Larry Goes to Fuengirola. (19) Friday 27 May 2022

Today was spent at Ch Feely, and in the most agreeable way. Caro was doing a tour of the vineyard in the morning, with guests, which I was able to join; and very instructive it was.

When it comes to farming generally, not just winegrowing, it seems to me that nature is always there, and moreover is powerful and unpredictable. It seems so much more logical to treat nature as a partner and try to work with her (it is surely a her) rather than to attempt to beat her into submission with chemicals. It also feels like a much more successful strategy for the long term.

And that is what Feely is doing, harnessing natural forces and working with them. It is an attractive approach but it comes at a cost. What they do results in far lower yields than a more commercial approach, and is quite labour-intensive. You may get a better, indeed healthier result but you will pay for it. Caro would argue that much of the cost of buying conventional wine is hidden, and comes later on in dealing with the pollution and toxic consequences, and possible damage to your health. It feels cheap at the point of sale but comes back to bite you later in higher taxes and potentially, poor health.

So as I said, it is not a simple situation. To me it seems there is tremendous scope for governmental intervention. Converting to organic wine production costs money, because your yields will drop significantly initially as the vines adapt to their new regime, and there should be grants to help producers do that. Apparently some funds are available, in France at least, and maybe that has helped. About 15% of all French vineyards are now organic, or in conversion. Mathieu at Grand Mayne is a thoughtful winemaker, already spraying as little as he can. I am sure he would convert if he could do that with little or no financial damage.

In the meantime I will buy organic wine whenever I can, because I do worry about the contents of conventional bottles. Wine is one of those products (like bread, and UK beer) where it is not necessary to list the ingredients, including the ones that shouldn't actually be there at all. Which means that some producers will do whatever is legal and profitable. They will do what is good for them, rather than what is good for the us, the consumers. If you bear that in mind and buy the same way, demand for organic products will increase and for those that are not, it won't, and that can only be a good thing.