What is Natural Wine? A Guide for Curious Drinkers
What Makes a Wine "Natural"?
Natural wine is made with minimal intervention — both in the vineyard and the cellar. There's no universally agreed legal definition, but the philosophy centres on letting grapes express their terroir honestly, without heavy manipulation.
At its core, natural wine means:
- Organic or biodynamic farming - no synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilisers
- Hand harvesting - grapes picked by hand rather than machine
- Wild fermentation - using ambient yeasts rather than commercially added strains
- Nothing added, nothing taken away - no fining agents, no added sugar, little to no sulphur
How Does It Taste?
Natural wines are wonderfully diverse. You might encounter:
- Orange wines - white grapes fermented on their skins, giving amber colour and tannic texture
- Pét-nat (pétillant naturel) - lightly sparkling wines bottled before fermentation completes
- Funky reds - earthy, lively, often lower in alcohol than conventional wines
- Crisp, bright whites - with vivid acidity and a sense of place
The flavours can be surprising — sometimes cloudy, sometimes effervescent, often with a complexity that invites curiosity rather than demanding expertise.
Natural Wine vs Organic vs Biodynamic
These terms overlap but aren't interchangeable. Organic certification covers farming practices. Biodynamic goes further, treating the farm as a living ecosystem with lunar planting calendars. Natural wine encompasses these approaches but also extends into the cellar — it's about the entire winemaking process, not just the vineyard.
Why We Love Natural Wine at Spön
We source natural and minimal-intervention wines from producers who believe that great wine starts in healthy soil. From the Adelaide Hills to the volcanic slopes of Etna, to the ancient vines of Mendoza — the wines we stock tell a story of place, season, and the people who tend the land.
Whether you're new to natural wine or a seasoned drinker looking to explore, we'd love to help you find your next bottle.