▻ “To Fall in Love, Drink This: A Wine Writer’s Memoir”
Elin McCoy in conversation with Alice Feiring
Episode Summary:-
Elin McCoy talks to Alice Feiring, a leader of the Natural Wine movement, who has just published a new book, “To Fall In love, Drink This: A Wine Writer’s Memoir.” The book, published by Scribners, is an innovative blend of personal essays, a coming-of-age story followed by a specific wine that seems to have a connection to the experience. Unlike most wine books it is rooted in life, and covers falling in love, loneliness, and even meeting a serial killer. Alice has been a controversial figure in the traditional wine world for championing natural wine, which she has written about in her blog and newsletter, www.thefeiringline.com. She also leads a wine club, The Feiringline Wine Society, and personally selects the wines.
She tells Elin how her grandfather used to let her smell vials of perfume and spirits when she was three years old. “What I didn’t know at the time was, I was getting world-class nose training,” she says, as she recounts how her relationship with wine grew out of her relationship with her grandfather. It’s one example of the structure of the book, which came about during the pandemic, when she wrote an essay on wine and loneliness; more followed. Each essay has a theme, and Alice tells Elin, “The 15 episodes of my life were formative, developing who I am and my attitude to wine.” “It’s a wine book that is very much stitched into life, so you come away with some eccentric knowledge, but very specific knowledge. If you are a beginner drinker you can say, ‘Let’ go and explore these vignettes.’”
Alice talks about her childhood, how her mother wanted her to be a teacher; her father was the creative one in the family and was proud of her writing. “I see myself as a writer. It wasn’t until I stumbled into natural wine that I became a wine writer, so I kind of figure a 20-year detour.” Elin and Alice discuss some of the chapters, all of which have powerful emotional themes. One of the most unusual essays is Alice’s encounter with a serial killer when she is 14 years old. Escaping from him, she believes, helped shape her identity: “As a shrimp of a girl that was determined not to show fear, it shaped something in my character,” she says, as she also admits wryly that the wine pairing with that one was challenging. Emotions run through the book, reflecting her belief that “For a great wine you must have an emotional response, because I think great wine provokes them.”
It was a strong emotion that led her to write her ground-breaking book, The Battle for Wine and Love, or how I Saved the World from Parkerization. Alice explains that when she researched and wrote an article about how technology affected flavour and texture, she became intrigued. She wrote about natural wine in her blog, and felt like a whistle-blower, she says, as mainstream media didn’t want to run articles about the movement back then because they were frightened of upsetting advertisers.
““When I dedicated myself to writing about natural wine in 2000, I really was in a battle to save wine’s soul, I felt truly was in danger.””
Elin asks what were up and downsides of being seen as the champion of natural wine. “The upside is I wouldn’t have written six books, and the downside is it narrowed my world. I think I’ve been terribly misjudged….It gave me a platform and notoriety without a whole lot of money benefit.” Elin and Alice then discuss the definition of natural wine, which is very broad. “I define it as organic viticulture and then in the winemaking process nothing taken away, nothing added except maybe some small amounts of sulphur… think of it as a wine without boundaries, it’s freer, fewer rules,” Alice says. “Some consumers will not drink anything else, it’s their marker for quality; for others it’s still their marker for a bacterial swamp.” She adds, “I think that the term ‘natural wine’ has been battered round so much, really battered. I think it has been a bit sullied… I don’t think it is a movement anymore, the movement is now mainstream.”
So, what next? Alice says she believes that “There is a new movement right now, which is just starting, the movement of co-ferments and fermenting everything, it’s very experimental, fun.” Elin is surprised how much she has liked a Pinot Blanc infused with thyme. Alice says she sees this movement taking a bigger seat at the table, especially as climate change affects the natural order. One thing is for certain: Alice Feiring will be fearlessly writing about it, as the wine world’s most unconventional wine writer.
Running Order:-
-
0.00 – 27.45
“How do you pair wine with a serial killer, that was a very difficult one.”
– Alice has world-class nose training at the age of three, smelling bottles of spirits and vials of perfume with her grandfather.
– How the book “To Fall in Love, Drink This: A Wine Writer’s Memoir” came about and its innovative structure.
– The 15 essays based on experiences in her life, with wines which reflect the experiences.
– Alice’s family influences on her as a writer.
– Alice’s encounter with a serial killer.
– Emotion and wine. -
27.46 – 34.55
“Natural wine – think of it as a wine without boundaries, it’s freer, fewer rules.”
– The defining moment when Alice became a leader of the natural wine movement.
– The upside and downside of being labelled as the leader of the natural wine movement.
– The difficulty of being published in the mainstream media at the beginning of the movement. -
34.56 – 51.58
“I do believe the natural wine movement is no longer.”
– How Alice defines natural wine.
– Alice’s belief that the natural wine movement is over, and that it is now mainstream.
– The resistance from the traditional wine trade to natural wine.
– The new movement taking over from natural wine--co-ferments and fermenting everything.
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