Have you ever examined a wine label for ingredients? Or have you assumed that wine is simply made with grapes with no additives except possibly sulfites?  Because there is no requirement for wine labels to include a list of additives, unlike other food products, consumers have no idea what has been added to wine. The one exception is that the phrase “contains sulfites” is required to be printed on the label. Information on additives/ingredients is important. For example, people who are vegan need to know if there are animal byproducts used in the winemaking process. Other people may be allergic to certain additives.  In an effort to inform consumers over the past 20 years there has been classifications of wines that address, in part, the additives/ingredient issue. This post will review the spectrum of classifications. At one end of the spectrum are natural wines and at the end are commercial wines.  In between the two ends are low or minimal intervention, biodynamic, organic and sustainable wines.

This post will not examine whether a certain classification of wine is healthier than others, as there is little scientific study in this area. There are empirical analyses. Note, however, it has been established that people respond differently to certain aspects of wine: (i) alcohol, (ii) natural occurring chemical byproducts associated with the production of wine and (iii) additives. This post provides a baseline of information so consumers can taste wines from classifications described below and decide if a type of wine is more or less agreeable to drink.

Natural wines

Because of the lack of transparency, it is difficult to assess whether a wine is natural or low/minimal intervention. Many producers use these terms to describe their wines without  certification from an objectively established standard. Although there is little government regulated certification, there are several ways to determine if a wine meets an objectively established natural or low/minimal intervention wine standard.

With the exception of France, there has been no attempt to provide a government sponsored certification for natural wines. See Jamie Goode’s article “France Launches Official Natural Wine Certification. Does Anyone Really Want It”  https://www.winemag.com/2020/05/19/natural-wine-definition-france/.   As Goode points out there is not a consensus among natural winemakers that certification is a good idea as it is against the spirit of natural wine.  Certification with its concomitant bureaucracy may limit the freedom natural winemakers currently enjoy. There is a further concern that companies in search of an opportunity will go through the motions and meet the bare minimum of standards.

How then does one determine whether wine advertised as natural or low/minimal interventi0n is in fact as advertised. One way, which is not practical to most consumers, is to visit and interview the winemaker and observe the farming and production processes. Another way is to review a list of wines included in certain associations that have established criteria for natural or low/minimal intervention wines.  There are two such associations: RAW WINE and Triple A Movement. Below is a discussion of these two associations.

RAW WINE

RAW WINE http://www.rawwine.com. is a compendium of low intervention organic, biodynamic and natural wine growers and makers worldwide. RAW WINE members meet the following  requirements: (1) organic grapes grown without the use of chemicals, (2) wine produced by hand using artisanal techniques,  (3) wine made with traditional processes that enable balance, (4) create a living wine, with low intervention in the cellar, and (5) promote well-being in individuals and communities. RAW WINE goes further by defining natural wine as:

“Natural wine is farmed organically (biodynamically, using permaculture or the like) and made (or rather transformed) without adding or removing anything in the cellar. No additives or processing aids are used, and ‘intervention’ in the naturally occurring fermentation process is kept to a minimum. As such neither fining nor (tight) filtration are used. The result is a living wine – wholesome and full of naturally occurring microbiology.”

RAW Wine sponsors conferences to showcase their members wines. Here is a summary of requirements to participate at a RAW WINE conference:

• The entirety of the domain from which the grapes are issued must be farmed organically and/or biodynamically (pesticides and herbicides not allowed).
• Grapes must be hand-harvested.
• No yeasts may be added, except in the case of the second fermentation of sparkling wines, when neutral yeasts may be used.
• No blocked malolactic fermentation.
• No winemaking additives (yeasts, enzymes, vitamins, lysozymes etc.) may be used in the cellar except for low levels of sulfites. Paperwork detailing total levels of sulfites for each wine is provided. RAW WINE includes these levels in its catalogue and website. If no sulfites are added, “no added sulfites” will be included in the catalogue and analyses are provided. Low level of natural occurring total of sulfites will be included with a wine’s information. (Note no sulfite totals may exceed 70 ppm regardless of color or style.)
• No ‘heavy-manipulation’ has been carried out using winemaking gadgetry such as reverse osmosis, cryo-extraction, spinning cone, etc.
• No sterile filtration or pasteurization.
• Most of the wines showcased will not have been fined or filtered. If wine has been fined or filtered, it will be  labeled as such. Only vegan or vegetarian friendly fining agents allowed. (For example, common fining agents added such as gelatin, egg whites and casein are not vegan friendly.)

RAW WINE in its catalogue of wines designates wines made with no sulfites added as 100% natural wines or simply as no sulfites added wine.  Wine made with no additives, but with a trace of sulfites are designated as low sulfites wines and all the other wines do not receive a separate designation unless the wine has been fined or filtered. All these wines are considered natural wines, notwithstanding the differences.

Triple A Movement

The Triple A Movement http://www.triplea.it – Agricoltori Artigiani Artisti (Farmers Artisans Artists) was started in response to the standardization of  wines throughout the world.  The Triple A Movement promotes farmers that produce healthy and ripe grapes with natural agronomic interventions; artisans that do not alter the original structure of grapes and do not alter the structure the wine; and artists that give life to a great wine where the characteristics of the territory and wine are exalted.

According to the Triple A Manifesto, conceived, authored and edited by Luca Gargano, a noted pioneer of natural wines, to obtain a great wine, a producer needs three basic qualities, which are summarized as the three As (agricoltori, artigiani and artisti).

“A” (as farmers) agricoltori: (i) only those wh0 cultivate the vineyard directly can establish a correct relationship between man/woman and vine and obtain healthy and ripe grapes; (ii) exclusively with natural agronomic interventions.

“A” (as craftsmen) artigiani: “artisanal” methods and skills are needed to implement a viticulture and oenological production process that does not modify the original structure of the grape and does not alter that of the wine.

“A” (as artist) artisti: only the “artistic” sensitivity of the producer, respectful of his/her work and ideas, can give life to a great wine where the characteristics of the territory and the vine are enhanced.

Per the Manifesto, Triple A wines may only be created:

• from a manual selection of future vines, for a real mass selection.
• by agricultural producers, who cultivate the vineyards without using synthetic chemicals, respecting the vine and its natural cycles.
• from grapes harvested at physiological maturity and perfectly healthy.
• from musts to which neither sulfites nor other additives are added. Sulfites can only be added in minimal quantities at the time of bottling.
• using only indigenous yeasts and excluding selected yeasts.
• without chemical or physical interventions before and during alcoholic fermentation other than simple temperature control. (Concentration interventions carried out by any method are strictly excluded).
• maturing on its own “fine lees” until bottling (dead yeasts or residual yeasts and other particles that collect at bottom of the vat of wine after fermentation and aging).
• not correcting any chemical parameters.
• not clarifying and filtering before bottling.
• from the best expression of the terroir to which they belong.

Low/Minimal Intervention Wines

What is the definition of  a producer of  low/minimal intervention wines? Non-interventionist winemakers use as few additives as possible and as little manipulation as they can. http://www.morethanorganic.com/definition-of-natural-wine (“More than Organic”). As More than Organic notes winemakers have to compromise at some point. Where and why they compromise depends upon what they are trying to achieve and how much they are prepared to risk in  order to achieve. There are certain elements that compromise a total non-intervention wine, but as More than Organic notes that making a “perfect natural wine” is difficult to achieve. Sometimes winemakers will achieve this “perfect natural wine” but many times winemakers, as business people, have to improvise in order to prevent the wine from spoiling. Winemakers that adhere to a natural process will intervene minimally and only when necessary.

Importance of Additives in Manipulated Wines

There are producers that adhere to the natural process to the extent that they will not produce a vintage or will sell their wine juice, rather than produce a wine so manipulated that is inconsistent with natural winemaking. I am aware of two EU certified organic producers that refused to manipulate their wine juice for a particular vintage to make it marketable.

As one natural winemaker told us, he could take any type of inferior wine juice and make it marketable with the utilization of additives. We had representatives of a two million plus producer explain that their wines are manipulated to taste the same on a yearly basis because their customers expect a consistent product. Further, it is inconceivable that a winemaker responsible for more than two million bottles would inform the owners/producers that there would be no wine, or a limited quantity produced due to inferior grapes or wine juice.  Owners/investors would instruct the winemaker to fix the problem.

Ben Panko in his April 4, 2017 article in the Smithsonian, “The Science Behind Your Cheap Wine”, discusses the importance of additives in mass produced wines.  In his article he quotes passages from Bianca Bosker’s New York Times Bestseller List book Cork Dork,  published in March, 2017. Bosker immersed herself in the world of sommeliers, scientists. restaurants, producers and wine shows to report on these groups obsession of wines. Panko, quoting from Bosker’s book included the following passage, “One of the things that I did was to go into this wine conglomerate [Treasury Wine Estates] that produces millions of bottles of wine per year. People are there developing wine the way flavor scientists develop the new Oreo or Doritos flavor.”