raffaele Mastrovincenzo

In the southern reaches of the northern Rhône, tucked between granite hills and windswept limestone ridges, lie two characterful yet contrasting appellations: Cornas and Saint-Péray . Though separated by only a few kilometers, and in some cases, by a vineyard path, their personalities could hardly be more different. One is fiercely red, the other quietly white. One has a legacy of rustic intensity, the other of sparkling nobility fallen into quiet obscurity, only to be reborn through stillness. Both, however, are shaped by terroir as much as tradition , and today, both are being reshaped by a new wave of winemakers unafraid to innovate within the lines of heritage. Cornas: Where Granite Bleeds Syrah Cornas has always been a wine of the land. Its name, derived from the Celtic cornasse , meaning “burnt land,” speaks to its sun-drenched, south-facing slopes carved into an amphitheater of ancient granite . This decomposed granite, or gore , crumbles underfoot and drains fast, stressing ...

Vin nature is a wine made exclusively from healthy, pure grapes, completely free from chemicals and synthetic products. It undergoes no corrections, with only naturally occurring sulfites from the grapes themselves. I have always enjoyed wines made without intervention, staying away from the conventional industrial enological approach. I find wines made with conventional techniques quite boring-they all seem alike. You'd have to study hard to distinguish a Grüner Veltliner from Kamptal and an Albariño from the O Rosal subzone in Rías Baixas in a blind tasting. On the other hand, the character and expression of the terroir shine through intensely, even if there's some degree of volatile acidity (V.A.), a natural byproduct of fermentation that, in small amounts, can add vibrancy and complexity. Similarly, hints of Brettanomyces (Brett), a wild yeast, can introduce earthy, spicy, or animalistic notes that contribute to a wine's depth. These elements elevate the wine and enhanc...