What is a natural wine anyway?

It's easy to get confused navigating wine – difficult to pronounce grape varieties, widely diverse labels, quality classification systems that vary by country and even region, etc. Today we're hoping to help demystify viticultural and vinicultural practices, namely: conventional, organic, biodynamic and natural. Before we start this journey, I´d like to share some brilliant guidance that I read several years ago from a wine writer: think of wine like you think of food. In the vineyards, we can think of grape cultivation and the accompanying agricultural practices – whether conventional, organic or biodynamic – in much the same way that we'd think of the cultivation of pumpkins, pea shoots or apples.

 

Conventional

Today, big wine is big business. In the vineyards, the grapes are almost certainly treated with chemical-based fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides. Harvest is mechanized which introduces problems of soil erosion and often damages the grapes themselves – bruising and breaking the skin of some, causing early oxidation and inconsistent fermentation which negatively impacts the quality and taste of the wine. This in turn necessitates chemical corrections during the winemaking process. Often, the grapes are sourced from many producers which further diminishes control over quality and consistency in practices. Winemaking is typically done in factories with many additives and chemicals, including unnatural yeasts, preservatives, sugar, acidifying agents, colorants, etc.

 

Organic

Organic viticultural practices are quite straightforward to define, and apply to wine grapes in the same way that they apply to other fruits and vegetables. Zero artificial chemical products may be used in the vineyards. In other words, grapes are cultivated without the use of artificial pesticides, herbicides and fertilizers. That is not to say that there is a complete avoidance of products in the vineyards but rather of artificial products. The use of copper, sulfur dioxide and various other non-chemical, plant and mineral-based products is permitted. In the cellar, winemakers take a far lighter touch - avoiding the dozens of additives used in conventional winemaking. Winemakers are permitted to use small quantities of sulfites to preserve the wines (in dramatically lower quantities than are permitted in conventional wines, although precise limits vary by wine region). Depending upon the country, winemakers may be permitted to use certain techniques, such as filtration, inverse osmosis and temperature control during fermentation, but the regulatory bodies always advise restraint. Organic certification can be a very expensive undertaking. Many producers who remain philosophically committed to the principles of organic viticulture and viniculture may practice as such without undergoing the costly certification, particularly in Europe, where these sensibilities reflect long standing traditions.

 

Biodynamic

Biodynamic comes from the Greek words for life “bio” and powerful “dynamikos.” It uses the basic precepts of organic and raises them to another level. The movement was founded in the 1920s by an Austrian named Rudolph Steiner. He was particularly interested in how techniques such as crop rotation, using manure for fertilizer and biodiversity impacted the immune system of plants and the revitalization of soil. Furthermore, Steiner believed that there was a powerful connection between celestial bodies, the forces of nature and the health and vitality of plants. He borrowed from ancient agricultural techniques used by the Greeks, Romans and Egyptians that relied heavily on lunar cycles in recognition of the gravitational pull of the moon. Biodynamic viticulture really rests on the fundamental belief that all ecosystems are connected. The goal is to create a self-sufficient, resilient environment that communicates with the cycles of the sun and moon. For instance, practitioners believe that certain days are better than others for picking, weeding or pruning based on the lunar cycle, given that plants absorb more water during a full moon. Vineyard care involves infusions made of herbs such as chamomile and the use of special composts (buried in cow horns, no less). As in organic farming, the use of copper is permitted to reduce the risk of mildew. There are various organizations that provide biodynamic certification, again with variance among them in terms of requirements. However, wineries are expected to be certified organic prior to application for biodynamic certification.

 

Natural

Natural wine has become a catchphrase in recent years, but the challenge is that there is no consistent single definition. There are no fixed viticultural or vinicultural practices or regulatory bodies that actually govern what “natural” means. Some people take natural to mean that no chemicals are used in the vineyards or winemaking process, in other words, that the wines are organic. Others think that it’s interchangeable with biodynamic. While others believe that natural wines must be unfiltered, or ferment spontaneously with native yeasts, or be made with only tiny quantities of added sulfur, or only with naturally occurring sulfur. Short of a standard definition, natural wine could comply with one, some, or all of these expectations depending upon who is doing the talking.

 

Our perspective is that it’s reductive and frankly presumptuous to impose a strict definition of natural wine. Until the point at which things are codified, it’s more useful to stick to conventional vs. organic vs. biodynamic, and then to think about personal preferences. Do you prefer a more classic profile? Do you like something a little funkier? Do you like white wine with tannic structure from maceration? Do you prefer something crisp and filtered? There is no right answer; it all comes down to preferences.

 

From a values standpoint, we have chosen to work with organic and biodynamic wines because we think it’s the responsible thing to do, and we find them far more delicious than conventional wines. We leave it to our trusted, talented, small production winemakers to determine the best way to manage all of the thousands of decisions that they make every year in the vineyards and in their cellars. Some of our producers have chosen not to invest in certification. Some of our producers filter their wines (or filter some of their wines); others do not. Some add tiny amounts of sulfites at the moment of bottling; others do not (or only in especially troublesome vintages). All of our producers use indigenous yeasts. In short, we think of all of our wines as natural, but “natural” for us might be different from “natural” for you.