A basic guide to natural wine
it all starts in the vineyard
A basic guide to natural wine
I originally published this piece almost two years ago, when I first started this substack. Over the last two years, I realized that wine education and discussions surronding sustainable wine, natural wine, biodynamic wine, organic wine (you see the problem) have only gotten more convoluted and confusing. I wanted to dial it all back and re-write this piece for those that are not only new to my substack, but who just beginning their own wine journey. I stumbled into the natural wine community by accident, thanks to a small but mighty wine shop in Denver, Colorado. While studying for my masters, the introduction into sustainable food sytems organically led me further into the world of natural wine. And this is where I prefer to stay; for so many reasons. All of which you can read about below.
What are my qualifications for writing about natural wine?
I have a masters degree is Food Studies: Policies for Sustainable Production and Consumption, and wrote my final thesis on the topic of defining sustainable wine production in Italy.
I have lived in Napa Valley, Italy, Spain, and Portugal. I have visited multiple wineries in each country.
I have led countless tastings and educational workshops for students and young wine professionals in The USA and Italy.
I have worked for international food and wine organizations such The Porto Protocol, and Slow Food.
I currently work a freelance writer, my pieces focus on the inherant sustainability of the natural wine and craft beer industry at large.
Convinced? Let’s dive right in. I suggest you read this with a glass of wine in hand.
It all starts in the vineyard
We can go back in time to the first records of winemaking, and grapes being cultivated for the beautiful elixir we call wine, but I want to fast forward to modern day; to the scene of the crime that is the start of the industrial agriculture industry post World War II. In the 1950s the global population began to rise as did the demand for food. Farmers began relying on artificial fertilizers, and inputs and machinery to increase yields and protect crops against disease, and adverse weather patterns all to ensure the demands were met. 70-years later, and our nation’s dependence on industrial, large-scale agriculture and synthetic materials, has disrupted the earth’s natural processes, diminshed biodiversity, and substituted chemical fixes for the healing properties that nature provides.
This is a great read on sustainable vs. industrial agriculture.
You have probably heard of pesticides, herbicides and fungicides. This sounds gruesome but the suffix “icide” means to kill. Pesticides and herbicides, fungicides are meant to “kill” insects, herbs (weeds) and fungi in the farm (and in wine’s case, the vineyard) to ensure crop yeilds will come to fruition and continue the nation. I completely understand the logic; pests eat crops, weeds compete with plants for nutrients, fungi can cause mold and result in lost crops. We, as humans, are at the top of the food chain, so it’s only natural that we eliminate these threats. However, there are natural methods of protection from these elements and eventual diseases, all of which could (and would) promote a more environmentally sound food system. Including…
To combat insects, introducing fauna in the vineyard (native birds, chicken, and geese) are great ways to balance harmful insect populations.
While weeds can (there’s actually a debate about whether they do) interfere with the grapes water, and nutrient absorbtion, herbicides also have negative environmental effects. You’ve heard of Round-up? Yeah same thing. Glyphosate is an active ingridient in Round-up and a commonly used herbicide in USA agriculture. Wildflowers, cover crops, and grasses, often thought of as harmful weeds, all play a vital roll in the in vineyard health, and promoting biodiversity. Synthetic herbicides, like Glyphosate deter their ability to flourish.
Then there is the weary battle with fungicides. While some wines welcome fungus (see botrytis wines), in general fungal diseases are a very large challenge in the vineyard, especially those that receive a lot of rain and no sunshine to dry grape skins. You might think that rain is always welcome when it comes to farming. Free water, right? But too much rain can cause powdery mildew. Fungicides protect against that. However, fungicides can also kill benefitical bacteria, like yeast. (You’ll see why this is important later).
To sum up, industrial agriculture manipulates natural systems in the vineyards by systematically maintaining crops with pesticides to achieve a desired result. While vineyards that practice organic.biodynamic.sustainable.regenerative viticulture (we will get into what these terms mean) are letting natural processes unfold in the vineyard and solving problems with “natural solutions” not synthetic ones.
So what’s the opposite of industrial agriculture?
Organic
Organic certifications differ from country1 to country2. Overall organic agriculture attempts to promote natural methods of production, without the use of sythentic, manipulated inputs like pesticides discussed above.
Biodynamic
This is holistic view of agriculture. Biodynamic practices are applied in the vineyard with a spiritual and homeopathic attitude on farming. There is an emphasis on natural regeneration without the use of chemical fertilizers and these processes focus on strengthening fertility in the soil.
Regenerative agriculture
Protecting the climate and earth’s natural resources by rebuilding healthy, organic soil, which helps sequester carbon and supports microorganisms in the soil. Regenerative agriculture examples include composting, utilizing cover crops, and animal grazing. Just a reminder: excess carbon in the atmosphere is one of the main culprits behind the global warming. So we want vineyards to be a part of the solution and capture that carbon.
Circular economy
Production cycles are connected to the waste cycles. Reusing, refurbishing, and recycling materials within a circular model. In farm or vineyard settings, examples include composting grape skins, reusing wine bottles, reusing barrels or other aging vessels year after year.
Where does wine fit into all this?
Like I said, in the title, natural wine starts in the vineyard and farming practices are almost always organic.biodynamic.regenerative (or all three in some way shape and form). But the other BIG distinction between natural wine and conventional wine lies in the winemaking process; starting with fermentation. So let’s move from the vineyard into the cellar and talk about yeast(s); the secret sauce to fermentation.
When it comes down to it, yeast is the winemaker, it literally turns the fresh grape juice into the fermented beverage we call wine. Yeast(s), can be singular or plural, is a naturally occuring substance. It is a fungus, that lives on the skins of grapes and even in the air. To keep it simple, yeast eat sugar, they release alcohol and CO2 and there you have it - a fermented beverage. (Beer is made the same way).
“Saccharomyces cerevisiae, also known as brewer’s or baker’s yeast, doesn’t commonly grow on grape skins in the vineyard—in part because it can’t tolerate direct sunlight well—but it’s the species most essential to winemaking, and it fiercely defends that role. It’s uniquely tolerant of alcohol, and that trait allows it to out-compete other yeasts during winemaking.” - SevenFifty Daily
Most of the wine producers I have met with during my tenure, pride themselves in their use of native (naturally occuring) yeast strains, which could be Saccharomyces cerevisiae, it could be something else. Small wineries don’t often have a state-of-the-art lab inside their home for analyzing yeasts. These naturally occuring yeast, often referred to as wild yeast, make the winemaking process a little different every year, but it’s their way of responding to nature instead of manipulating it.
In conventional winemaking, instead of relying on native yeasts, industrial yeast is often added to aid with fermentation. (Think sourdough starter for bread vs. active-dry yeast that just needs water to come alive). These industrial/commercial yeast strains allow for a more predictable winemaking experience, an in return, a more formulaic wine.
I heard natural wine has less sulfites and won’t give me a headache…
You’ve heard right, kind of. Natural wine, is typically made with less sulfites than conventional wine. But sulphur dioxide is a natural byproduct of fermentation, so all wines have sulphites. Additional sulfur dioxide mainly acts as a preservative, stablizing bacteria and oxidation (too much oxidation will turn wine in to vinegar). In the natural wine community, winemakers and drinkers agrue that too much SO2 can inhibit the wines from developing flavors long after fermentation ends. Many use the term “living wine” to describe wines with little to zero added sulfites. This article will help answer any additional questions about sulphites in wine!
Speaking from experience, I can confidently tell the difference between wines made with large amounts of sulphites and wines made with little, or no added sulphur dioxide. I can also say that wines made with copious amounts of additional sulphur do end up tasting a bit flat, or dull. But it has been a process to learn what I like and don’t like.
Is there anything else in my wine besides grapes, yeasts and sulphites?
In the case of natural wine, no. In the case of conventional wine, probably. Conventional wine is often made with additional ingridients to boost the flavor, tame the tannins (bitterness), and make the wine sweeter. Common additives are…
Mega Purple - a concentrated grape juice used to add color, and flavor.
Oak chips - a cheaper way to expose the wine to oak barrels. Vanilla is a common flavor imparted by oak.
There is also a process called reverese osmosis which seperates water from the alcohol and allows the winemaker to reconstruct the wine as they please. Talk about manipulation.
Do you ever wonder why Gatorade taste the exact same everytime you drink it. From the time you were 10 until now? It’s because it follows a concrete recipe of coloring, sugar and salt. Conventional wines, often cheaper wines on the bottom shelf, but even some mid-range bottles, which are made with Mega Purple and other grape flavored additives, achieve the same consistency in flavor - year after year. Here are some other articles to read about wine additives including Mega Purple.
Industrial agriculture and conventional winemaking is a larger contributer to climate change issues than natural winemaking, and I’ll argue with anyone on this topic.
While conventional wine relies on mono-cropped vineyards which lack biodiversity and depend on artifical inputs in both the vineyard and the cellar, natural winemaking (whether made posible by organic.biodynamic.regenerative farming) aims to do just the opposite.
How can you support the natural wine community?
A straightforward way is shifting away from conventional wine to artisan wines (another term I use for natural wine). I am the first to understand that price is the first and most crucial factor when buying wine. But much like the food products I chose to consume, I know it is an investment for my health and for the health of the planet. When I choose wine I want to support small producers, family-run businesses, and innovative people who share the same ethos about sustainable agriculture as I do.
Secondo me, natural wine should not be talked about as a movement, but rather an industry standard. Wine made naturally (maybe a more appropriate term for natural wine?) can be a catalyst for change if consumers demand change. You all can do this through your purchasing and drinking habits.
Need some stuff to read? Here are some great resources that have helped me along my natural wine journey.
The Battle for Wine and Love: or How I Saved the World from Parkerization by Alice Feiring
Authentic Wine: Toward Natural and Sustainable Winemaking by Jamie Goode and Sam Harrop
Wine, Unfiltered: Buying, Drinking, and Sharing Natural Wine by Katherine Clary
My very own Day in the Life of a Natural Winery Series on this very substack
Slow Wine Guide USA 2025 by Slow Food Editore*
* A little shoutout. I have attended wine fairs, and tastings with Slow Wine throughout the years, and they have proven that there is so much more artisan wine out there, than we think there is. You just have to know where to look. Slow Wine published an annual guide documenting a year in the life of vineyards in The USA. All of the wines featured in the Slow Wine Guide are verified herbicide free. Remember how I said herbicides were the worst?
There are so many more resources I could share, but I will stop there. If you are interested in learning more, message me, or subscribe to my newsletter! I am always writing, posting and annoying people about the natural wine world.
Thank you for reading,
Tana
Postscript
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