August 04, 2017
What Is Natural Wine?
Ever wonder what natural wine is? Does it make you stop and wonder, if there is "natural wine", what in the world is in the wine I've been drinking? Yeah, me too. I never thought of the luscious Bordeaux's I've been enjoying all these years as "unnatural". So of course, I had to get down to the bottom of this.
"Natural wine" is wine made without chemicals and minimum technological intervention in growing grapes and making them into wine. They are farmed organically and many growers are biodynamic in the vineyard as well. Basically, no one is adding sulfites, sugars or additives for color, mouth-feel, or minerality to the wine. There's no external floor additives, including those derived form new oak barrels, staves, chips or liquid extract. It's just straight grapes.
So, are there health benefits to drinking natural wine? Science has no definite conclusions either way, but the less additives the better so it definitely can't hurt. And as always, everything in moderation!
Cheers!