The Truth About Conventional Wine with Dry Farm Todd
Todd White has a dream job. He flies all over the world to hang out with winemakers, cooking and learning and, of course, drinking wine together. The best part? He wakes up every day with no hangover, ready to meditate and work out and do it all over again. That’s because the wine Todd drinks is natural, free of the toxins, sugars, and other additives that contribute to the unpleasant effects often associated with wine. An expert on the natural wine production process, Todd founded Dry Farm Wines to curate pure artisan wines, derived from grapes grown on small, sustainable family farms, and share them with wine connoisseurs and health enthusiasts around the world.
Todd joins me from California for an in-depth explanation of natural wine production and the factors that set it so far apart from the commercial wines you can find in most grocery store and restaurants. He gives us some insight into his life as a natural wine producer, what it’s like to traverse the globe to attend natural wine fairs, and how he’s created a business he never wants to sell. We dive into the wine industry’s dirty secrets and unpack some common misconceptions about regulations, label accuracy, and point rating systems. It’s an episode full of fascinating facts that you can share with your friends at a post-quarantine dinner party—don’t forget to bring a bottle of Dry Farm Wines along!
The problems of industrial farming: wine labels, additives, irrigation, and government cover-ups (2:30)
The Dry Farm Wines difference: What does “natural” mean, and why do so few winemakers qualify? (9:40)
The misconceptions about the wine point scale (12:00)
“Enjoy your evening without sacrificing your morning.” How Dry Farm wines are healthier (15:00)
Why natural wines are not meant for aging (17:00)
How Dry Farm keeps costs down (19:00)
The developing recognition of natural wine: From hipster to certified (23:00)
The universally understood characteristics of natural wine (26:00)
Yeast-killing in the commercial wine industry (29:45)
The correlation between irrigation and sugar content (31:00)
The process of spontaneous fermentation (34:00)
The lifespan of grapevines (36:00)
Todd’s 18 rules of business (40:00)
It all started with natural wine fairs (42:30)
The importance of alcohol percentage, and how accurate the label is (46:00)
The three ingredients in natural wine, and why darker wine isn’t better (51:00)
Required testing: It’s not as stringent as you’d like to think (54:00)
How can wine be sugar free? (56:00)
What we don’t know about nutrition and hangovers (1:01:30)
How red wine gets its color, why it’s healthier than white wine, and what causes “red wine problems” (1:02:30)
Picking the best bottle in a grocery store or restaurant (pro tip: organic does NOT mean natural) (1:07:20)
The biggest natural wine-growing regions (1:12:30)
Where to Find Todd
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