Sun, Air and Sparkle — Terroir Talking | Nature, Spirit, Wine | Stories about nature and the life within wine | Interviews with winemakers and growers about their relationship with nature.

Reflection No. 30

In John Barleycorn Jack London wrote, "I am all sun and air and sparkle. I am vitalized, organic." Although he was writing about Autumn, these words feel more like Spring to me, when energy begins to course through the veins of life again. Vines push out tiny green buds that glow as if lit from within. We too awaken with new vigor, stretching and unfurling after the slumber of Winter. Sunlight warms the air and all of life sparkles with the promise of a new vintage.

Families give to the land with a pride that carries across generations. The tradition forms a continuum of integrated experience running through the soil, into the vines and through the hearts of all who live by nature. Jack found himself "vitalized, organic." Organic is an adjective denoting a relation between elements that fit together harmoniously as necessary parts of a whole. In that moment he was alive, integrated with the sun, the air and the sparkle of life.

In the same way, organic viticulture, and organic farming in general, is not a concept we can objectify, because we are an integrated part of it. Realizing this will ensure true sustainability. Remembering it may require a hike to the top of a mountain or a visit to wine country now and then. Escape the dullness of routine, and the demands of fiscal life, and go where you can be … simply organic. The rewards can be exhilarating.