During my first career as a gigging musician, part of my payment for entertaining the crowd was often made not in dollars, but in “house” wine, beer and tequila shots.
Not good.
As many of us have learned the hard way, drinking inexpensive, corner-store wines and coolers brings on the nastiest of hangovers and can ruin our health over time. “Well” and “house” drinks, too.
After working in the world of health for the past decade, the fact that many more people are embracing “drinking less alcohol,” “drinking less often,” going for non-alcoholic options, or even “not drinking at all” is very encouraging.
As with food, prioritizing quality over quantity is a prudent move when it comes to drinking.
Polishing off bottle after bottle can be fun in the moment, but we all know that we pay for our excesses eventually.
So due to headaches, nasty hangovers, and other ill-effects, I gave up drinking mass-produced wines in 2014. And there’s no looking back.
I’d rather abstain completely than drink high-alcohol, high-sugar, mass-produced wines that leave me with a crippling hangover.
So when Todd White, the founder of Dry Farm Wines invited me to try his selection of natural wines for the first time in 2015, I was skeptical… but happy to oblige for a tasting.
I quickly learned that Natural Wines are different from the typical wines you’ll find in the supermarket or corner store.
What is Natural Wine?
Natural Wine comes from organically grown grapes fermented with wild yeasts and minimal intervention.
Most commercial wines are full of additives and contain high levels of sugar and sulfites to help create stable, mass-produced flavors.
In contrast, Natural Wines are more vibrant and alive, grown without commercial shortcuts and an honest expression of the earth.
These wines are lighter, brighter, with a more vibrant palette.
Varietals that you may know like Chardonnay or big Cabernet Sauvignon have different flavors when grown and produced naturally, without the high sugar and alcohol content.
At Dry Farm Wines, their sourcing goes beyond “Natural” to offer the purest wines available. Every one of their wines meets strict criteria. Each carefully curated wine is organically grown by small family farms, low alcohol (less than 12.5% abv), sugar-free, lower sulfites (less than 75 ppm), free of toxic additives, and keto and paleo-friendly.
Compared to mass-produced wines, you’ll notice a difference between how you feel after a glass of Dry Farm Wines.
Without the sugar, excessive alcohol levels, and additives of commercial wines, it’s a unique and refreshing experience (in moderation, of course).
Hidden Additives Used in Mass Wine Production
You might be surprised to learn that many potentially harmful additives are commonly used in mass wine production.
Today, modern wine makers are not required to disclose the following additives on the label:
- Sulphur Dioxide is a preservative that most winemakers use to give their wine stability. But when a wine contains too much sulphur, it can induce asthma and cause a host of other reactions such as dermatitis, hives, flushing, abdominal pain, diarrhea, and hypotension.
- Aluminum Sulfate is another commonly used preservative that can cause nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea. Oh, yes, and it’s a neurotoxin.
- Commercial Yeasts added to help the fermentation process can lead to headaches, especially in people who are histamine sensitive. These lab made yeasts are often genetically modified to create a predictable flavor profile in modern wine making.
- Sugar is added to adjust flavor and alcohol content of commercial wine. More sugar = worse hangover… and flab.
- Due to industrial farming practices, conventional wine often contains fungicides, mycotoxins, and phthalates.
This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Commercial winemakers artificially manipulate flavor profiles of their wine to make their products more marketable and profitable… just like junk-food marketers.
Surprising Facts about the Modern Wine Industry:
- There are 76 chemical additives approved in the U.S. by the TTB and FDA for use in making wine, including copper and ammonia.
- Many U.S. Wines are made with genetically modified commercial yeasts
- 99%+ of U.S. vineyards are irrigated and fed synthetic fertilizers
- Monsanto’s Round-Up (containing glyphosate) is the most common herbicide used in U.S. vineyards today
- Top-selling U.S. approved additives used by the Wine Industry include “Mega Purple”, a coloring agent (that also causes purple teeth)
- Residual sugars (fructose and glucose) are commonly present in commercial wines to appeal to the U.S. consumer’s sweet palate. Sugar in wine can be as high as 300 grams per liter.
It’s no accident these additives, high sugar content and other nutritional information is not disclosed on labels.
Turns out, the wine industry has successfully lobbied in Washington to keep contents labeling off wine bottles.
Simply put, the wine industry doesn’t want you to know what’s in their bottles.
But here’s the good news…
The Dry Farm Wines Difference
With each bottle of Dry Farm Wines, you’re supporting a small family farm, committed to better farming practices.
And because their wines are dry farmed (without irrigation), Dry Farm Wines helps to save millions of gallons of water per year.
Better for you, better for the earth.
Dry Farm Wines makes a commitment to curating Natural Wines that are:
- Sugar-Free: Less than 1 gram of sugar per liter—including their rosé, sparkling, and white wine (which are fantastic, by the way)
- Lower Alcohol: Less than 12.5% (compared with the national average nearing 14%)
- Non-GMO: Fermented with non-GMO, wild yeasts found naturally on grapes in the vineyard.
- No Toxic Additives: Commercial wine companies may use up to 76 FDA-approved additives (like toxic dimethyl dicarbonate); growers for Dry Farm Wines do not.
- Low Sulfites: Less than 75 ppm
- Mycotoxin & Mold Free
- No Added Coloring (That means no Mega Purple or Ultra Red)
Dry Farm Wines curates wines from all over the world, working with small family farms that are committed to producing pure Natural Wines that are non-irrigated and grown organically. They contain no chemical additives and are fermented with native wild yeast.
So, if you want to support your farmer, natural wines are where it’s at.
As an added measure, each wine from Dry Farm Wines is independently lab-tested for purity, and then evaluated by a team of wine taste experts.
Since 2015, the curated selections from Dry Farm Wines are pretty much the only wines I drink.
So, are you ready to experience what a real Natural Wine tastes and feels like?
For a limited time, Dry Farm Wines is including a complimentary bonus bottle of their exceptional wine with your first order.
>> Click Here to Claim Your Complimentary BONUS Bottle of Dry Farm Wines with Your Order <<
If you’re interested in learning more about how Dry Farm Wines got started, read about Todd’s Story Here.
To up the ante, Dry Farm Wines recently created a handy-dandy app with convenient tasting notes and food pairings.
I’d love to hear how you like the natural wines from Dry Farm Wines. Drop me a line and let me know how you’re doing, and cheers to you!
Interested in learning more? Start experiencing low alcohol pure Natural Wine (and get an extra bottle in your first box!)
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Sources
- Sulphur dioxide in foods and beverages: its use as a preservative and its effect on asthma: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7426352
- Adverse reactions to the sulphite additives: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4017440/
- Aluminum Sulfate – Dangers and Warnings: https://www.aluminummanufacturers.org/aluminum-sulfate/
- Aluminum in neurological disease – a 36 year multicenter study: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6550484/
- FDA – Food Additive Status List: http://www.fda.gov/Food/IngredientsPackagingLabeling/FoodAdditivesIngredients/ucm091048.htm
- TTB – Wine and Juice Treating Materials and Processes for Domestic Wine Production: http://www.ttb.gov/wine/wine_treating_materials.shtml
- FDA – § 24.246 Materials authorized for the treatment of wine and juice: https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-27/chapter-I/subchapter-A/part-24/subpart-L/section-24.246
- Dimethyl dicarbonate: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dimethyl_dicarbonate
Affiliate Disclosure: This post is in paid partnership with Dry Farm Wines.
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More About Todd White, Founder of Dry Farm Wines: Todd White is a writer, speaker, and a leading authority on the importance of micro-dosing alcohol for health, longevity, and vitality. He’s also the founder of Dry Farm Wines, bringing the first health-quantified, biohacked organic natural wines to the world.
If you’d like to learn more about Todd’s story and natural wines, check out his appearances on the Fat-Burning Man show:
- Todd White: How to Drink Without a Hangover, Proper Dosage of Alcohol, & Biohacking Cocktails
- Todd White: Biodynamic Wine, Bartering & Social Media Burnout
And if you’d like to try Dry Farm Wines yourself, sign up here to get an extra bottle in your first box.
Have you tried Dry Farm Wines yet? Which do you prefer—red wine, white wine, rosé, or sparkling? What’s your favorite part about Natural Wines? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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