You may or may not, have heard of natural wine. So, if you haven’t, here is what we know about it.
Not to be confused with the term Organic wine, although natural wine is invariably organic, it is basically an unplugged version of the wine we all know and love today.
Although there is no uniform definition of natural wine, it is usually produced without the use of pesticides or herbicides and with few or no additives and following strict Organic guidelines.
Grapes are typically grown by small-scale, independent producers using traditional rather than industrial techniques and fermented with native yeast.
In its purest form, natural wine is simply unadulterated fermented grape juice with no additives in the winemaking process and little or no sulphites are added. Natural wines are bottle conditioned as well. Other terms for the product include low-intervention wine, raw wine, and naked wine.
In general, because of the absence of additives and sulphites, it isn’t as robust as some of the modern wines, so more care is needed when storing and handling. Always store in a very cool place, the garage for example, or better still in the fridge. Store away from light and drink within a year (that should be the easy bit of course!).
So, how do they taste? We have 2 options available, both sparkling in White and Rosé, so I am basing the tasting on those. Generally speaking, they can be less fruity, drier and a little more tart, than their modern compatriots with more of a yeasty, almost beer like nose too. They are very fresh tasting however and although different than you may expect from an Italian Frizzante wine, they are very nice indeed and they are very moreish, especially on a warm summer’s day with some delicate antipasti.
Because they are naturally produced and unfiltered, there is likely to be some sediment present in the bottle and sometimes a slight cloudy appearance, similar to an unfiltered, bottle conditioned beer.
Verdict. Different! But, definitely worth a try, especially if you are not a fan of additives and sulphites in your wine. A crisp, dry, and fresh wine with a lovely amount of bubbles. A natural product well worth a try.
We have brought 2 Natural wines in to see if you like them. Click here to see them Natural wine – Viniveneti