Colloquial term (also artisan wine, naked wine, vin nature or natural wine, which is not permitted under wine law) for wines produced in a certain way that belong to the group of alternative wines. This also includes Raw Wine and Orange Wine. Internationally, "natural wines" is the umbrella term under which "raw wines" can also be categorised. The sparkling products are known as Pétillant Naturel or Pét Nat. The natural wine movement began in France in the 1980s. The two winegrowers Jules Chauvet (1907-1989) and Jacques Néauport are regarded as pioneers. They began experimenting with how to produce wine without the use of antioxidants and sulphur and with as little intervention as possible in the cellar.
Rules
Since then, "vin nature" has developed into a counter-cultural movement that opposes the homogenisation, industrialisation and culture of Parkerisation (standardised wines to meet a certain pattern or taste desired by many consumers) that dominated the 1990s and 2000s. Production is based on the principles of organic or biodynamic viticulture (with or without certification). Cellar work is carried out according to the non-invasive principle of "as much as necessary, as little as possible". The aim is to expose the wine to as little physical stress as possible and to emphasise the typicality of the grape variety and terroir. However, this also applies to vineyard management, such as minimising pruning. The individual rules in detail:
However, this list is to be understood as a gross catalogue. There are now several producer organisations whose rules are more or less very different. These include the biodynamic winegrowers' association La Renaissance des Appellations in France, founded by cult winegrower Nicolas Joly, as well as "Triple A" and "ViniVeri" in Italy.
Wine law
However, this wine category is not without controversy. Critics claim that it aims to make possible wine faults "socially acceptable". A cloudy wine with a noticeable deposit is usually enough to deny a wine quality. Natural wines can also have a higher content of Brettanomyces or volatile acids. The former is appreciated by some consumers as a "special flavour", especially in red wines.
There is (still) no EU-wide wine law definition for alternative wine types, but there are country-specific regulations in some countries. The use of the terms "orange wine" and "natural wine" was legally regulated in Austria with an amendment to the law in 2018. In the case of country wine, turbidity and an oxidative note are not considered wine defects; the wine is marketable if it bears the additional designations "orange wine" or "orangewine". Only organic wineries may use the additional designation "natural wine" instead of "orange wine".
No enrichment to increase the natural alcohol content, no sweetening and no addition of wine treatment agents other than bentonite and sulphurous acid may be added to these wines. Claims such as "natural wine" are not permitted for any wines. In the case of sparkling wine (not quality sparkling wine, champagne, etc.) and semi-sparkling wine, turbidity and an oxidative note are not to be regarded as wine defects and are marketable if they bear the additional designation "Pétillant naturel" ("Pét Nat"). The regulation also applies to the lowest quality level (wine with or with an indication of grape variety and vintage and without a designation of origin other than Austria).
Further information
For the production of alcoholic beverages, see Champagne (sparkling wines), distillation (distillates), spirits (types), winemaking (wines and wine types) and wine law (wine law issues).
Graphic: © 2022 - Norbert F. J. Tischelmayer
Source: Österreich Wein Marketing GmbH
