François Morel, editor-in-chief of the magazine Le rouge et le blanc, introduces us to the natural wine ecosystem

This inevitably begins with a look back at the history of 20th-century wine, with the repeated abuses and crises that led to the creation of the AOC. Whereas the original AOC was meant to guarantee typicity against the malpractices of some, it gradually drifted into a framework defending standardised wines—faultless, but devoid of any real virtue. In the 1970s and 1980s, winemakers following in the footsteps of Jules Chauvet and Marcel Lapierre sought to return to wine without artifice, true to its terroir, crafted from living soils. The book also presents the charters of various labels and associations, as well as interviews with the winemakers who have shaped the natural wine movement. An essential read for anyone wishing to understand the issues surrounding this groundswell shaking up the wine world.