Natural Wine: Crafting Authenticity in a World of Standardized Flavors

So what is natural wine?

In a quick online search you can find multiple definitions:

According to Raw Wine, natural wine "is generally agreed to be wine that is farmed organically (biodynamically, using permaculture or the like) and made (or rather transformed) without adding or removing anything in the cellar. No additives or processing aids are used, and ‘intervention’ in the naturally occurring fermentation process is kept to a minimum. As such neither fining nor (tight) filtration are used. The result is a living wine – wholesome and full of naturally occurring microbiology."

Wikipedia describes it as wine "usually produced without the use of pesticides or herbicides and with few or no additives. Typically, natural wine is produced on a small scale using traditional rather than industrial techniques and fermented with native yeast. In its purest form, natural wine is simply unadulterated fermented grape juice with no additives in the winemaking process."

The Oxford Companion to Wine emphasizes the production methods, noting that "grapes are typically grown by small-scale, independent producers. Grapes are hand-picked from sustainable, organic, or biodynamic vineyards. Wine is fermented with no added yeast (i.e., native yeasts). No additives are included in fermentation (yeast nutrients, etc). Little or no sulfites are added."

Taste France Magazine states that natural wine is "wine made as naturally as possible. This means that fruit is (at minimum) farmed organically, and in the cellar, nothing is added or taken away. Fruit ferments with native yeasts, no additives are used, and the wines are generally bottled unfined and unfiltered."

Perhaps our favorite comes from National Geographic, which notes: "The term essentially refers to wines that are made without the use of chemical pesticides and herbicides, with minimal sulfites and using wild yeasts found in vineyards rather than those manufactured in a lab."

The previous definitions illustrate the lack of a single, clear definition of the term “natural wine”. A phrase like "nothing taken, nothing added" might capture the spirit of natural wine, but the details are complex. Calling it a "movement" can also be contentious. The idea of "natural wine" is less about strict rules and more about principles, leaving room for interpretation and debate.

The reality is that wine does not go directly from vine to bottle. Grapes must undergo processes to become wine, and decisions about what is allowed—or not—during these processes should be transparent. Ideally, consumers would know exactly what was done to the wine in each bottle, enabling informed decisions. However, this assumes that consumers have access to clear information and sufficient knowledge, which is often not the case.

If the producers themselves can’t agree on a stable definition, then here’s a personal perspective on what constitutes a "natural wine" (or "naked," "raw," "low-intervention," depending on your preference).

At its simplest, natural wine can be what most people imagine wine to be: grapes and, at most, a small amount of sulfites. The problem arises with industrial wine, which often involves far more than just grapes and sulfites. In many ways, the struggle isn’t in defining natural wine but in defining "regular" wine—a far more challenging task.

For us, natural wine starts with the healthiest grapes possible, treated with respect to preserve what’s already there. It involves no temperature control (though this depends on your climate), wild fermentation using native yeasts, and minimal interference. Grapes must be crushed to start fermentation (well, there's another process but that is another story, ask Lapierre), but whether this is done by foot, press, or another method depends on the winemaker. Decisions like using stems or fermenting in open vats, stainless steel, clay, or wood are personal preferences, as long as the process respects the grapes.

After fermentation, the wine moves to "elevage," or aging, for an amount of time and in a vessel of the winemaker’s choice. Constant tasting guides the process, whether that involves topping up the barrels, stirring the lees, or leaving the wine untouched. As for sulfites, minimal amounts may be added, usually at bottling. The common threshold among natural winemakers is under 30 parts per million (ppm), although some accept up to 50 ppm. Anything higher risks losing the "natural" label. When you add sulfites, a significant portion dissipates during the bottling process, so after two or three months, the remaining amount may be less than half. Alternatively, if you choose not to add any, you can label your wine as "without added sulfites," which tends to appeal to certain markets.

Throughout the process, no chemicals, powders, clays, or additives—except minimal sulfites—are used. There is no fining, filtering, or artificial stabilization. The essence of natural wine can be reduted to a few steps: grapes, crushing, fermentation, aging, bottling.

One crucial point: cleanliness is non-negotiable. Every step of the process must be obsessively clean, as contamination can force interventions that break the natural wine philosophy.

While this is not a strict definition, it outlines a process and principles that allow you to decide what feels "natural" to you. Some might reject any wine with added sulfites as unnatural, while others may accept small amounts. A wine might be low-intervention, biodynamic, or even made with controlled temperatures, yet still align with the broader concept of natural wine.

Ultimately, it’s up to individual winemakers and consumers to navigate these nuances. If you add 100 ppm of sulfites and call it raw wine, you probably shouldn’t. However, keep in mind that a commercial/industry wine might contain 150 ppm, so perhaps you could label it as low-intervention instead. Personally, we’d rather not drink it, but that’s your choice. Just don’t start throwing around the word "terroir" at every opportunity—terroir is a whole other discussion.