The question of “natural” wine is among the industry’s most contentious. Everybody has an opinion. But should we really consider wine in such polarised terms? Nick Kemball from our Events team doesn’t think so.

I once heard someone joke that if you put five wine professionals in a room, you’ll end up with 10 opinions. Wine is a subject many people are passionate about. At its best, it serves as a centrepiece for conversation, with discussions flowing as freely as the contents of the bottle. But wine can also spark heated debates. And in my own experience, nothing gets wine enthusiasts more fired up than the question of “natural” versus “conventional” winemaking. 

There’s a great divide in the wine industry, it seems – one where it sometimes feels like you have to pick a side. I remember telling a tutor that my Coravin (a wine preservation system) didn’t work as well for the natural wines I was selling at the time. Their response, or at least the PC version of it: “Well, that’s your own fault for working with natural wines.” Though said tongue-in-cheek, this reflects a common sentiment in the industry.  

On the other hand, drinkers of natural wine would argue that the more intervention that takes place – additives, or mechanical processes like filtering – the more detached the wine becomes from its origin.  

There are valid arguments in both camps. But it’s also too complex and nuanced a topic to approach with a black-and-white perspective. And should you really have to pick a side? 

Organics and biodynamics

The term “natural” mainly refers to the winemaking process, such as avoiding additives. It says little about how the grapes were grown. Being organic or biodynamic isn’t a requirement for natural winemaking, though most natural winemakers will adopt these practices. 

Organics is an easy enough concept to get one’s head around. It primarily means that chemical fertilisers, fungicides and herbicides are forbidden (or, more accurately, “controlled”, as some may still be permitted in organic viticulture).  

The same is true of biodynamics, though this is a holistic approach to farming that views the vineyard as an organism in its own right: what is removed through viticulture must be replenished in the form of treatments. One such treatment is Preparation 500, which consists of cow manure buried in a horn. For traditionalists, there’s also an aspect of biodynamics that considers cosmic movements and their effects on the vine’s cycle – one reason, perhaps, why biodynamics is often dismissed as junk science. But whatever one’s view on these slightly less tangible concepts, the value of minimising chemical use of the vineyard, while also revitalising it, cannot be understated. 

Whether a producer is venturing down the organic or biodynamic route, the requirements may vary depending on their location, and there are a few certifying bodies to choose from: both Biodyvin and Demeter offer biodynamic certification, for example. Usually, they involve quite a rigid framework and with a lengthy and costly conversion process. 

In areas with more challenging, disease-prone climates, like Bordeaux, it’s a significant sacrifice to tie one’s colours to the mast of organics or biodynamics. In these regions, winemakers may decide to adopt these principles without following them to a “t”. By doing so, they forfeit the right to label their bottles as organic or biodynamic.  

This has led to slightly muddied waters, where its commonly accepted for a winemaker to say they “practice” organic or biodynamic farming without certification. Many producers find these certifications too prescriptive. As talented Burgundy vigneron Benjamin Leroux puts it: “If biodynamics is treated like a recipe, it doesn’t work.” 

Making wine naturally 

There aren’t many rules when it comes to natural winemaking – though there have been attempts at certification, most notably with Vins Méthode Nature in France. Really the term “natural” refers to a commonly agreed set of practices.  

First: using wild yeasts found naturally on grapes and in the air (rather than “commercial” yeast from a packet) to convert sugar to alcohol. The aim of this is usually producing more complex and varied aromas, a concept familiar to any sourdough bakers. Second: minimising additives and preservatives, like sulphur dioxide, to prevent the wine from tasting sterile (or, in high enough quantities, like sulphur). And third: avoiding processes like fining or filtration, to retain flavour and texture. 

What’s interesting is that, in isolation, these practices are not as contentious as you might think, even among the most classic wines of the world. Bordeaux Classified Growths like Château Palmer have recently adopted wild-yeast fermentations, while leading Burgundian producers like Domaine de la Romanée-Conti and Domaine Dujac have been using them for as long as can be remembered. It’s also quite common to minimise sulphur to enhance a wine’s aromatic profile. At Camille Giroud, winemaker Carel Voorhuis reduces sulphur at the crushing stage to produce wines with more open, generous aromatics. Nonetheless, he remains resolutely “not into the vin nature thing”. 

Fining and filtration are usually mentioned in the same breath. But winemakers like David Ramey, Californian Chardonnay guru, point out that these two processes shouldn’t be joined at the hip. Fining is a technique that uses additives (like egg white, casein from milk products or bentonite clay) to remove unwanted particles by binding with them and settling out. Ramey views filtration as much more industrial: passing wine through a porous medium, sometimes fine enough to remove bacteria and yeast. And it’s certainly compelling to see what this balanced approach can achieve. Ramey’s Chardonnays possess an incredible balance of rich texture against fine, clean and precise flavours. 

Navigating the middle ground 

A colleague recently mentioned to me that, although sceptical about natural winemaking, he viewed it as a force for good. This is a perspective I can relate to: being discerning in one’s tastes, while recognising that natural winemaking techniques can enhance quality – albeit with a greater risk of things going wrong. I’m sure the debate will pervade the industry for a while longer, and I’ll find myself in another heated conversation around a dinner table. But with so many of the world’s finest wines finding their place in the middle ground, why choose a side?

Browse our range of certified organic wines.