Between organic wine, wine without added sulphites, natural wine... it's difficult to find your way! So, what exactly is natural wine? We tell you everything!
First of all, know that officially, natural wine is not recognized ! Unlike the various AB (Organic Agriculture) or Demeter (Biodynamic) labels, no European charter exists for natural wines. No logo, no label! Anyway, for now...
While awaiting this formalization, the Natural Wine Association has defined specifications that their member winegrowers must respect. Overall, the objective is a real ecological commitment, much more than a wine production process.
Organic Agriculture and Biodynamics
Let’s start at the beginning… a natural wine requires, of course, organic or biodynamic viticulture . The AB label prohibits all synthetic treatments and insecticides in the vines . Biodynamics, for its part, takes the approach of organic wines a little further, in particular by reducing doses of sulfur .
But also…
We favor manual harvesting , sometimes necessary depending on the geography of the estates.
We also use indigenous yeasts … and then it gets complicated! Indigenous yeasts, as opposed to exogenous yeasts, are yeasts naturally present on the land or at least in the nearby environment. They are more fragile, so the winemaker must ensure the cleanliness of his cellars and vats, in order to avoid microbial contamination.
More generally, no oenological input is authorized in the production of a natural wine (except sulfur, but we'll come to that soon after). Among the oenological inputs, we find phytosanitary products and fertilizers, already prohibited by the AB label, but also growth activators or retarders. In short, anything that does not naturally belong to the soil.
And sulfur?
We speak of sulfur, or sulphite, and it helps protect the wine from oxidation , stabilize alcoholic fermentation or even prevent the proliferation of bacteria . In natural wines, we therefore try to reduce this addition, which is none other than an oenological input, since it is not part of the earth. The Natural Wine Association recommends a maximum dose of 30mg of sulfur per liter of wine , compared to 160mg of sulfur per liter of wine in conventional winemaking.
Some winegrowers go even further by completely eliminating sulfur, we then speak of “HEALTHY” wines (Without Any Inputs Or Sulfites).
At the tasting
We advise you to open your natural wine at least one to two hours before tasting , or even to decant it if possible. The first impression is not necessarily the right one, it can sometimes even seem a little sparkling but repeat the experience, and you may become a fan of natural wines!