Ep 365: Vins Doux Naturels -- the Underrated, Elegant Wines of Southern France

<p>Vins doux naturels (VDNs), translated to ‘naturally sweet wines’, are some of the most historic yet underestimated wines in France. These wines are made using the process of <em>mutage</em> – adding neutral grape spirit/alcohol – to fermenting wine in order to halt fermentation and leave sugar in the wine (they aren’t REALLY naturally sweet wine, although producers will say you are preserving the natural sweetness of the wine so that’s the counterpoint).</p> <p><img style= "display: block; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;" src= "https://assets.libsyn.com/secure/show/45638/2-Muscat-de-Rivesaltes.png" alt="" width="156" height="156" /></p> <p style="text-align: center;"><span style= "font-size: 8pt;"><em>Image of Rivesaltes: <a href= "http://www.WinesoftheRoussillon.com" target="_blank" rel= "noopener">WinesoftheRoussillon.com</a></em></span></p> <p>The technique of mutage was created in Roussillon in 1285 by Arnaud de Villeneuve, physician of the Royal House of Barcelona from 1281 to 1310 and a professor of the University of Montpellier. It is the same process used to make Port. Here the wine must be around 6% alcohol by volume when grape spirit is added to kill the yeast and bring the alcohol in the wine to 15-18% ABV. Wines retain sugar and this base wine can go many different directions depending on what the producer wants to present in the bottle.</p> <p>Although these wines can be made with more than 20 different grape varieties, two take primacy: <em>Muscat blanc à petit grains</em> for the white and <em>Grenache noir</em> for the red.</p> <ul> <li><strong>Grenache</strong> is great as a young wine but can also be good if aged for years in old oak barrels, sometimes large glass jars (called <em>bonbonnes</em> or demi-johns) developing complexity and tertiary aromas (tobacco, saddle, mocha)</li> <li><strong>Muscat</strong> has fresh, grapey aromas, and naturally high acidity so the resulting sweet wines are very balanced. These grapes get more flavor and color if the producer wants to put the juice i