Wine · Terminology
Natural wine
Wine made with minimal intervention and little or no added sulfur — a philosophy, not a legal category.
Natural wine describes a philosophy rather than a legal category: organically or biodynamically farmed grapes, hand harvesting, ambient yeast, no additives or corrections, no fining or filtration, and little or no added sulfur. The slogan is "nothing added, nothing taken away".
Because there is no statutory definition, the term covers a wide range — from meticulous low-intervention wines that would satisfy any technically minded winemaker, to bottles that are frankly unstable. That variance is the whole argument.
In practice
- Vineyard: organic or biodynamic farming, generally certified or credibly claimed; low yields; hand picking.
- Cellar: wild fermentation, no enzymes, no acidification, no chaptalisation, no reverse osmosis.
- Sulfur: none, or a token addition at bottling — commonly under 30 mg/L total.
- The closest thing to a standard is France's Vin Méthode Nature charter (2020), which requires certified organic fruit, hand harvest, ambient yeast and either zero added sulfur or ≤30 mg/L.
Where you'll meet it
- The natural wine guide.
- Loire, Beaujolais, the Jura, and the Italian and Georgian scenes.
- Alongside — but distinct from — organic and biodynamic certification.
Organic, biodynamic, natural — again
| Certified? | Governs the vineyard | Governs the cellar | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Organic | Yes, statutory | Yes | Partially (EU organic wine rules) |
| Biodynamic | Yes, private (Demeter, Biodyvin) | Yes, heavily | Yes |
| Natural | No (charters only) | Usually organic | Yes — this is its focus |
A wine can be certified organic and heavily manipulated in the cellar; it can be natural and made from uncertified fruit. The categories overlap without nesting.
The quality argument
For: the best natural wines have an energy, transparency and drinkability that technical winemaking often sands away. Ambient ferments genuinely do produce more aromatic complexity.
Against: without sulfur, wines are vulnerable. The characteristic faults — volatile acidity, Brettanomyces, mousiness, refermentation in bottle — are real, and defending them as "character" has done the category no favours. Bottles also travel and store badly, so what arrives at a shop is not always what left the cellar.
The defensible position: judge the bottle, not the label. Low intervention is a method, not a guarantee.
Related terms
- Biodynamic — the farming cousin
- Brettanomyces — the fault most often debated
- Volatile acidity — the other one
- Oenology — the discipline it pushes back against