What is natural wine?

Sigh…

In short, it’s wine made with little to no intervention, nothing is added or taken away, whether in the vineyard or in the cellar. Just fermented grape juice.

The long version is a bit more complicated. Natural winemaking is a concept, an idea, rather than a well-defined category. To understand it, we need to run through a quick reminder of how is wine made nowadays. The “conventional” way to make wine is about 100 years old, it includes pesticides and herbicides in the vineyard, harvests done with machines, and the use of additives and yeast during the fermentation process. This allows winemakers to enhance a particular flavor profile, to ensure stable wines that will age properly, and to best showcase their lands’ heritage.

Natural wine is different in the way that no chemicals are used on the grapes, they are usually handpicked, and once barreled, the fermentation relies on natural yeast present in the air. The results are quite unpredictable. Natural wines are often described as “cloudy” or “weird”, and even if there is truth in the fact that they are often unfiltered, their beauty lies in their diversity. Natural wine is a spectrum. With the rapid growth, this community saw in the 21st century, it is becoming easier to find an alter ego to whatever conventional wine one is used to, keeping the dive to the most eccentric ones for a more experienced palate.

The changing trends in society helped further this development, raising concerns regarding our impact on the planet and our environmental practices. Natural winemaking is becoming more popular, as a “green” way to make wine. Yet, it’s still subject to debate, its supporters chanting its purity and thrilling taste, while opponents critic its instability and idealism. The larger question being: Is the “best” wine made by letting the grapes work their magic? Or by experienced processes allowing producers to achieve an optimal result reflecting their terroir?

While we’re happy to leave that discussion open, we won’t try to give you an answer. We see the value in both approaches to wine and are happy to be bringing natural wines to Canada for every consumer to make up their mind.