Natural wine-crafting in Switzerland

Nature and autonomy in the bottle

Bibliographic Data

ID24241268
AuthorsFlavian Pichonnat (0009-0003-3227-5965), Heike Mayer (0000-0001-9419-0770), Theresa Tribaldos (0000-0002-9050-8451)
Year2026
Volume43
Issue4
Publication date2026-10-24
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueAgriculture and Human Values (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0889-048X • E-ISSN: 1572-8366
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1007/s10460-026-11001-5
OpenAlexW7223467372
LanguageEN
References cited72

Agricultural industrialization has continued along the tracks of technological progress with its attendant socioecological damages. The values of industrialism have remained dominant in agriculture: efficiency, quantity, speed, control, and standardization. Nevertheless, committed wine-crafters worldwide, dedicated to natural wines, have questioned these industrial values. Their daily lives reflect a countercultural way of life that aligns their actions with their values. This article focuses on wine-crafters in Switzerland who have embarked on this path. We are interested in their techniques in the vineyard and in the cellar, as well as in the values they advocate and share among themselves. We analyze their personal experiences through the lenses of political ecology and agrarian studies. The interviews and participant observation from our fieldwork in Switzerland support the idea that, despite various contradictions, these vineyard peasants strive to an alternative peasant economy, as they defend nature and struggle for autonomy.

agrarian studies · agricultural industrialization · Alternative agriculture · Autonomy · Counterculture · natural wine · Nature · peasant economy · Political ecology · Switzerland · Winemaking · Agriculture, Land Use, Rural Development · Organic Food and Agriculture · Wine Industry and Tourism