Pure Vins Vivants, pure and lively wines against organic flash pasteurization and Demeter cross-flow filtration
Pure Vins Vivants, a new label that opposes flash pasteurization in organic wines and Demeter cross-flow filtration. An old saying goes: "If you want to be pure, there's always someone purer than you to purge you." This saying seems to be fitting in a statement sent by Jean-Pierre Frick, criticizing some new rules now included in the specifications for organic and Demeter wines, which is one of th
Starting next year, so-called "Flash Pasteurization" will be authorized for organic wines (the definition and labeling are regulated by European legislation). In short, it's a rapid pasteurization process lasting just a few seconds. Here's a historical reconstruction of the use of pasteurization in wine, beginning with Pasteur, by Dario Bressanini. Pasteurization essentially means heating the wine for a few seconds to a temperature between 60°C and 100°C. Pasteurization has been out of use for years, and even Caviro has denied its use for Tavernello. But flash pasteurization is used in some cases. With very negative effects for followers of natural wines, who see heating the wine as a way to stifle its vitality.
As if that weren't enough, Frick adds, "tangential" filtration (which occurs by letting the wine flow parallel to the filter surface) is now permitted in Demeter-certified wines, "despite our staunch opposition." "This means," says Frick, "that more and more organic or non-organic dead wines will be found on the market, but labeled 'sulfite-free.'" Conclusion: "For this reason, communicating about wines without sulfites, other additives, and harsh physical treatments will be very important in the immediate future, and that's why we'll be writing 'Pure Vins Vivants'—pure and living wines—on our wines."
