ORGANIC, BIODYNAMIC & NATURAL WINES

With a growing interest in organic, biodynamic and minimal intervention (natural) wine, we have discovered some real gems from a range of small, family-owned estates from around the world. Each wine tells a unique story of its origins. So, we have teamed up with our friends at Alliance Wine, who have offered a plethora of helpful advice and provided some refreshing clarity regarding these popular and upcoming wine trends.

ORGANIC

Some laws regulate the use of the term ‘organic’. However, the terms ‘sustainable’ and ‘biodynamic’ are free from legal definitions. To clear things up, let’s try and explain these definitions. Firstly, there is the term ‘organic’. Typically, there are two types of organic listings on wine bottles; wines produced using organically grown grapes (avoiding the use of any synthetic pesticides or additives), and wines produced using organically grown grapes (which are also free from additional sulphites – though naturally occurring sulphites may still be present).

BIODYNAMIC

Biodynamic farming follows similar principles to organic farming as it also takes place without synthetic chemicals. However, biodynamic farming incorporates ideologies that a vineyard should be viewed as an entire ecosystem. This also takes concepts such as astrological influences and lunar cycles into account. A biodynamic wine means that the grapes have been farmed in a biodynamic method. The winemaker has not produced the wine with any commonly used manipulations such as the addition of yeast or acidity adjustments. A wine made from biodynamic grapes means that although the vintner used biodynamically grown grapes, a less strict ‘set of rules’ was used in the process of winemaking.

NATURAL

The term ‘natural’ is a more obscure term to clarify, as there is no true definition as to what constitutes a ‘natural’ wine or a ‘raw’ wine. Despite a rising popularity, we are yet to see a recognised definition for this style. An appropriate definition for the term ‘natural’ has been penned by Isabelle Legeron MW (founder of RAW WINE), who describes wines of this variety as “living wine from living soil”. In her book (Natural Wine: An Introduction to Organic and Biodynamic Wines Made Naturally 2017) she goes on to suggest that a natural wine comes from an organic/biodynamic vineyard and, therefore, has had nothing externally added or removed from the growing process. The microbiological life that exists naturally in these vineyards is what creates ‘living wine’ as these microbiological organisms continue to exist in the wine, even after the fermentation and bottling processes are complete. These wines are not filtered or fined. We like to think that they follow a similar concept to bottle conditioned beers.