 5

Naked Wine
Letting Grapes Do What Comes Naturally
Alice Feiring
Da Capo Press
£15.99/$24

For Feiring's 'naked wine' read 'naturally made wine' without the safety blankets of added enzymes, tannins, sulphur and yeast – just as Dionysus might have intended, in fact. And, for Feiring, naked means naked: alone, unprotected and vulnerable. However, there's a problem. It doesn't make sense. Making wine, naked or otherwise, also means the inclusion and influence of the vigneron, winemaker, consultant, terroir...