What does Natural wine mean?
Natural wine is wine made with as little intervention as possible: organic grapes, wild yeast, no additives and little or no added sulphur.
Also known as: Low-intervention wine, Vin nature
Natural wine is wine made with as little intervention as possible in the vineyard and the cellar. There is no legal definition in the EU, but most producers and organisations agree on the basics: organically or biodynamically farmed grapes, hand-picking, spontaneous fermentation with wild yeast and no additives apart from possibly a small amount of sulphur at bottling.
Natural wine is normally made without techniques that change the wine's composition, such as added sugar, acid adjustment, cultured yeast or heavy filtration. Since 2020 France has had a voluntary label, Vin méthode nature, with its own rules. Among other things it shows that the grapes are certified organic and that no sulphur was added before or during fermentation.
In the glass, natural wines can differ from other wines. They are sometimes slightly cloudy, may have a light spritz and can vary more between bottles and vintages. Styles range from light, fruity reds and pét-nat to orange wines with firm structure.
Because the term is not regulated, it rests on trust in the producer. On the wine page the label means the producer describes the wine as natural wine according to these principles.