What do you think?
Rate this book
Naked Wine: Letting Grapes Do What Comes Naturally
Naked wine is wine stripped down to its basics -- wine as it was meant to be: wholesome, exciting, provocative, living, sensual, and pure. Naked, or natural, wine is the opposite of most New World wines today; Alice Feiring calls them -- overripe, over-manipulated, and overblown -- and makes her case that good (and possibly great) wine can still be made, if only winemakers would listen more to nature and less to marketers, and stop using additives and chemicals. But letting wine make itself is harder than it seems.
Three years ago, Feiring answered a dare to try her hand at natural winemaking. In Naked Wine, she details her adventure -- sometimes calm, sometimes wild, always revealing -- and peers into the nooks and crannies of today's exciting, new (but centuries-old) world of natural wine.
Three years ago, Feiring answered a dare to try her hand at natural winemaking. In Naked Wine, she details her adventure -- sometimes calm, sometimes wild, always revealing -- and peers into the nooks and crannies of today's exciting, new (but centuries-old) world of natural wine.
- GenresWineNonfictionBooze
240 pages, Hardcover
First published August 30, 2011
27 people are currently reading
166 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 18, 2011
First of all, no one should be allowed to write a book in which they refer to themselves as "inimitable".
The great irony of this book is that it's about making wine without all of the modern technological extras that, in Feiring's opinion, get in the way of the wine. However, Feiring puts herself in the story in a way that distracts from the topic. It's not about wine or winemakers, it's about Feiring.
The book is also filled with "you know it when you see it" inconsistencies regarding natural wine. My favorite: Feiring pitches a fit when winemakers she's collaborating with insist on adding water to a wine to reduce alcohol. However, she has no problem with adding sugar to increase alcohol and body. Apparently since early advocates of natural wine were okay with sugar, that makes it acceptable.
I'm extremely sympathetic with Feiring's desire to find wines with less technological intervention, but this book does not make her point at all.
Avoid.
The great irony of this book is that it's about making wine without all of the modern technological extras that, in Feiring's opinion, get in the way of the wine. However, Feiring puts herself in the story in a way that distracts from the topic. It's not about wine or winemakers, it's about Feiring.
The book is also filled with "you know it when you see it" inconsistencies regarding natural wine. My favorite: Feiring pitches a fit when winemakers she's collaborating with insist on adding water to a wine to reduce alcohol. However, she has no problem with adding sugar to increase alcohol and body. Apparently since early advocates of natural wine were okay with sugar, that makes it acceptable.
I'm extremely sympathetic with Feiring's desire to find wines with less technological intervention, but this book does not make her point at all.
Avoid.
December 23, 2017
“Neexistuje recept.”
To je pre mňa najpodstatnejšie posolstvo tejto knihy. Súvisí s iným, osobným, objavom posledných rokov: neexistuje jedno všeobjímajúce univerzálne pravidlo platiace na všetko. Pre človeka túžiaceho po istotách- bohužiaľ; pre človeka akceptujúceho nepredvídateľnosť sveta- chvalabohu.
Nejestvuje čistá čierna, čistá biela, čistá naturálnosť či artificiálnosť- hoci má svet čoraz menšiu toleranciu voči šedej a potrebuje extrémy.
Nahé víno je kniha tancujúca okolo velezaujímavej témy naturálnych vín, škoda iba, že tému často prekrýva sebestrednosť autorky- chvílami som si nemohla pomôcť, len prevracať očami. Slovenskému vydaniu by sa zišla pevná ruka editora.
Aj tak odporúčam, ideálne s pohárom Jakuba Nováka/Slobodného vinárstva/Magulu/Strekova v ruke!
Ps: žiada sa mi doplniť, že hoci je Feiring miestami skutočne otravne vyžadujúca pozornosť, jej spôsob písania je čudným spôsobom chytľavý a jedinečný.
To je pre mňa najpodstatnejšie posolstvo tejto knihy. Súvisí s iným, osobným, objavom posledných rokov: neexistuje jedno všeobjímajúce univerzálne pravidlo platiace na všetko. Pre človeka túžiaceho po istotách- bohužiaľ; pre človeka akceptujúceho nepredvídateľnosť sveta- chvalabohu.
Nejestvuje čistá čierna, čistá biela, čistá naturálnosť či artificiálnosť- hoci má svet čoraz menšiu toleranciu voči šedej a potrebuje extrémy.
Nahé víno je kniha tancujúca okolo velezaujímavej témy naturálnych vín, škoda iba, že tému často prekrýva sebestrednosť autorky- chvílami som si nemohla pomôcť, len prevracať očami. Slovenskému vydaniu by sa zišla pevná ruka editora.
Aj tak odporúčam, ideálne s pohárom Jakuba Nováka/Slobodného vinárstva/Magulu/Strekova v ruke!
Ps: žiada sa mi doplniť, že hoci je Feiring miestami skutočne otravne vyžadujúca pozornosť, jej spôsob písania je čudným spôsobom chytľavý a jedinečný.
December 2, 2012
Having already been a huge proponent of natural wine I read this book hoping to learn a little more about a subject that is very important to me. The book does have some useful info and charming anecdotes, thus the second star.
However, I disliked this book. It does a disservice to widespread appreciation and understanding of natural wine because the tone of the book is so self righteous and dismissive of any wine or winemaker that does not adhere precisely to the authors approved methods.
Natural wine enthusiasts are often characterized as uber trendy, elitist hipster nerds, and this book seems to reinforce that stereotype, when in reality, the thrill of drinking naturally made wine is in ENJOYING it for it's honesty, transparency and charm. Like any wine drinking, it's supposed to be joyful and fun and the heavy handed opinions in this book failed to preach effectively, even to the converted.
However, I disliked this book. It does a disservice to widespread appreciation and understanding of natural wine because the tone of the book is so self righteous and dismissive of any wine or winemaker that does not adhere precisely to the authors approved methods.
Natural wine enthusiasts are often characterized as uber trendy, elitist hipster nerds, and this book seems to reinforce that stereotype, when in reality, the thrill of drinking naturally made wine is in ENJOYING it for it's honesty, transparency and charm. Like any wine drinking, it's supposed to be joyful and fun and the heavy handed opinions in this book failed to preach effectively, even to the converted.
July 29, 2022
Not a book about wine, a book about Alice Feiring going around drinking it.
January 3, 2025
Very hard to rate this book. I wasn’t the target audience - it’s clearly written for those who know more about wine, and though I learned quite a bit I didn’t find it particularly accessible, and the names of people and places visited - which were extensive in range -meant little to me. But it was a useful reminder to savour taste and notice the richness and beauty of wine and other delicacies, and in this way I found it beneficial.
November 20, 2017
Mixed feelings about this book. I enjoyed the details of the wine-making and stories of some of the influential people. I was less charmed by some of the author's anecdotes (the scorpion on the wall could have been skipped in defense to the hostess, honestly). However, I read the book almost straight through and definitely learned more about natural wine.
July 11, 2022
As I read about the author's tantrum at not being able to pick her grapes, I imagined that with this tone, surely she was in her 20s. As much as I want to love this book on natural wine, and I do love natural wine for all its charm, the writing is possibly the most charmless I have come across in a while.
July 11, 2017
She makes it easy to read about the winemaking process, and breaks down what natural wines are in her opinion. The name dropping got a little tiring toward the end, but it did introduce me to those winemakers doing natural wines.
February 10, 2022
Letto nell’edizione italiana, traduzione problematica a parte, ci sarebbe voluto un piccolo schema finale per ricostruire i giri vari e i nomi dei produttori 🙂
August 13, 2016
I have mixed feelings about this book. I wanted to know more about wine and winemaking and winemakers and how "natural" fits into all those, and I did learn some things about those things!
It's only that I could have learned them better if -- I feel really bad saying this -- the book had been written better.
There are lots of complaints I could make -- the fact that the writing meanders so much that it's very difficult for the reader to stay focused on what any particular piece of information she tells you has to do with the topic at hand, or even if what she's saying is important? Or actually, what even is the topic at hand? She throws in a lot of irrelevant details, like how sometimes she is hungry, or has a long car ride, or receives an email.
My main complaint though is the sheer number of people she introduces without ensuring the reader knows who each is -- you know how sometimes you're talking to someone who namedrops some person, expecting you to be impressed with their namedrop, but when you don't register recognition, they backpedal and half-explain who that person was, to try to pretend that they *didn't* just namedrop? And you kind of still don't know? All you know is that your fellow conversationalist thinks it's awesome that they know the namedropee. Now imagine that happening every page of a 240 page book.
Natural wine deserves better than this. That alone is clear from the details I did manage to gather in reading this. But I really want a book about the history and important actors in natural wine, and I want to understand better the differences (and similarities? (!)) between natural wine and conventional wine in growing, harvesting, fermenting, bottling, and even, idk, distributing? And drinking! Every natural wine drinker knows there's no such thing as hangovers from the stuff! Let's talk more about why that is! Because it's actually kind of surprising I can drink a bottle of wine (or, ahem, more) in an evening and wake up the next morning bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
Plus the philosophy of natural wine -- from the moral purists to those just trying to make a good vin de soif -- is ripe (ooh! wine pun!) for an endless series of essays. Hell, I've got half a treatise defending and advocating the use of the term "natural" in "natural wine" written in my head, which is the kind of writing I want on this topic, that I'm not getting anywhere else. (But I really don't want to write it myself, so if please someone who gets paid to write would do it, please and thank you.)
Part of me thinks it's not fair for me to review a book based on what it's not, but let's be honest now, the title and subtitle really suggest that the book was supposed to be about the things I want to know.
I'm glad somebody is writing about natural wine. I'm *really* glad that now I know when I drink a bottle of Andrea Calek's wine I know there's extra sex appeal in every drop (I really do love this). I'm glad I know Jacques Néauport started making natural wine because he just wanted to drink more without hangovers. I'm glad I know in a more nuanced way how there both is and isn't any such thing as "natural wine", and how passionate people get about this.
But honestly I can't recommend this to anyone but the Truest Believers in natural wine because it would be impossible to get through for anyone else.
It's only that I could have learned them better if -- I feel really bad saying this -- the book had been written better.
There are lots of complaints I could make -- the fact that the writing meanders so much that it's very difficult for the reader to stay focused on what any particular piece of information she tells you has to do with the topic at hand, or even if what she's saying is important? Or actually, what even is the topic at hand? She throws in a lot of irrelevant details, like how sometimes she is hungry, or has a long car ride, or receives an email.
My main complaint though is the sheer number of people she introduces without ensuring the reader knows who each is -- you know how sometimes you're talking to someone who namedrops some person, expecting you to be impressed with their namedrop, but when you don't register recognition, they backpedal and half-explain who that person was, to try to pretend that they *didn't* just namedrop? And you kind of still don't know? All you know is that your fellow conversationalist thinks it's awesome that they know the namedropee. Now imagine that happening every page of a 240 page book.
Natural wine deserves better than this. That alone is clear from the details I did manage to gather in reading this. But I really want a book about the history and important actors in natural wine, and I want to understand better the differences (and similarities? (!)) between natural wine and conventional wine in growing, harvesting, fermenting, bottling, and even, idk, distributing? And drinking! Every natural wine drinker knows there's no such thing as hangovers from the stuff! Let's talk more about why that is! Because it's actually kind of surprising I can drink a bottle of wine (or, ahem, more) in an evening and wake up the next morning bright-eyed and bushy-tailed.
Plus the philosophy of natural wine -- from the moral purists to those just trying to make a good vin de soif -- is ripe (ooh! wine pun!) for an endless series of essays. Hell, I've got half a treatise defending and advocating the use of the term "natural" in "natural wine" written in my head, which is the kind of writing I want on this topic, that I'm not getting anywhere else. (But I really don't want to write it myself, so if please someone who gets paid to write would do it, please and thank you.)
Part of me thinks it's not fair for me to review a book based on what it's not, but let's be honest now, the title and subtitle really suggest that the book was supposed to be about the things I want to know.
I'm glad somebody is writing about natural wine. I'm *really* glad that now I know when I drink a bottle of Andrea Calek's wine I know there's extra sex appeal in every drop (I really do love this). I'm glad I know Jacques Néauport started making natural wine because he just wanted to drink more without hangovers. I'm glad I know in a more nuanced way how there both is and isn't any such thing as "natural wine", and how passionate people get about this.
But honestly I can't recommend this to anyone but the Truest Believers in natural wine because it would be impossible to get through for anyone else.
January 4, 2013
Loved this book! I felt like an insider getting to know the world of natural wines along w/ Alice Feiring! This will be a classic to those of us who inspire to make wines as described in this book. A very important body of work for vintners and wine growers searching towards similar philosophies, I consider this one of the best books I have read about the history of how organic and sustainable concepts came to fruition starting in the 70's in France. If you are a wineophile and enjoy wines come on an insider's journey with Alice as she discovers the why and how of natural wine-making, dubbed by Alice, as "naked wines". From one of her fans, " Thank you, Alice!"
August 17, 2014
Feiring's two ludicrous books unfortunately only add to the suspicion and dismissive attitude towards natural wine that many people have. Perhaps if the books were more about the wine and less about herself they would be more successful.
My favorite part of the book is when she is complaining about how wine in the USA is an industry because some Mexican picker crews and picking "her" grapes, compared to Europe which she puts forth as some utopia where everyone is a vigneron getting their hands dirty. Conveniently she is either ignoring or is completely ignorant of the waves of Eastern European migrant workers who flood vineyards of Western Europe every year.
My favorite part of the book is when she is complaining about how wine in the USA is an industry because some Mexican picker crews and picking "her" grapes, compared to Europe which she puts forth as some utopia where everyone is a vigneron getting their hands dirty. Conveniently she is either ignoring or is completely ignorant of the waves of Eastern European migrant workers who flood vineyards of Western Europe every year.
February 22, 2012
Alice's feisty personality comes through which I like but one also has to be borderline obsessed with PH levels and thinking of pursuing oenology at UCDavis at times. Even so, the biodynamic movement among the wine community in and out of the US is for real and makes notable, distint wine although it can go to extremes both in flavor profiles and means the winemakers go to when it comes to producing their wines.
May 28, 2012
rther adventures with Alice in the world of natural wine! I very much enjoyed her first book, The Battle for Wine and Love, and her blog The Feiring Line, even though I’m a wine neophyte. Feiring’s engaging prose makes for a fun read even as she slips in technical explanations in easily digestible sips.
http://bmorrison.com/blog/318/naked-w...
http://bmorrison.com/blog/318/naked-w...
January 13, 2012
Alice Feiring is foremost a writer and that's what distinguishes her from other wine writers. Whether you agree with her or not, her passion and search for uncorrupted wine, her tales of making and visiting famous wineries and winemakers and her discussion of one of the controversial subjects in the wine industry today shine through.
July 31, 2014
I learned a lot about the winemaking process, but I wasn't much impressed by the writing or the narrative. I can't say I'm a natural wine convert, but I would be interested in trying some.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews