All About Natural Wine: 4 Types of Natural Wine

Natural wine, also known as raw or low-intervention wine, is a broad category of wines that have minimal intervention in the winemaking process. Grapes for natural wines are grown according to organic or even biodynamic requirements, with no pesticides or herbicides. Natural wines rely on naturally-occurring yeast for fermentation, and winemakers add little to no additives or preservatives, such as sulfites, to the fermenting grape juice before bottling and aging. Additionally, winemakers do not filter or fine natural wines, unlike conventional wines.

The process of producing natural wine more closely resembles ancient ways of viticulture than many modern, conventional bottles you may find in wine shops or grocery stores. The history of this trendy wine movement begins in 1950s France:

• The beginnings: The roots of the modern movement now known as natural wine reach back to 1950s France, where local winemakers in various appellations (regions), such as Beaujolais, began to focus on minimal-intervention methods of making wine.
• Growing popularity: In the early 2000s, the natural wine trend grew among winemakers and vintners in France, Italy, Spain, the United States, Argentina, and Chile, among other places. Wine importers started to focus on natural wine, and wine bars and restaurants in Paris, New York, London, Tokyo, and Los Angeles began to serve neutral wines.
• Wide distribution: Natural wine distribution continued to grow at restaurants, wine bars, wine stores specializing in natural wines in the mid-2000s. The popularity of natural wine increased with the rise of social media as blogs and social media personalities touted the benefits and unique flavors of natural wine.
• Present-day: The taste for natural wine continues to develop and more wineries and vineyards are experimenting with techniques, such as producing biodynamic wines.

Many wines with the label “natural” are inherently organic, whether or not they have the legal designation of “organic.” Natural wine tends to go beyond the qualities that make a product organic, which officially restricts many pesticides, herbicides, and types of fertilizers. Natural wine might be organic, but a wine can be labelled organic without also adhering to the specific, hands-off processes that classify natural wines.

Natural wine doesn’t have a single flavor profile, but some of its general tasting notes and characteristics include:

• Funk: The growing and fermentation process for natural wines are far less rigorously managed than conventional wine, so natural wines tend to be less robust and heavy than conventional types, with far fewer oaky and jammy notes. Instead, natural wine can have surprising acidity, and even be funky or somewhat savory.
• Terroir: Terroir is a French word that describes the way a wine reflects the area where the grapes are grown, from the mineral content of the soil, the weather conditions, and the surrounding flora. Natural wine is meant to express these qualities better than more conventional varieties.
• Light: Some natural wines can be bursting with flavor, but they are generally lighter-bodied, with lower alcohol content, than most conventional types.

There are many different subtypes of natural wines, and more are appearing all the time. Some of the most notable include:

1. 1. Cabernet franc: Some cab franc wines are made more conventionally, especially those blended with cabernet sauvignon and merlot. Natural winemakers are increasingly combining these grapes with native yeast to make a natural wine that is quite light, with a peppery aroma.
2. 2. Glou-glou: These easy-drinking wines are known for being light-bodied, fresh-flavored and young, meaning they are aged only a little or not at all before being sold. Beaujolais wine is an example of a glou-glou wine.
3. 3. Orange wine: Orange wine, also known as amber wine or skin-contact wine, is a color of wine produced by leaving the skins of white wine grapes to ferment with the juice instead of removing them—essentially making white wine in the same manner as red wine. Though there is no official designation for orange wine (it's a type of white wine), this style of winemaking produces a unique flavor as well as its striking color.
4. 4. Pét nat: Short for pétillant naturel, this type of wine is made using a centuries-old technique—winemakers bottle the wine before fermentation completes. This causes a degree of natural carbonation to build up inside the bottle, leading to a light, spritzy wine that many find refreshing and fruity.

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