If you’ve been hearing the term “natural wine” thrown around and wondering what it’s all about, you’re in the right place. As the restaurant manager at Soirée Wine Bar in Dubai, where we place a story focus on natural and biodynamic wines, I’ve seen natural wine gaining popularity in recent months, and I’m here to break it down for you.
What is natural wine?
In simplest terms, natural wine is made with as little intervention as possible. Think of it as letting nature do its thing. Unlike wines, another category which can involve chemical processes and additives, natural wines strive to keep things pure and simple.
From Vine to Glass
Let’s start in the vineyard. Natural wine begins with organic farming. Grapes are grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilisers. It’s all about working with nature to create a healthy, biodiverse environment for the vines.
Moving to the Winery
Once the grapes are harvested, the magic continues in the winery with minimal interference:
- Wild Yeasts: These wines usually ferment with native yeasts that naturally occur in the vineyard and winery instead of cultured ones.
- No Additives: Natural winemakers avoid adding acids, sugars, or sulfur dioxide (SO2), common in conventional winemaking. Sometimes, a tiny bit of SO2 might be added at bottling to keep the wine stable, but many natural wines are completely free of added sulfites.
- Unfiltered Fun: Natural wines are often unfiltered and unfined, which can be a bit cloudy with some sediment at the bottom. This might look different from what you’re used to, but it’s all part of the charm and flavour of the wine. Like a Pét-Nat, short for Pétillant Naturel, which is a type of sparkling wine made using the méthode ancestrale (French term for an ancient or ancestral style of sparkling wine made by bottling still-fermenting juice), an ancient winemaking technique. This method involves bottling the wine before the primary fermentation is complete, allowing it to finish fermenting in the bottle. This natural fermentation process creates bubbles, resulting in a lightly sparkling wine.
- Ageing: In the stainless still to keep the natural power of the grapes or ageing in qvevri (or kvevri), which refers to the traditional Georgian wine-making technique where wine is fermented and aged in large clay vessels called qvevri. These vessels are buried underground, and ageing allows the wine to develop unique flavours and characteristics, often resulting in complex and robust wines with distinct earthy and mineral notes.
A different kind of flavour adventure
Speaking of flavour, natural wines can taste pretty unique. They often have more vibrant and funky characteristics that differentiate them from conventional wines. This unpredictability makes every bottle an adventure. However, not every bottle is stable, and it can sometimes be difficult for natural wines to be consistent.
Why bother with natural wine?
You might be wondering why you should care about natural wine. Here are a few good reasons:
- Eco-Friendly: It’s better for the environment, supporting sustainable and organic agriculture.
- Healthier Choice: With fewer chemicals and additives, it’s often considered a cleaner, healthier option.
- Authenticity: It’s about enjoying something made with care and tradition. Every bottle has a story, and you can taste the difference.
- New aromas and flavours: which extend the boundaries of combining it with simple and refined food.
Join the movement
At Soirée Wine Bar, we’re big fans of natural wine. We believe it’s more than just a trend – a step towards more mindful drinking and a genuine appreciation for what goes into each bottle. Supporting lesser-known appellations, including some of our specially imported wines, such as Nicolas Joly, Gerard Bertrand, Arianna Occhipinti, Roi des Lezards, Judith Beck, Podere Concori and Matassa, Santa Julia, is essential. Promoting these producers and bringing them to market is critical. Sharing their wines with our guests is the best and surest way of understanding the world of natural wine.