Low intervention: a threshold, not an attitude

The standard

A justified intervention threshold establishes before harvest which intervention is permitted under which condition. Without that commitment, restraint cannot afterwards be distinguished from chance.

Criteria

• Every intervention is tied in advance to a condition
• Abstention remains revocable if a wine is harmed
• The threshold holds for the whole cellar, not per lot
• It is kept in writing, not in memory

Distinction

Low intervention ≠ wine quality: the number of interventions says nothing about the wine in the glass. The justified intervention threshold judges reasons, not abstinence. Where it is missing, an abstention such as forgoing filtration becomes a mere claim.