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| 2Naturkinder “Black Betty” 2022 2Naturkinder “Brutal!!!” 2023 2Naturkinder “Vater & Sohn” 2022 2Naturkinder “Wilde Meute” 2022 2Naturkinder “Fledermaus Rot” 2022 |
| Tonight, please join us in welcoming Michael Volker of 2Naturkinder, who, along with his wife, Melanie Drese, farms and makes natural wine in the eastern German region of Franken. Michael and Melanie are part of a small group of winegrowers working with the traditional grape varieties of their region while experimenting with the new generation of modern hybrids. Hybrid grapes are crosses between European grape varieties and new world varieties: tonight we’ll be tasting wines made from silvaner, the traditional grape of Franken, pinot meunier (sometimes amusingly referred to as schwarzriesling, even though there’s a satisfying German word for it, müllerrebe), with has a long history in the region, as well as wines made from regent, a hybrid bred for its disease resistance.
One of the goals of organic farming is improving soil health. The theory developed by Rodale et al. is that healthy soils produce more nutritious, more delicious produce without resorting to synthetic chemicals that might harm the environment and the farmers who tend to the crops. Nevertheless, within organic farming, there are less-than-ideal practices that growers sometimes need to resort to combat recalcitrant afflictions such as fungi, the most notorious being copper sulfate treatments. Organic farming admits copper sulfate spray, as it is generally recognized as both necessary and safe while having little to say regarding the accumulation of copper in sprayed vineyards over time. And this is unfortunate, as one of the central tenets of organic farming is building healthy soils—copper sulfate accumulates in sprayed vineyards, eventually harming the very nematodes that organic farming works to save. Earthworms do the vital work of aerating soil and providing nutrients through their poop, and it warms the cockles of my heart to see active worms in the soil when I visit organic vineyards. Ok, I’m a geek, I admit it, but the fact still stands that earthworms provide a tremendous service to farmers, and we should protect them at all costs. The premise of regent is that farmers might eliminate or at least reduce their dependence on copper sulfate spray, improving soil health while lowering farming’s carbon footprint (one less thing you need to do with your diesel-powered tractor). Oddly enough, Michael himself is obsessed not with earthworm poop but with bat poop, as guano is one of the most concentrated forms of nitrogen that nature provides. Tonight, we’ll learn about the bat houses he provides on his property to welcome bats, while tasting five of the wines that he and Melanie make. |