In Wine, 1 + 1 Is Not 2
On my recent trip through North America, I had the pleasure of once again meeting exceptional people, each in their own field and at very different stages of life.
In every city I visited I tasted and shared wines, told and heard stories, and once more I felt that the people around the world of wine are, each in their own way, special.
One idea that stays with me from this trip is the holism that exists in winemaking. Aristotle put it well when he said that “the whole is greater than the simple sum of its parts”. In oenology, I would say that 1 + 1 is not 2.
What I mean is that, for a winemaker, it is ideal to be able to draw on several distinct lots (parts) — whether they come from different vineyards, from different grapes, or from wine aged in different types of barrel. The winemaker’s thinking is holistic in the cellar. We know that these small parts, once brought together into a single blend, make a more complete, more complex wine and — of course! — a sum greater than the simple parts that gave rise to it.
The Old World of wine is the greatest example of this. The ancients already planted their grapes mixed together, in the belief that the sum would serve them better. Here in the Old World the blend, the mixing of grapes, is central, and we know it brings more complexity to the wines. In the New World the single grape is still more prized, and the holism of the wine stays tied to the character of the terroir where that grape is planted.
In truth, in both worlds holism is real, and the winemaker seeks to create a “whole” always greater than the sum of its parts — as defined by the man who coined the word holism in 1926, Jan Smuts.
From the page to the glass
- 1808 Field Blend Alentejo (Grande Reserva) — Traditional Alentejo varieties on granite, 48 months in French oak.
- Cabo da Roca Guardião dos Oceanos Tinto — Aragonez, Castelão and Syrah grown 20 km from the ocean.
- Cascale Petroleiro Palhete em Talha — White and red varieties together in clay talha, sealed for eight months.
