018: Todd White, CEO of Dry Farm Wines, "The Ultimate Biohackers Wine": Why most traditional wines are high in both sugar & alcohol and stand to wreck your sleep...and what to do about.

Episode Summary

One of the most effective ways to improve your sleep is to cut alcohol. But what if you want to have the option to indulge from time to time? How do you have it all? Todd White created Dry Farm Wines because he wanted to have a sugar free, low carb, paleo/keto-friendly option that wouldn’t disrupt his sleep in the same way that other wines would do. In this episode, we go deeper into the wine industry, in particular, to understand just how damaging the average wine can be on your sleep and why. Plus, understanding affordable alternatives and apps that you can use to better locate natural, low sugar alternatives.

GUEST BIO:Todd has been a serial entrepreneur and creator since he was 17.

Today, after 15 years in the wine business, his life is dedicated to educating and helping people make better choices about food, nutrition, and how they think about consuming alcohol. As the founder of Dry Farm Wines, a writer, speaker, and a leader in the organic/Natural Wine movement, he has widely educated communities on conscious consumption. Todd is deeply passionate about bringing people together to share love and laughter through Natural Wine.

Todd is a self-described biohacker who practices daily meditation, Wim Hof breathing, cold thermogenesis, a ketogenic diet, and daily 22-hour intermittent fasting. He is also a frequent speaker on topics including ketogenic lifestyle, meditation, and the Dry Farm Wines unique company culture. His entire team gathers each morning for a meditation and gratitude practice. Built on a foundation of honesty and peace, Dry Farm Wines has seen remarkable growth in the last three years, making it one of the fastest-growing private companies in the U.S., without any debt or investors.

Dry Farm Wines is endorsed by many leading U.S. health influencers including Mark Sisson, Dave Asprey, Ben Greenfield, Robb Wolf, Wellness Mama, Dr. Dominic D’Agostino, and Chalene Johnson, to name a few. Todd has also been the featured guest on many of these influencers’ podcasts. Dry Farm Wines is the official wine sponsor for many of the leading health and performance conferences worldwide, sharing over 12,000 bottles each year.  Such events include Paleof(x), Joe Polish’s Genius Network Conference, LowCarbUSA, Health Optimization Summit, Metabolic Health Summit, and JJ Virgin’s Mindshare Summits.

Dry Farm Wines sources pure Natural Wines and lab tests them to ensure each bottle is sugar free (0-0.15g per glass), lower in sulfites, and lower in alcohol (under 12.5% alc/vol). The wines are friendly to low carb, Paleo, ketogenic, and low sugar diets.

Dry Farm Wines is dedicated to supporting small natural growers, currently sourcing from 600 family farmers who preserve 87,000 acres of organic vineyards and save 1.4 billion gallons of water annually by not irrigating their vines. They vet each grower’s practice and support those who focus on regenerative farming, biodiversity, hand harvesting, and the absence of industrial additives. Dry Farm Wines is proud to be the largest Natural Wine merchant in the world, bringing awareness to Natural Wine consumption and supporting farmers who honor the soil.

Episode Notes

Key Takeaways:

• In contrast to common belief, wines are mostly not natural. Only less than 1% of the wines produced on the planet are natural.
• The sugar levels in industrially produced wine are higher, but they can hide this fact.
• Alcoholic beverages with high levels of alcohol disrupt sleep.
• You have to shop online to purchase natural wine mainly.

What is inside of commercial wine, and why can’t we find natural wine?

• There are more than 70 additives that are approved by the FDA. These additives include many toxic products within them. European vineyards are allowed to use half the amount compared to the US.
• It's usually tough to find natural wine unless you live in a big city with some retail stores specifically. Online shopping for natural wine is the easiest way to go.
• The alcohol level is not mandatory by federal law to be stated. These are regulations that come from the post probation era since lab tests weren’t very accurate back then. And the wine industry likes to keep things this way.
• Lab-created yeast is used instead of natural yeast. The reason for this is to increase production at scale. Additives have to be used to produce high amounts of wine.

What is natural wine?

• People usually believe that wine is natural, but only ****less than one-tenth of 1% of wines are naturals.
• Of the top 20 best selling wines in the US, only two met the sugar-free and natural wine criteria.
• The use of natural yeast, which is naturally formed on the outside of grapes due to the contact with air. Therefore, natural yeast is a bit harder to get in large quantities, and it works slower.
• Dry Farms - Are farms where no irrigation is used, which hurt the plants and lead to a lower quality product. Dry farms are the real natural way to grow fruits and vegetables. Irrigation is banned in many places in Europe.
• Lab testing to see that there are no additives and to check that the alcohol levels are low.

Sugar:

• “Elevated blood glucose, hyperproduction of insulin are the primary causes of most illnesses.”
• “Sugar is the single most addictive, destructive, and the most widely abused drug on the planet,” Which leads to many health problems. “Alcohol is also very dangerous, so we have to be careful with that as well and work on low alcohol and sugar-free.”
• Combining sugar and alcohol creates a devastating effect. Think about the impact of two Tequila shots during your night out compared to the morning after. It gives a boost of energy due to the amount of sugar.
• 'Clean wines' are not natural wines; they are copycats. When you see companies use clean wine, don’t be fooled by it.
• We don’t allow more than 1 gram sugar per liter, which is technically sugar-free.

Relation with Sleep:

• High alcohol and sugar disrupt sleep since they hype the user, giving them an energy boost. On the other hand, wine with low sugar content makes you sleepy and puts you off to sleep. Heavier alcoholic beverages with high sugar content don't do this due to the energy it gives.

EPISODE LINKS:

http://dryfarmwines.com/sleepisaskill
https://www.raisin.digital/en/