What are natural wines?

Natural wines have become the new way of consuming wine, but what exactly are natural wines? What are we referring to when we talk about natural wines?

Natural wine is beginning to make a significant gap in the world of wine, so it is important to talk about them and know in more detail what we are talking about when we refer to natural wine. If you are interested in knowing much more about this new branch of the world of wine, we invite you to stay with us!

Natural wines are those that have been made with the minimum of intervention during the whole process, that is, from the harvest of the grapes themselves to their transformation into wine, including the winemaking process in the winery. In this way, the expression of the grapes, as well as the soil and the environment, is not distorted.

It is a term that came to light with the main intention of being able to differentiate them from organic wines, as they are not identical concepts. Organic wines, unlike natural wines, are also made with organic grapes, but they can be made using all kinds of methods, as well as additives (always within the current legislation).

Even so, it should be made clear that all wines are to a greater or lesser extent natural drinks. As established by official regulations, a wine is “the natural food obtained exclusively from the alcoholic fermentation, in whole or in part, of fresh grapes, whether crushed or not, or of grape must” (Law 24/2003).

Requirements for a wine to be considered natural

The elaboration of a natural wine is clean, thus achieving the best of each grape. For a wine to be natural it is essential that it has a series of indispensable requirements:

They must be made with organic grapes harvested by hand
No commercial yeasts are added in the alcoholic fermentation
No bacteria added in malolactic fermentation
It is a process that focuses on ecological and sustainable practices
Sugars, acidity, color, tannins, alcohol level, among other aspects, are not corrected
Normally, these wines are not filtered in any way or do not do so aggressively
No chemicals or oenological techniques are used to stabilise them
Sulphites are not usually added, and if they are, it is done in minute quantities
No process is carried out that accelerates or simulates natural processes
Practices that are respectful of the environment must be carried out

This new range of wines has the mission of allowing us to enjoy wines with their maximum potential in a much more natural way. For many, they are considered to be much more ‘rebellious’ than the more industrialized wines.

Is it possible that natural wines are anticipating the new way of consuming wine in the future? If you haven’t had the chance to try a natural wine yet, don’t wait to do so! You will be pleasantly surprised when you try them.