Natural Wine: Fad or For Real?

Illustrations by Rebecca Saulsberry

The word “natural” is used to describe so many products these days, it barely holds any discernible meaning. “Natural wine” sounds no less opaque, but the vague name belies the delicious revolution it is bringing to the wine world.

To understand its definition, one first needs a bit of background on the bubbly booze. After soaking up winemaking basics, we can dive into how this movement is making a splash in the industry, why Coloradans should care and ways to participate.

Wine is essentially high-maintenance grape juice, demanding a decision at each finicky stage of creation. The grape-grower chooses how to raise the fruit (with manmade aids, organically or biodynamically), and the winemaker determines, well, a whole lot more. As phrased by Aldo Sohm, a world-class sommelier and author of Wine Simple, choices include “when and how the grapes are picked (manually or mechanically) and pressed, whether commercial or wild yeast is added to kick off the fermentation, and how long and in what vessel the wine is aged before bottling.” Winemakers can also control the fermentation temperature, allow the juice to have contact with stems and/or lees, dead yeast cells, fine, filter, age, cold-soak and integrate additional sugars and sulfites. In fact, there are over 70 additives the U.S. allows in wines without requiring an ingredients list, some of which are animal byproducts. Who thought fermented grape juice would not always be vegan?

This probably sounds like a lot, because it is a lot. But one does not have to comprehend all the minutia to draw the bottom line. Conventional winemaking has become way complicated, and natural wine is a philosophy to mitigate that. Advocates believe in minimal intervention — no lab-created yeasts, filtering, additives or manipulations that would not occur otherwise — hence, the term zero/zero, a natural winemaker’s goal of nothing added and nothing taken away.

Ironically, what we consider a niche method today was once the norm. According to Eric Benny Bloom, co-owner of natural wine distributor Benny and Zoid Selections in Denver, manmade modifications in winemaking sprouted to ease farmers’ worries about losing crops or to satiate their desires to increase yields. Alice Feiring, author of Natural Wine for the People, would add that new technologies, the increase in pesticide-use after World War II and winemakers serving to the tastes of famous critics all contributed to conventional winemaking as well. Bloom, therefore, argues that natural wine is no fad.

He says we are simply “coming full circle, getting back to just good, real wine, what wine is supposed to be.”

If that is the case, why the resurgence now? Patric Matysiewski, winemaker for Sauvage Spectrum in Palisade, shed some light on the trend’s relevancy, emphasizing the generational shift in wine consumers. Fewer Baby Boomers and more Millennials and Gen-Zs are purchasing wine. Millennials and Gen-Z are stereotyped to value self-care, wellness and sustainability. These consumers “want to know where [their purchases] came from and what’s going into their body,” explains Matysiewski.

Although these observations and theories generalize, there are proposed benefits of natural wine, such as improving health, building community and titillating taste buds.

Some suffer from sleep issues, skin redness and headaches after sipping on non-natural wines, which could stem from the high alcohol content, extra sugar, artificial coloring or a rare sulfite allergy. Bloom contrasts these traits by describing natural wines as lighter and more digestible. He notes the difference between feeling sleepy, weighed-down and feeling refreshed, energized, and relaxed. Not to mention, natural wines are typically sourced from small farmers and produced and distributed locally, meaning these bottles likely support family businesses and regional economies rather than widespread monopolies and corporations. Bloom laconically summarizes, “It’s better for everyone involved.”

For example, Matysiewski’s freshly- blossomed winery in Palisade, Sauvage Spectrum, spawned in 2019 from a partnership with Palisade-native grape-grower Kaibab Sauvage, whose last name informed the business’s title and coincidentally translates as “wild” in the wine world. Their Colorado-grown and -crafted wines, full of high desert terroir, derive from the indigenous grapes that thrive here, which provide less tannins and more acidity, resulting in lighter, tangier beverages. Sparklet, their signature bubbly, drinks like a hazy, fruity IPA — a little sour, a little pineapple-y. But the flavor cannot be controlled. “It takes on a life of its own because it is a living, breathing thing,” explains Matysiewski. Their wines may also embody a little bit of funk or a yeasty cloud. It’s all about letting nature run its course, letting the grape express the flavor and keeping an open mind.

So, you’re ready to take on the adventure, spelunk into the mysterious and exciting unknown! Unfortunately, there is no official license for natural wines, but there are clues you can search for. Organic wines are not always natural and natural wines are not always organic, but biodynamic and natural typically go hand-in-hand. Biodynamic Agriculture is a farming practice one step further than organic. Not only do the growers avoid pesticides and herbicides, but they also rely on planetary cycles and animal behaviors within the ecosystem to cultivate biodiversity and vitality. Keep an eye out for loud and irreverent labels that epitomize the natural wine movement’s attitude. You can also look for the importers, producers and shops listed below, recommended by Bloom from Benny and Zoid Selections. Additionally, do not be afraid to ask the clerk of a wine shop what they are most enthused about! That is often how to find the best recommendations. As far as price goes, any bottle $10 or less is probably not good and natural, but there are absolutely delicious natural wines between $15 and $20.

Once you find natural wines, choosing one is like choosing any other wine. Are you looking for something lighter or heavier, sweeter or drier? As you taste, it can be engaging and enlightening to break down what you’re sensing: what kind of fruits, any floral notes, hints of herbs, minerality, acidity, vibrancy and how full of life it is. At the end of the day, Matysiewski believes “the natural wine moment is going to help [winemakers] create cleaner wines,” so enjoy. Let loose, share (or not), don’t take yourself (or wine) so seriously, make a bad toast, dance a little jig and stay curious.

NATURAL WINE IMPORTERS

Zev Rovine Selections
Selections De La Viña
Amuninni Vini
Natty Wine Imports
Vinotas selections
Vom Boden
Louis Dressner
Selection Massale
Jenny & Francois
Scuola Di Vino
Percy Selections

NATURAL WINE PRODUCERS

Azienda Agricola Cirelli
Forlorn Hope
Dirty & Rowdy
Champagne Fleury
Partida Creus
Les Tetes

SHOPS WITH NATURAL WINE IN WESTERN COLORADO BY CITY

VAIL
Root & Flower Sweet Basil Two Arrows
La Tour
Vail Fine Wines

GRAND JUNCTION
626 on Rood
Bin 707
The Winery Restaurant

EAGLE
Color Roasters
The Assembly

AVON
Vin 48

FRISCO
Basecamp Liquors

BRECKENRIDGE
Mimo Breckenridge
Rootstalk
Aurum

Originally published in the Spring 2021 issue