Welcome to Episode 12 of TRINKTalks! In this episode, we discuss Camilla Gierda’s book Natural Trailblazers. This publication explores the intersection of natural wine, climate change, and sustainability, highlighting how organic farming, biodiversity, and alternative packaging can reduce the wine industry’s environmental impact. The journey to identify trailblazing producers committed to sustainable practices is both complex and rewarding, with new grape varieties offering resilience in the face of climate challenges. The natural wine movement, rooted in social good as much as rebellion, emphasizes the importance of consumer education and collective responsibility. It also celebrates the growing influence of women in wine and encourages collaboration among producers to drive innovative, climate-conscious solutions.

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ABOUT TODAYS GUESTS 

Miki Smith is a Virginia-based entrepreneur, wine educator, and climate-conscious leader. With a WSET Level III certification and working toward her Diploma, she founded GoodWine in 2021 to spotlight planet-friendly producers committed to low-carbon farming and ethical practices. Through her platform and regional wine club, she educates consumers on sustainable wine choices and amplifies voices driving climate-focused change in the industry.

Christine Pieroth, known as Piri Naturel, is a pioneering natural winemaker from Germany’s Nahe region, where her family has farmed since 1781. After studies at Geisenheim and international vineyard work, she launched her label in 2019, crafting low-intervention wines from organic, regenerative vineyards. Christine integrates agroforestry and PIWI hybrid grapes to boost biodiversity and resilience, earning a feature in Natural Trailblazers for her climate-forward, terroir-driven approach.

Camilla Gjerde is a Norwegian-born, Sweden-based natural wine writer and advocate. A WSET Diploma holder with a PhD in Political Science, she’s the author of We Don’t Want Any Crap in Our Wine and Natural Trailblazers, profiling pioneering producers leading sustainable, low-carbon wine practices. Through her work, Gjerde champions authenticity, climate action, and social good within the global natural wine movement.

ABOUT TRINK 

TRINKTalks has been brought to you by TRINK Magazine, an independent quarterly digital publication exploring the “German-speaking wines” of Austria, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland.

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ABOUT THE HOSTS OF TRINK TALKS

Valerie Kathawala specializes in the wine cultures, traditions, and innovations of Germany, Austria, South Tyrol, and Switzerland, as well as those closer to her home in New York City. Her work appears in the pages of Noble Rot, The Art of Eating, SevenFifty Daily, Meininger’s Wine Business International, Pipette, Glug, Pellicle and a number of other publications. She is the co-founder and co-editor of the wine magazine TRINK. She is currently at work researching and writing a new course (2025) on German wines for the Wine Scholar Guild. 

Paula Redes Sidore moves smoothly between the worlds of wine and words. She is a double-certified sommelier, through the Court of Master Sommeliers and the Chamber of Commerce.  In 2012, she founded Weinstory, a creative content and translation agency dedicated to transposing the world of German-speaking wine into English. She is the German and Austrian regional specialist for jancisrobinson.com and a member of the Circle of Wine Writers. Paula has a Masters degree in fiction writing, and her work has been featured in jr.com, Sevenfifty Daily, Feinschmecker, and Heated.

Thanks for listening and keep Trinking!