What is Natural Wine?

Understanding Natural Wine

Natural wine is an approach to winemaking that emphasizes minimal human intervention from vineyard to bottle. Grapes are typically grown organically or biodynamically without synthetic pesticides or herbicides, then fermented using only native (wild) yeasts rather than commercial strains. Natural winemakers avoid the dozens of additives permitted in conventional winemaking—including commercial tannins, coloring agents, and acidity adjusters—and use little to no sulfites as preservatives. The wines are usually unfiltered and unfined, resulting in a sometimes cloudy appearance. While there is no universal legal definition, France's "Vin Méthode Nature" certification has begun to formalize standards, and the movement has deep roots in the Beaujolais region where pioneers like Marcel Lapierre championed low-intervention methods in the 1960s and 70s.

Examples

• 1Beaujolais producers like Marcel Lapierre and Jean Foillard pioneered the modern natural wine movement
• 2Pét-Nat (pétillant naturel) is a popular natural sparkling style bottled before fermentation completes
• 3Orange wine—white grapes fermented with skins like red wine—is closely associated with the natural wine scene
• 4Many natural wine bars now operate in major cities worldwide, curating low-intervention selections

Related Wine Terms