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Natural wine is a style of wine and a philosophical approach to winemaking. For some, the very definition of natural wine is as simple as "nothing added and nothing taken away."

While there isn't one agreed-upon definition or regulated standard for natural wine. Instead, there are guiding principles behind the natural winemaking philosophy:

• Grapes are farmed organically and/or biodynamically and are always picked by hand

• Only wild/native yeasts are used during fermentation (fact: commercial yeast can be used to control the fermentation process, flavors, and aromas of a wine)

• No synthetic chemicals, herbicides, or pesticides are used in the vineyard (where grapes are grown) or winery (also known as the cellar, which is where wine is made)

• Modern winemaking techniques such as reverse osmosis, etc. is never used

• No additives (such as sugar, water, coloring, acidity adjusters, etc.) may be used during fermentation

• No-to-low filtering or fining of the wine 

• No-to-low added sulfur at bottling 

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Remember, natural wine is a philosophy – not a hard and fast rule. All winemakers, importers, wine shops, etc., have their own take on the idea. I've settled on the following as my definition of natural wine: 

Natural wine is a wine that's made from organically or biodynamically grown grapes, fermented using native yeast, and without additives or excessive sulfur at bottling. 

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Oh, and a quick note on the “clean wine” trend.

The term "clean wine" is a marketing gimmick directed at the wellness-obsessed crowd. Clean wine hijacks the ethos of natural wine while corrupting the idea of wellness. Legit natural wine doesn't claim to be “clean wine." These wines don't follow any of the philosophical pillars of natural wine. 

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Shop small – skip the grocery and liquor store. In general, you won’t find natural wine at your local big box grocery or liquor store because, these wineries produce wine on a smaller scale due to labor-intensive techniques like farming organically or biodynamically and hand-harvesting the grapes.

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Chat with the staff and ask for their recommendations

Ask for organic or biodynamic wine. Or use the phrase “low intervention wine.” Just start there, and you’ll be pointed in the right direction.

Remember, there are varying interpretations for what makes a wine natural – which means you can buy a biodynamic wine that’s been filtered. That might not be “natural” for someone else – but they’re not the one who’s drinking it, amirite?

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Not an ask-the-staff type? The best tip for flying solo (and one I often use) is to shop by the importer. Wine importers carry wines that meet their quality standard, style, and point of view. If you like a few wines from an importer, you’re likely to enjoy others from their portfolio. When you find yourself really loving a particular bottle, turn the bottle around and look for the “imported by” information. Here are a few natural wine importers that I trust to get you started:

• Jenny & Francois Selections

• Louis/Dressner Selections

• Selection Massale

• Vom Boden

• Zev Rovine Selections