What Are Natural Wines? Part One

What Are Natural Wines? Part One Natural wine is one of the up-and-coming trends of modern wine. However, natural wine in and of itself is one of the most traditional ways that wine has been made. Natural wines are farmed organically and are made without adding or removing anything during the winemaking process. Sometimes, they are produced using biodynamic farming. 

With all of these buzzwords, such as raw, biodynamic, minimal intervention, etc, being thrown around, it can be a bit confusing when it comes to understanding what natural wine truly is. With that in mind, we have put together a quick guide to cut through all of the confusion.

What Is Natural Wine?

While there is no hard definition of exactly what a natural wine is, they all share a few commonalities. For one, natural wines are fermented spontaneously with native yeast. Natural wines also have no additives aside from a small amount of sulfur if needed for any additional stabilization. Natural wines are bottled unfiltered and unfined, and most vineyards use some form of sustainable farming practices. 

Simply put, natural wine is just that, natural. It is typically produced in small batches due to the high-risk nature and labor-intensive techniques, which include:

  • Hand-picking grapes
  • Foot Crushing
  • Basket Pressing
  • Spontaneous Fermentation

Natural Wine At The Winery

Once these grapes are grown and harvested, then it is time for the winemakers to get to work. They use ancient methods of winemaking to showcase the naturally produced grapes. In the case of fermentation, the goal is to get the purest expression of what the wine is trying to show off about the terroir by using spontaneous fermentation. 

Spontaneous fermentation is when no lab-created yeast is pitched. Instead, the yeasts and bacteria that are responsible for turning grape juice into wine live in and on the skins of the grape and the air around it.

Furthermore, nothing is added to the wine to change the flavor or cover flaws in their winemaking. This allows for the grapes to speak for themselves. The only additives that are used in natural wines are sulfites, which can help stabilize the fermentation princess after bottling. However, the goal with natural wines is to contain minimal sulfites.

Natural Wine-Making Techniques

While there are several different natural wine-making techniques, these three decisions are the most typically used:

  • Skin Fermentation: Skin fermentation describes wines that are fermented on their skins to extract tannin and color from the grapes and skins. 
  • Fermentation in Bottle: Also known as Pétillant Naturel, fermentation in a bottle occurs when a wine is bottled before fully completing its first fermentation. This allows for carbon dioxide to be produced by the natural sugars in the grapes.
  • Co-Fermentation: This is when two types of grapes, or in some cases grapes and another fruit, ferment together.

We hope this helps clear up some of the confusion about what natural wines truly are. By demystifying natural wines, we hope to help break down barriers that may have kept you from enjoying these fantastic natural wines.

Metro Wines - Asheville’s Top Wine Shop

Look no further than Metro Wines if you're seeking a premier, locally-owned wine store! We provide a wide range of unique, hard-to-find wines in addition to more affordable options. We are available to assist you in selecting the perfect wine for any dinner or event. 

We always have wine specialists on staff who can respond to your inquiries, offer suggestions, and coordinate with your caterer or event coordinator. If you want to learn more about the local wine scene, we can also point you in the right direction!

We provide a wide choice of events and tastings in addition to our large wine inventory. We conduct social events, scheduled tastings, and wine lectures each month. For information about forthcoming events, weekly tastings, and special occasions, keep an eye on our website.

Visit MetroWines to add to your collection, check out our tasting events, browse our online store, and maybe even have wine delivered to your doorstep. We look forward to serving you!