<\/strong><\/p>\n There is no one legal definition for natural wine. The term natural wine is hotly debated, but there are certain markers that the community has accepted as important guidelines for making natural wine. Most of these guidelines are related to the \u201cbare minimum\u201d \u2013 as with any movement, there are natural wine sommeliers and winemakers who are much more radical in their approach!<\/p>\n Still, we are by no means the authority on what natural wine is! Just like conventional wine, natural wine refers to a wide range of practices, that result in an even wider range of flavours in the bottle. So, to start with, how is natural wine made?<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=\u00bbhttps:\/\/sucsucwine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Suc-Suc-What-is-natural-wine.webp\u00bb alt=\u00bbGlasses in a natural wine vineyard.\u00bb title_text=\u00bbSuc-Suc-What-is-natural-wine\u00bb _builder_version=\u00bb4.21.2″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb width=\u00bb90%\u00bb module_alignment=\u00bbcenter\u00bb border_radii=\u00bbon|50px|50px|50px|50px\u00bb border_width_all=\u00bb1px\u00bb global_colors_info=\u00bb{}\u00bb][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00bb4.24.2″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb text_font=\u00bbRoboto||||||||\u00bb text_text_color=\u00bb#000000″ text_font_size=\u00bb16px\u00bb ul_font=\u00bbOpen Sans||||||||\u00bb ul_text_align=\u00bbleft\u00bb ul_text_color=\u00bb#000000″ ul_font_size=\u00bb16px\u00bb header_2_text_align=\u00bbleft\u00bb header_2_text_color=\u00bb#1E3497″ header_3_text_align=\u00bbleft\u00bb header_3_text_color=\u00bb#FE4454″ max_width=\u00bb800px\u00bb module_alignment=\u00bbcenter\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb2em|3em|2em|3em|true|true\u00bb global_colors_info=\u00bb{}\u00bb]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Like any other cultivar, organic viticulture refers only to the grape-growing process. Organic grapes are grown without any synthetic or abusive chemical products in the vineyard. There are multiple certification organisms for organic grapes worldwide, each with different rules.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Biodynamic viticulture is a controversial anthroposophical system. It was coined by the Austrian thinker Rudolph Steiner in the first half of the twentieth century. However, agriculture was only one small part of Steiner\u2019s philosophy.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Demeter is the biggest biodynamic certifying body in Europe. Unlike organic viticulture, it requires fewer additives in the cellar, which makes biodynamic wines more likely to be natural.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Permaculture is a system of agriculture developed in the 1970s. Permaculture is a whole-systems approach that tries to approximate a natural state for the vineyard. As a result, the permanent imprint on the surrounding environment is minimal.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Dry farming is an approach to viticulture that doesn\u2019t use any form of artificial irrigation not to deplete water supplies. In some regions, irrigation is already banned, but in others, irrigation is permitted. With climate change making wine regions drier and drier, and water more and more scarce, the debate over the need for dry farming will increase.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the world of fine wine, Terroir is the concept that a wine\u2019s taste should reflect its origin. Climate, soil type, vintage, physical surroundings, and the decisions of winemakers during the vinification process are all part of this idea. Some say natural wines are better at expressing this link with the terroir \u2013 and detractors say that natural wines obstruct terroir, or simply that terroir doesn\u2019t exist.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=\u00bbhttps:\/\/sucsucwine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Suc-Suc-What-is-natural-wine-2.webp\u00bb alt=\u00bbHarvesting in a natural wine vineyard.\u00bb title_text=\u00bbSuc-Suc-What-is-natural-wine-2″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.21.2″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb width=\u00bb90%\u00bb module_alignment=\u00bbcenter\u00bb border_radii=\u00bbon|50px|50px|50px|50px\u00bb border_width_all=\u00bb1px\u00bb global_colors_info=\u00bb{}\u00bb][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00bb4.24.2″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb text_font=\u00bbRoboto||||||||\u00bb text_text_color=\u00bb#000000″ text_font_size=\u00bb16px\u00bb ul_font=\u00bbOpen Sans||||||||\u00bb ul_text_align=\u00bbleft\u00bb ul_text_color=\u00bb#000000″ ul_font_size=\u00bb16px\u00bb header_2_text_align=\u00bbleft\u00bb header_2_text_color=\u00bb#1E3497″ header_3_text_align=\u00bbleft\u00bb header_3_text_color=\u00bb#FE4454″ max_width=\u00bb800px\u00bb module_alignment=\u00bbcenter\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb2em|3em|2em|3em|true|true\u00bb global_colors_info=\u00bb{}\u00bb]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Orange wines, also known as amber wines, are made from white grapes left in contact with the skins for an extended period, gaining an orange hue, a stronger structure, and aromatic qualities.<\/p>\n In antiquity, all white wines would have been orange wines. Today orange wines are back in style, especially among natural wine drinkers, due to the resurgence of respect for the Georgian tradition of winemaking and pioneers like Stanko Radikon in Fruili-Venezia-Giulia. Careful, though! Not all orange wines are natural \u2013 and not all natural wines are orange.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Skin contact, also known as maceration, means leaving the grape skin in with the grape must before, during, and even after fermentation. The longer you leave skins in with the grape juice, the darker, stronger, and more tannic (astringent) the wine \u2013 both in the case of red grapes (ros\u00e9 through to red) and white grapes (see: orange wines.)<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n P\u00e9t-Nat is short for P\u00e9tillant Naturel and is known as the Ancestral Method. P\u00e9t Nats are sparkling wines made with one single spontaneous fermentation started by native yeast. Since wine produces its own CO2 as a subproduct of the natural fermentation, a P\u00e9t-Nat is bottled to trap the natural gas. The bottling during the fermentation also traps the yeast inside the bottle, so later, the sediment can be disgorged (expulsed) if desired.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Amphoras are big clay vessels that are becoming more and more popular among natural winemakers. Amphorae represent a return to the old way of doing things. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Unlike commercial or industrial yeast, which are lab-grown, dried, and sold in packets, ambient yeast are natural microorganisms that float in the vineyard and the cellar. Ambient yeasts, mainly Saccharomyces Cerevisiae, will kickstart a spontaneous fermentation if you don\u2019t sterilize them away. Using native yeasts is a prerequisite for natural winemaking. In a spontaneous fermentation, dozens of wild yeasts and bacteria will ferment the wine in different ways (hence the fun of natural wines) instead of choosing one specific commercial strain.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Sous voile or bajo velo is a style of wine with specific flavours and mouthfeel due to aging under a layer of yeast known in French as the voile and in Spanish as the velo. Wines under the veil are thinner due to a lack of glycerin and with noticeable almond and white flower notes.<\/p>\n Fino or Manzanilla sherry and Vin Jaune from the Jura are the most famous examples of sous voile or bajo velo. These are amazing wines, loved by natural wine people \u2013 but are not always natural wines.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Carbonic maceration is a winemaking technique characterized by flavours of banana red candies. Carbonic maceration makes hyper fruit-forward wines primarily drunk young (but not exclusively!). It\u2019s a complicated process that involves putting whole clusters of grapes in an oxygen-free environment for fermentation so that the grapes ferment inside their own skins. <\/p>\n <\/p>\n SO2 is a hot topic for debate in natural wine circles. Chemically known as sulphur dioxide, sulfites are an antioxidant, anti-microbial substance used as a hygiene and conservation agent in winemaking. Technically, sulfites are an allergen and toxic in high doses. Therefore, the European Union sets upper limits to the use of SO2.<\/p>\n However, even in small doses, sulfites can make wines more precise in the face of \u201cfaults\u201d and less prone to oxidation. At the same time, some people argue that sulfites kill a natural wine\u2019s lively spirit and energy.<\/p>\n For this reason, some natural wines only contain the SO2 produced naturally through the fermentation process, with no sulfites added. Other wines have small doses of added SO2 and still claim to be natural. The question is, do all natural wines have to be sulfite-free? (In our opinion, there are more important problems in the world of natural wine.)<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=\u00bbhttps:\/\/sucsucwine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Suc-Suc-What-is-Natural-Wine-3.webp\u00bb alt=\u00bbFoot-stomping grapes for natural winemaking\u00bb title_text=\u00bbSuc-Suc-What-is-Natural-Wine-3″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.21.2″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb width=\u00bb90%\u00bb module_alignment=\u00bbcenter\u00bb border_radii=\u00bbon|50px|50px|50px|50px\u00bb border_width_all=\u00bb1px\u00bb locked=\u00bboff\u00bb global_colors_info=\u00bb{}\u00bb][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00bb4.24.2″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb text_font=\u00bbRoboto||||||||\u00bb text_text_color=\u00bb#000000″ text_font_size=\u00bb16px\u00bb ul_font=\u00bbOpen Sans||||||||\u00bb ul_text_align=\u00bbleft\u00bb ul_text_color=\u00bb#000000″ ul_font_size=\u00bb16px\u00bb header_2_text_align=\u00bbleft\u00bb header_2_text_color=\u00bb#1E3497″ header_3_text_align=\u00bbleft\u00bb header_3_text_color=\u00bb#FE4454″ max_width=\u00bb800px\u00bb module_alignment=\u00bbcenter\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb2em|3em|2em|3em|true|true\u00bb locked=\u00bboff\u00bb global_colors_info=\u00bb{}\u00bb]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Volatile acidity (VA) refers to two chemical compounds, acetic acid (vinegar) and ethyl acetate (nail polish remover). There are multiple ways for VA to occur in natural wines: too much oxygen, too much heat, and a slow, unruly malolactic fermentation, amongst others.<\/p>\n In very high doses of VA, the wine tastes like vinegar. In low to moderate doses, it can help a heavy wine feel fresh. Every person has an individual level of tolerance to VA.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Mousiness is the most famous natural wine flaw lately. They say the name comes from its distinctive taste of mouse cage (in French, go\u00fbt du souris). Having never tasted a mouse\u2019s cage, we cannot confirm or deny it. Other descriptors for mousiness are sausage casing, peanuts, wet paper, and vomit.<\/p>\n Mouse has no active smell but is found in the aftertaste a few seconds after drinking since it is activated with the temperature and the PH in our mouth. Small doses of sulfites usually help avoid the development of tetrohydropiridine (THP), the chemical compound supposedly responsible for the taste. Also, 30% of people cannot taste mousiness in a wine \u2013 lucky, lucky folk.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Brettanomyces is a secondary family of yeasts that can ferment the sugars in the wine. Brett, for short, are used widely in beer brewing and highly prized in certain older Italian and Spanish wines. When Brettanomyces ferment a wine, they cause strange flavours like horsey or barnyard flavours. Like it or leave it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n When a wine is starved for oxygen during the fermentation or aging process, the sulfur compounds come into play. And because oxygen is the enemy of natural wine, many natural winemakers choose to work with reductive processes, meaning simply, without oxygen.<\/p>\n Unfortunately, these sulfur compounds (reduction) have hard-to-swallow flavours like rotten eggs, cabbage, burnt matchsticks, and yes, even farts. The good news is that reduction has a simple solution: give it air! To remedy reductive flavours in natural wine, give it a good swirl in the glass, or decant it.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n When a wine gets too much oxygen during the fermentation or aging process, it risks becoming oxidized. Natural wines are especially prone to oxidizing because they have no conservation agents added. Oxidation in natural wines results in dull fruit flavours and duller colours. Unlike reduction, there is no return from an oxidized natural wine \u2013 unfortunately, the wine is dead.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=\u00bbhttps:\/\/sucsucwine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Suc-Suc-What-is-natural-wine-4-pizza-wine.webp\u00bb alt=\u00bbSuc Suc natural wine at a pizza party\u00bb title_text=\u00bbSuc-Suc-What-is-natural-wine-4-pizza-wine\u00bb _builder_version=\u00bb4.21.2″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb width=\u00bb90%\u00bb module_alignment=\u00bbcenter\u00bb border_radii=\u00bbon|50px|50px|50px|50px\u00bb border_width_all=\u00bb1px\u00bb locked=\u00bboff\u00bb global_colors_info=\u00bb{}\u00bb][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00bb4.24.2″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb text_font=\u00bbRoboto||||||||\u00bb text_text_color=\u00bb#000000″ text_font_size=\u00bb16px\u00bb ul_font=\u00bbOpen Sans||||||||\u00bb ul_text_align=\u00bbleft\u00bb ul_text_color=\u00bb#000000″ ul_font_size=\u00bb16px\u00bb header_2_text_align=\u00bbleft\u00bb header_2_text_color=\u00bb#1E3497″ header_3_text_align=\u00bbleft\u00bb header_3_text_color=\u00bb#FE4454″ max_width=\u00bb800px\u00bb module_alignment=\u00bbcenter\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb2em|3em|2em|3em|true|true\u00bb locked=\u00bboff\u00bb global_colors_info=\u00bb{}\u00bb]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Zero\/zero is how natural wine drinkers refer to wines without additives, not even SO2. Loosely understood as nothing added, nothing taken away.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Glou-glou is a term from the French: an onomatopoeia for the sound you make while gulping down a delicious bottle of wine. A glou-glou wine is a wine that\u2019s easy to drink, light, fruity, tasty, and smashable. Usually, it\u2019s a very light red wine or a fun, juicy white: all of the favourite styles of natural wine drinkers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Funky is a complicated term because everyone uses it in their own way. Generally, a natural wine is funky if it clearly breaks with the classic standard of taste set by the wine industry. Maybe it is more acidic, and perhaps it is reductive or has brett, or maybe it is just much juicier. Funky has no specific meaning, but the idea is essentially that the wine is fun.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Green wines \u2013 or wines with green tannins, to be more technical \u2013 are wines made from grapes whose stems, skins, and seeds hadn\u2019t fully ripened at the time of the harvest. Natural winemakers in hot climates will sometimes pick grapes this way on purpose to maintain a higher level of acidity. However, with long macerations of underripe grapes, wines can become green: astringent, rough, and sharp in mouthfeel.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Electric and vertical don\u2019t seem like wine words. However, natural wine sommeliers sometimes use them metaphorically to describe wines with high acidity. Natural wines are often very fresh for reasons related to trends and style \u2013 and this electric or vertical acidity is why.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n When a wine is unfiltered or unfined, it will be cloudy. Filtration is an invasive physical process involving ridding the wine of its particles. Clarification or fining is a chemical process that uses coagulating substances, like gelatin or egg whites, to collect and filter out even smaller particles. These substances make some wines not vegan and all natural wines, being unfined, vegan.<\/p>\n Cloudiness in wine shouldn\u2019t be scary since it\u2019s natural! There are other ways of making a natural wine transparent that don\u2019t involve filtering or fining, such as racking and cold bottling.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][et_pb_image src=\u00bbhttps:\/\/sucsucwine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/Suc-Suc-What-is-natural-wine-4.webp\u00bb alt=\u00bbDisplay of natural wine bottles with flowers and candles.\u00bb title_text=\u00bbSuc-Suc-What-is-natural-wine-4″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.21.2″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb width=\u00bb90%\u00bb module_alignment=\u00bbcenter\u00bb border_radii=\u00bbon|50px|50px|50px|50px\u00bb border_width_all=\u00bb1px\u00bb locked=\u00bboff\u00bb global_colors_info=\u00bb{}\u00bb][\/et_pb_image][et_pb_text _builder_version=\u00bb4.24.2″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb text_font=\u00bbRoboto||||||||\u00bb text_text_color=\u00bb#000000″ text_font_size=\u00bb16px\u00bb ul_font=\u00bbOpen Sans||||||||\u00bb ul_text_align=\u00bbleft\u00bb ul_text_color=\u00bb#000000″ ul_font_size=\u00bb16px\u00bb header_2_text_align=\u00bbleft\u00bb header_2_text_color=\u00bb#1E3497″ header_3_text_align=\u00bbleft\u00bb header_3_text_color=\u00bb#FE4454″ max_width=\u00bb800px\u00bb module_alignment=\u00bbcenter\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb2em|3em|2em|3em|true|true\u00bb locked=\u00bboff\u00bb global_colors_info=\u00bb{}\u00bb]<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Wines that might not be fully 0\/0, but keep things as natural as possible in the winemaking process.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Clean wine is a greenwashed term invented by Cameron Diaz. It\u2019s fundamentally meaningless because there are no real principles to clean winemaking.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Natural wines are often called living wines because the microorganisms responsible for fermenting the wine (yeast and bacteria) have not been sterilized. Natural wines also evolve quickly in the glass and the bottle, making them feel alive.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Natural wines can be called raw wines because they haven\u2019t been adulterated or altered by chemical additives. Natural wines are more honest, direct, naked, raw, and real.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Natural wines can be called free wines because they are free from additives and the constraints of appellations and denominations of origin. As a result, natural wines have fewer rules and allow for creative expression in the winemaking process.<\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][et_pb_row _builder_version=\u00bb4.21.2″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb width=\u00bb90%\u00bb max_width=\u00bb1080px\u00bb custom_padding=\u00bb0px||0px||true|false\u00bb border_width_right=\u00bb1px\u00bb border_color_right=\u00bb#000000″ border_width_left=\u00bb1px\u00bb border_color_left=\u00bb#000000″ global_colors_info=\u00bb{}\u00bb][et_pb_column type=\u00bb4_4″ _builder_version=\u00bb4.21.2″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb global_colors_info=\u00bb{}\u00bb][et_pb_code _builder_version=\u00bb4.25.1″ _module_preset=\u00bbdefault\u00bb hover_enabled=\u00bb0″ global_colors_info=\u00bb{}\u00bb sticky_enabled=\u00bb0″]\n
NATURAL WINE VINEYARDS<\/strong><\/h2>\n
ORGANIC:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/h2>\n
BIODYNAMIC:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
BIODYNAMIC VITICULTURE INVOLVES:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
DEMETER:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
PERMACULTURE:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
DRY FARMING:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
TERROIR:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
MAKING NATURAL WINE<\/strong><\/h2>\n
ORANGE WINE:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/h2>\n
SKIN CONTACT:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
P\u00c9T-NAT:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
AMPHORA:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
In Georgia, Amphoras are called Qvevri and in Spain, tinajas. Some say that aging in an amphora brings a certain earthy and smoky quality to a wine. But not all amphora wines are necessarily natural.<\/p>\nNATIVE\/AMBIENT YEAST:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
SOUS VOILE\/BAJO VELO:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
CARBONIC MACERATION:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
The most widely known example of Carbonic maceration is Beaujolais Nouveau. Carbo, as it can be called for short, is popular in natural wine circles, but not all carbonic wines are natural.<\/p>\nSULFITES:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
NATURAL WINE \u201cFAULTS\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n
VOLATILE ACIDITY OR VA:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/h2>\n
MOUSE\/MOUSINESS:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
BRETTANOMYCES OR BRETT<\/strong><\/h3>\n
REDUCTION OR REDUCTIVE<\/strong><\/h3>\n
OXIDATION OR OXIDIZED<\/strong><\/h3>\n
NATURAL WINE DESCRIPTORS<\/strong><\/h2>\n
0\/0 OR ZERO\/ZERO<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/h2>\n
GLOU-GLOU:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
FUNKY OR FUNK<\/strong><\/h3>\n
GREEN:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
ELECTRIC OR VERTICAL ACIDITY:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
CLOUDY NATURAL WINES:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
OTHER NAMES FOR NATURAL WINE<\/strong><\/h2>\n
MINIMUM INTERVENTION:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
<\/h2>\n
CLEAN WINE:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
LIVING WINE:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
RAW\/REAL WINE:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
FREE WINE:<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"TARJETA](\"https:\/\/sucsucwine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/Tarjeta-de-regalo-Suc-Suc-vino-natural.webp\")
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