What is natural wine?

There is no universally accepted definition of natural wine; however, the simplest definition that we use is: wine without any intervention from when the grapes are grown until the wine gets into your glass.

Thinking about the process, the grapes are grown in living soils, without chemical interventions, either organically or biodynamically. The grapes are handpicked by people whose welfare is also a consideration for us and taken to the cellar where there is as minimal intervention to the grapes as possible; for example, using the ambient yeast on the grapes to ferment and avoiding the use of other additives to clarify the wines (such as isinglass from fish bladders to fine and filter). Finally, and likely the most talked about, the wines are ready to be bottled, the winemaker will either add very little to no sulfur dioxide (SO2).

What is the difference between “regular wine” and natural wine?

When we think about minimal intervention wines, winemakers are doing everything they can to make sure that the wine is a beautiful living piece of art, with as little intervention as possible. They’re not using chemicals in the field, they’re picking the grapes by hand, they’re using the natural yeast on the skins of the grape for fermentation, and they’re using very little if any SO2 once it’s in the bottle. Conventional wineries are essentially the opposite – they often have to make sure that such large scale volume tastes the same each year, bottle to bottle, and are adding some of the 70+ legal additives allowable in wine.

Are all organic and biodynamic wines natural wines?

No, not necessarily. Organic and biodynamic are farming terms, however the winemaker could still intervene with additives in the cellar (adding yeast for fermentation, animal based fining agents, etc).

Organic wines will use organically grown grapes, typically excluding the use of artificial chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. The regulations for the use of SO2 however 
differ globally, as different entities oversee certification worldwide and requirements vary from country. For example, organic producers in the EU and Canada can add SO2 to wine, just as long as the quantity in each bottle does not surpass 100 parts per million. But in the USA, adding sulfites to organic wines is not allowed. However, a way around this is for producers to say “organic grapes”. 

Biodynamic wines are made by farming all components of the vineyard as one whole entity, eliminating the use of chemicals and using natural materials and composts. Rudolf Steiner first developed and introduced these farming principles the early 20th century. He wanted to create a formula where vineyard plantings followed lunar patterns and respected the earth as a living organism. The importance of polyculture (with plants like nettles, yarrow, dandelions etc) to improve soil fertility, and animal husbandry to help fertilize the vines to fertilize the vines using the manure of the livestock.

Will all natural wines have a label on them?

No, not necessarily. There is no universal accredited label for an accredited natural wine (again, no universal definition for natural wine). While there are several designations for organic and biodynamic globally, what this will mean will vary from country to country, as discussed above, and that does not guarantee they will be a natural wine.

The best way to know is to follow a dedicated natural wine importer’s social media- we say this since we know the winemaker and how the wine is made, and shop at a local shop that will know the importer who brings in the wine.

Since we are one of the few dedicated natural wine agencies in the country, we always suggest that people give us a follow on Instagram, and sign up for our newsletter to know what we’re bringing in next.

What is orange wine?

Orange wine, often called skin-contact wine or amber wine, is a type of white wine made by leaving the skins of white wine grapes and seeds to macerate (left to sit) with the grape juice instead of removing them - for days to months. (Essentially, making a white wine in the same way as a red wine). Eventually, winemakers separate out the fermented juice, at which point they may age the wine further.

These wines have been made for thousands of years in the wine-producing region of Georgia, were wines were fermented inside Qvevri (large clay amphora), which are still used for aging some wines to this day.

The term ‘orange wine’ is credited to David Harvey of UK wine importer Raeburn Fine Wines back in 2004. He wrote: “The quest for a name arose from my concern that there was no name, let alone category for these wines, which are visually, aromatically and structurally divergent from white wines, and would therefore risk rejection in both the on- and off-trades.”

What is Piquette?

Piquette is a vinous ferment made by rehydrating grape pomace after the juice has been pressed off for still wine. Because freshly pressed grapes are chock-full of sugar and yeast, a second spontaneous fermentation takes off when water is added to the grapes. This yields a refreshing, wine-like beverage with a lower alcohol percentage than traditional wine - a super refreshing all-year-round sipper.

If you have any questions about natural wine shoot us an email by clicking here