Natural wine

Natural wine refers to a generalized movement among winemakers for production of wine using simple or traditional methods.^[1]  Although there is no uniform definition of natural wine, it is usually produced without the use of pesticides or herbicides and with few or no additives. Typically, natural wine is produced on a small scale using traditional rather than industrial techniques and fermented with native yeast.  In its purest form, natural wine is simply unadulterated fermented grape juice with no additives in the winemaking process.  Other terms for the product include low-intervention wine, raw wine, and naked wine.^[2]

History[]

Some sources claim that the movement started with winemakers in the Beaujolais region of France in the 1960s. Several winemakers, namely Marcel Lapierre, Jean Foillard, Charly Thevenet, and Guy Breton, sought a return to the way their grandparents made wine, before the incursion of pesticides and synthetic chemicals that had become so prevalent in agriculture after the end of World War II. They became affectionately known as The Gang of Four.^[3] They were heavily influenced by the teachings and thoughts of Jules Chauvet and Jacques Neauport,^[4] two oenologists who studied ways to make wines with fewer additives. For quite some time the town of Villié-Morgon became a place for like minded winemakers to congregate and become influenced by the Gang of Four. Gradually this movement spread to other regions of France, and since has spread across the world, gradually gaining in popularity and attracting newer younger winemakers in more and more regions of the world.

Historically, natural wine has been connected to the German Lebensreform movement, where it gained popularity in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.^{[citation needed]}

Definitions[]

As of 2013, there is no official or legal definition of natural wine. No legislation has been passed to date by any regional, national, or supranational authority, and there are no organizations that can certify that a wine is natural.

However, there are many unofficial definitions or codes of practice published by the different associations of natural wine producers and connoisseurs of the style:

• Raw Wine (UK, Germany, USA)
• L´Association des Vins Naturels (France)
• Les Vins S.A.I.N.S (France)^[5]
• La Renaissance des Appellations (France)
• Vini Veri (Italy) ^[6]
• Natural Wine Association (Georgia)^[7]
• Vinnatur (Italy) ^[8]
• ZADRUGA SIMBIOSA EKOLOŠKO KMETIJSTVO Z.B.O. (Slovenia)
• Asociación de Productores de Vinos Naturales de España (Spain)
• Philipp Wittmann, Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter (Germany) ^[9]
• Autentisté (Czechia and Slovakia)
• Terra Hungarica (Hungary and Carpathian Basin)
• Porthos Racconta (Italy) ^[10]
• Jenny & François Selections, one of the first importers of natural wine in the United States.^[11]
• Joe Dressner, one of the first importers of natural wine in the United States.^[12]

Additionally, articles have been written defining what is or is not natural wine given that there is no clear consensus or definition on the topic.^{[13][14][15][16][17][18][19]}

References[]

Bibliography[]

• Feiring, Alice (2008). The battle for wine and love : or how I saved the world from parkerization. Orlando: Harcourt. ISBN 9780151012862. OCLC 166255209.
• Feiring, Alice (2011). Naked wine: letting grapes do what comes naturally. Cambridge, MA: Da Capo Press. ISBN 9780306819537. OCLC 701015445.
• Fukuoka, Masanobu. The One Straw Revolution
• Alonso González, Pablo; Eva, Parga Dans (2017). Book review "Vinos naturales en España: placer auténtico y agricultura sostenible en la copa".
• Alonso González, Pablo; Eva, Parga Dans (2020). Natural wine: do consumers know what it is, and how natural it really is?.
• Gómez Pallarès, Joan (2013). Vinos naturales en España : placer auténtico y agricultura sostenible en la copa. Barcelona: RBA. ISBN 9788415541929. OCLC 889927381.
• Goode, Jamie; Harrop, Sam (2011). Authentic wine : toward natural and sustainable winemaking. Berkeley: University of California Press. ISBN 9780520949690. OCLC 750192350.
• Joly, Nicolas (1999). Wine from sky to earth : growing & appreciating biodynamic wine. Austin, Tex.: Acres U.S.A. ISBN 0911311602. OCLC 42464650.
• Legeron, Isabelle; Kingcome, Gavin; Zinonos, Anthony (2014-07-10). West, Caroline (ed.). Natural wine : an introduction to organic and biodynamic wines made naturally. London. ISBN 9781782491002. OCLC 884370524.
• Matthews, Patrick (2000). Real wine : the rediscovery of natural winemaking. London: Mitchell Beazley. ISBN 1840002573. OCLC 44562104.