The talk of the town. Natural wine is making waves in the industry. For a wine to be considered ‘natural‘ this refers to the farming and fermentation processes. Agricultural and the farming industry have been forced to participate in organic and biodynamic farming in order to appeal to this new consumer, the healthy consumer. The consumer who is avoiding chemicals, animal testing, harsh minerals and excessive water usage. The key to a natural wine is the lack of additives and experimentation within the fermentation process, allowing the wine to completely reinvent itself on it’s own.

How I would think about this: similar to kombucha, or living yeasts, the natural wine is a living organism. No sulfur additives or chemicals were used to transform it into a particular byproduct. According to Raw Wine, a natural wine contains the living microbiology because the fermentation process was entirely natural. This Raw Wine article in particular is extremely detailed and fascinating and will give you a better idea of WHAT you are consuming and HOW it was made. Questions we should be asking about everything we drink and eat! Definitely give the entire article a read if you are more interested in this topic!

This is not to say that wines that are not natural ARE BAD. Absolutely not. It is just a different process to make and create a fermented beverage. The wine characteristics are very different, more earthy, sometimes acidic. It depends on the wine, obviously. But innovation is key for this industry and after having an entire lifetime of tradition, experimenting and allowing a wine to speak for itself is expansive and exciting.

Uncork this bad boy.

I had the absolute pleasure of seeing Martha speak at UC Davis this spring. Martha received her Master’s at UC Davis and throughout a powerful career has worked in Tuscany, California, Sicily, France and more. She is an idol of mine and I was honored to find out more about her wines. Fun fact about her wines, she has additional red and white duos called Post Flirtation and I can’t say I have heard a better named wine in a long time!

From Martha’s website, this Viognier is grown on the east facing slope of the Starry Night Vineyard in Richmond, CA.

• Viognier is a white grape grown in the Rhône Valley and Languedoc-Rousillon regions of France. According to Wine Enthusiast this white grape is typically blended and is most known for “floral aromas and stone fruit flavors.” Heart EYES.

What is your favorite Natural Wine? I’d love suggestions!