Natural wine is wine made from organically or biodynamically farmed grapes and fermented with native yeast, the yeasts already on the grapes, with nothing added in the cellar except, at most, a small dose of sulfites. No law defines it. The closest thing to a formal definition is the charter of France’s natural wine growers’ union, which certifies wines as Vin Méthode Nature.
Many natural wines are bottled without fining or filtration, so some look cloudy. Natural wine describes how a wine is farmed and made, so it can be red, white, rosé, orange or sparkling.
Languedoc: red
Styria: white
Lazio: orange
How natural wine is defined
Natural wine has no legal definition in the EU or the US. According to France’s natural wine growers’ union, the Syndicat de défense des vins naturels, French and EU rules do not allow the words “vin nature” or “vin naturel” on a label. The union created its own label instead, Vin Méthode Nature. A wine that carries it must meet these rules:
- All the grapes are certified organic.
- The grapes are picked by hand.
- Only native yeast ferments the wine.
- Nothing is added in the cellar except, if needed, a small dose of sulfites after fermentation.
- No thermovinification (heating the grapes) or cryo-extraction (freezing them), and no reverse osmosis, filtration, flash pasteurization or centrifugation.
- Total sulfites stay at or under 30 mg/L, and any addition is shown on the label with a separate logo.
- A sparkling wine gets its bubbles from grape sugar only, and a pét-nat only from the sugar of its own grapes.
- Vineyard and cellar work is paid a fair price.
The union checks each wine every year, and an outside certifier audits a random share of them. The label is voluntary: only wines whose growers join the union and register them can carry it.
The union also points out that “no added sulfites” on a label does not make a wine natural. That wine can still come from conventionally farmed grapes, use cultured yeast or other additives, or be flash pasteurized.
Natural wine compared with organic, biodynamic and conventional wine
Scroll the table sideways to see all four columns
| Natural | Organic | Biodynamic | Conventional | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Who sets the rules | No law. In France, a growers’ union certifies Vin Méthode Nature | The law: USDA in the US, EU regulations in Europe | Demeter, a private certifier that owns the Biodynamic trademark | General wine law |
| Grapes | Certified organic or biodynamic | Certified organic | Certified biodynamic | No farming rule |
| Harvest | By hand | No rule | By hand preferred, machines allowed if justified | No rule |
| Yeast | Native yeast only | Cultured yeast allowed, organic if available | Native yeast. A neutral cultured strain only to restart a stuck fermentation | Cultured yeast allowed |
| Additives | None | EU: a shorter authorized list, which still includes tannins, gum arabic, gelatine and oak pieces | No acid or sugar adjustment. Fining with bentonite, egg whites or milk only | A long authorized list, from sugar and acid to oak pieces and fining agents |
| Filtration | Not allowed | Allowed. EU organic wine can be filtered down to 0.2 micrometers | Allowed with listed filter materials | Allowed |
| Added sulfites | None, or up to 30 mg/L in total | US “organic”: none. EU: up to 100 mg/L for dry reds, 150 for dry whites and rosés | Up to 100 mg/L in total at bottling | EU: up to 150 mg/L for dry reds, 200 for dry whites and rosés |
The natural column follows the French Vin Méthode Nature charter, the organic column US and EU law, the biodynamic column Demeter USA’s standard for wine sold as “Biodynamic wine,” and the conventional column the general EU rules. An organic wine can still be made with cultured yeast, additives and filtration. Natural wine starts from the same farming and adds limits in the cellar.
What natural winemakers leave out
EU wine law authorizes a long list of additives and treatments for any wine, organic or not. Among them: sugar or concentrated grape must to raise the alcohol, added acid, tannins, pieces of oak, gum arabic, fining agents made from gelatine, casein, fish bladder (isinglass) or PVPP (a synthetic polymer), metatartaric acid and carboxymethylcellulose to stop tartrate crystals, heat treatments, and copper sulfate to correct faults (Regulation 2019/934, Annex I).
EU organic rules forbid a few of the general treatments: partial concentration of the must by cooling, partial dealcoholization, electrodialysis and cation exchangers (both used to stop tartrate crystals), and removing sulfur dioxide by physical processes. Heat treatment is allowed up to 167°F (75°C), and filtration down to pores of 0.2 micrometers.
Many natural producers set their own rules, stricter than the law. They add none of the products above, and they work this way by choice, because of how they believe wine should be made. Some of the purest, least manipulated wines you can buy are natural wines.
Sulfites in natural wine
Wine contains some sulfites even when none are added, because yeast produces sulfur dioxide during fermentation. A 2023 study of winery yeast strains found that the yeast contributes a significant share of a finished wine’s sulfur dioxide.
Natural winemakers add little or none on top. The Vin Méthode Nature label accepts up to 20 mg/L of sulfites from fermentation for its “no added sulfites” logo, and caps any wine with added sulfites at 30 mg/L in total.
In the US, a wine with 10 parts per million (10 mg/L) of sulfur dioxide or more must say “Contains sulfites” on the label. A natural wine with no added sulfites can still carry that line.
Our sulfites guide covers the legal limits and how to read a label.
What natural wine tastes and looks like
Natural wine covers every grape, region and color, so it has no single taste. These 4 tasting notes appear more often than any others across the natural wines we list.
Lemon peel
The zest and pith of citrus, with a slightly bitter edge
Cherry
Ripe red cherry fruit
Raspberry
Bright, tart red berries
Thyme
A dry, savory herb note
Fining removes particles that can make a wine look hazy, and filtration strains out what is left. Decanter notes that many natural wine producers do neither. Their wines can look cloudy, and some leave a fine sediment, the lees or grape particles, at the bottom of the bottle. Stand the bottle upright for a while and pour slowly if you want a clearer glass.
Is natural wine healthier?
We do not claim that natural wine, or any wine, is good for your health. The World Health Organization’s position is that the harm comes from the alcohol, whatever the drink.
We choose organic and biodynamic farming because we think synthetic pesticides and herbicides are best kept out of the vineyard.
Does natural wine cause fewer headaches?
No one can promise that, and the research on wine headaches is not settled.
- Sulfites: a 2019 study gave 80 young adults a low-sulfite and a high-sulfite wine. People who already got headaches from wine had a higher risk of a headache after the high-sulfite wine.
- Quercetin: a 2023 study from UC Davis proposed a different cause for red wine headaches. Red wine contains far more quercetin than white wine. The body turns it into a compound that slows the breakdown of acetaldehyde, a toxic product of alcohol. The authors say the idea still needs testing in people.
If wine gives you headaches, talk to your doctor.
The winemakers who shaped natural wine
- Jules Chauvet
- A Beaujolais winemaker, researcher and chemist. When chemical fertilizers and pesticides arrived in the 1950s, he spoke out for “natural wine” and the region’s traditional methods.
- Marcel Lapierre
- He took over his family’s estate in Morgon in 1973. Kermit Lynch, his importer, dates Chauvet’s influence on him to 1981. The estate ferments with native yeast only and bottles without filtering. Marcel’s last harvest was 2010, and his children Mathieu and Camille run the estate today.
- The Gang of Four
- Lapierre, Guy Breton, Jean-Paul Thévenet and Jean Foillard, the name the importer Kermit Lynch gave them. They went back to old vines, no synthetic herbicides or pesticides, late harvests, strict sorting, little or no sulfur dioxide, and no chaptalization, the practice of adding sugar to raise the alcohol.
- Jean Foillard
- He took over his father’s estate in 1980. Most of his vineyards sit on the Côte du Py, a hill in Morgon. He bottles without filtering and adds no sulfur dioxide during winemaking.
- Nicolas Joly
- His estate in Savennières, in the Loire Valley, started farming biodynamically in 1980 and has farmed its Coulée de Serrant vineyard, planted by Cistercian monks in 1130, that way since 1984. He has written several books on biodynamic wine, among them Biodynamic Wine Demystified.
Common questions about natural wine
- What is natural wine?
- Wine made from organically or biodynamically farmed grapes, fermented with native yeast, with nothing added in the cellar except, at most, a small dose of sulfites.
- Is there a legal definition of natural wine?
- No. In France, a growers’ union certifies wines as Vin Méthode Nature, and that charter is the closest thing to a formal definition.
- Is organic wine the same as natural wine?
- No. Organic rules cover the farming and allow cultured yeast, a list of additives and filtration. Natural wine starts from organic or biodynamic farming and adds nothing in the cellar beyond, at most, a small dose of sulfites.
- Does natural wine contain sulfites?
- Yes. Yeast produces sulfites during fermentation, so wine contains some even when none are added. Natural winemakers add little or none on top.
- Why is natural wine cloudy?
- Many natural wines are bottled without fining or filtration, so they keep fine particles that conventional wines remove.
- Is natural wine healthier?
- We do not claim it is. The World Health Organization’s position is that the harm comes from the alcohol, whatever the drink.
Sources
- Syndicat de défense des vins naturels: the Vin Méthode Nature label and charter
- Syndicat de défense des vins naturels: FAQ
- USDA: organic wine oversight and labeling
- US: 7 CFR 205.605, sulfur dioxide in organic wine
- EU: Regulation (EU) 2018/848, Annex II, Part VI (organic wine)
- EU: Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1165, Annex V (organic wine additives and sulfites)
- EU: Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/934, Annex I (authorized winemaking practices)
- Demeter USA: processing standards, section 12 (wine)
- US: 27 CFR 4.32, sulfite declaration
- Granuzzo et al. (2023): sulfur dioxide production by wine yeast
- Decanter: what is fining in wine?
- World Health Organization Europe: alcohol and health (2023)
- Silva et al. (2019): sulfite concentration and headache
- Devi, Levin and Waterhouse (2023): quercetin and red wine headaches
- Kermit Lynch: M. & C. Lapierre
- Kermit Lynch: Jean Foillard
- La Coulée de Serrant: technical sheet
- La Coulée de Serrant: Nicolas Joly’s books
Keep reading
The organic and biodynamic guides cover the farming rules in more detail. The natural wine collection lists the natural wines we carry.
Shop natural wine Read the organic wine guide Read the biodynamic wine guide Read which wines are lab tested
