Welcome to the third part of our series on organic and biodynamic wine. We have looked at what organic wine is, and we have delved into the biodynamic ideas about the vineyard. Now we move into the cellar, because this is where natural wine really sets itself apart.
Natural wine has become one of the most talked-about concepts in the wine world, and at the same time one of the most misunderstood. Let us keep it simple and concrete, so you know what you are dealing with the next time you see the word on a label or hear it mentioned over a glass.
What you will learn
- What the principle of low intervention actually covers
- Which choices the winemaker typically makes (and opts out of) in the cellar
- Why natural wine can taste different from the wine you are used to
- That the diversity is part of the point, not a fault
What natural wine is
Natural wine is not a protected designation in the same way as organic. There is no single official set of rules that determines when a wine may call itself natural wine. Instead it is a philosophy, and it is about intervening in the process as little as possible.
The way of thinking most often builds on organic or biodynamic cultivation in the vineyard. If you want to brush up on that, you can start with our article on organic wine. But whereas organic is primarily about how the grapes are grown, natural wine goes a step further and says something about what may happen from the moment the grapes come into the cellar until the wine is in the bottle.
The core idea can be boiled down to one sentence: grapes, fermentation and not much else. The philosophy is that if the raw material is healthy and well grown, the winemaker does not need to correct very much along the way. The wine is instead allowed to become itself more or less on its own.
Low intervention in the cellar
To understand natural wine it helps to know which tools a winemaker normally has at their disposal. In conventional winemaking there are many options for adjustment, and the natural wine producer deliberately opts out of most of them.
Wild yeasts rather than added ones
When grape juice ferments, yeast cells convert the grapes' sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide. In many cellars a selected, cultivated yeast strain is added to achieve a predictable fermentation. Natural wine, by contrast, most often relies on the natural yeasts that are already present on the grape skins and in the cellar.
It is worth knowing that the surface of the grapes holds a mix of many yeast species. At the start of fermentation it is typically the so-called wild yeasts that get things going, while the most robust yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) takes over as the alcohol rises. Natural fermentation can take longer and is less predictable, but it can also give a broader expression in aroma and flavour.
Fewer corrections
Besides the yeast, a long list of interventions that are otherwise common is typically left out:
- Filtration and fining. Many natural wines are bottled without being filtered or fined. They can therefore appear a little cloudy or have a sediment. That is cosmetic, not a fault.
- Acid and sugar adjustments. As a rule one refrains from adjusting the wine's acidity or adding anything to change the balance.
- Sulphur. This is one of the biggest differences. Most natural wine producers use no or very little sulphur. Sulphur protects the wine against oxygen and unwanted microorganisms, so when you dial it down, you place greater demands on cleanliness and on the quality of the grapes. Sulphur deserves its own explanation, and you will get that in the next part.
The underlying attitude is that every intervention you remove lets the wine speak a little more clearly with its own voice. In return it requires skilled hands, because there are fewer tools to reach for if something goes wrong.
Why it can taste different
When you remove many of the stabilising and standardising techniques, the wine often changes character. It is not necessarily better or worse, but it is different, and it is good to know that in advance.
The natural, wild yeasts can give aromas you do not encounter in more conventional wine. Some natural wines have a slightly fruit-driven, fresh expression, while others can seem more rustic or earthy. The cloudy colour and any sediment are due, as mentioned, to the wine not being filtered, and this also affects the texture in the mouth, which can feel a little fuller or more "raw".
Because little or no sulphur is used, natural wine is often more sensitive. It can develop faster in the glass and react more clearly to temperature and oxygen. Many find that a natural wine shows itself from different sides depending on how long it has been open. For some it is precisely this lively and unpredictable quality that is the charm.
This also means that natural wine will generally benefit from a little more care in storage, ideally cool and dark, since there is less sulphur to protect it along the way.
Diversity and variation
If there is one thing you should take away from this article, it is that natural wine is not one particular taste. Because there is no common set of rules, and because the process itself is less controlled, the expression varies enormously from producer to producer and from vintage to vintage.
Two natural wines from the same grape and the same area can taste very different, depending on what the weather was like that year, how healthy the grapes were, and how little the winemaker chose to intervene. Variation from vintage to vintage is not a weakness here, but a natural consequence of letting nature set the agenda.
That makes natural wine an exciting category to explore, precisely because you rarely know exactly what you are getting. Approach it with curiosity rather than fixed expectations, and you will get the most out of the experience. If you want to venture into the more extreme end of low intervention, you can also take a look at our article on orange wine and skin contact.
In short
- Natural wine is not a protected designation but a philosophy of intervening as little as possible.
- It often builds on organic or biodynamic cultivation and continues that way of thinking into the cellar.
- In practice this typically means wild yeasts, no or minimal filtration, and little or no sulphur.
- The wine can therefore taste different, appear more cloudy, and be more sensitive and lively.
- Diversity from producer to producer and from vintage to vintage is part of the point.
Frequently asked questions
Is natural wine always organic?
Not necessarily, and not automatically. Since natural wine has no common set of rules, the word in itself guarantees nothing about the cultivation. In practice, however, the vast majority of natural wines come from organically or biodynamically grown grapes, because the philosophy of low intervention is closely linked to the way of thinking in the vineyard.
Why is my natural wine cloudy?
Because it most likely has not been filtered or fined. Cloudiness and a little sediment are completely normal for natural wine and say nothing about the quality. If you want to avoid getting sediment in your glass, you can let the bottle stand upright for a while and pour gently.
Ready for the next step?
Now you have a grasp of the principle of low intervention, and you have probably noticed that sulphur kept coming up again and again. That is no coincidence, because sulphur is one of the truly central pieces when it comes to natural wine. In the next part on sulphur in wine we take a closer look at what sulphur actually does, and why the amount matters so much.
Do feel free to take a look at our selection if you fancy tasting your way forward on your own. And remember that the most important rule still applies: the best pairing is the wine you like with the food you like. Natural wine is simply a new door to open on that journey.