The Scary Truth About Your Wine, And How To Go Natural

If you thought wine’s only negatives were that it could make you trip over on Kurt Geigers and leave brand new phones in Ubers (damn you, fourth glass of Merlot…), then we’ve got bad news.

Because while somehow we had convinced ourselves that barring the small matter of its containing alcohol, wine is essentially a health food, the reality is that most of the wine we drink is far from just adult grape juice.

In commercial buy-it-at-your-local-supermarket type wine, there are up to 70 additives and processing aids, plus commercial yeasts to give a synthetic sense of “terroir” and sulphiting agents that are by-products of the petrochemical industry.

All of these added ingredients mean wine has moved from a natural product to something that’s often been ‘edited’, and consequently can cause allergies, skin problems and far worse hangovers.

Increasingly though, there’s an alternative, in the form of natural wine. Drinking natural wine is the ‘eating clean’ of the drink world, made with minimal additives and intervention and letting the grapes be the star of the show.

Make the switch and, says Isabelle Legeron, author of Natural Wine: An Introduction To Organic And Biodynamic Wines Made Naturally, you won’t regret it.  “I want to taste authenticity,” says Legeron. “Natural wines offer a broader flavour profile and more diversity.” 

Here’s how to understand the natural scene and change your wine habits for the better...

1. Go to RAW
The natural wine movement is coming together this month at the UK’s biggest organic and biodynamic wine fair RAW. Most of the stalls there will be manned by the growers themselves: it’s all about small-batch wines meaning there are ethical benefits, as well as the healthy ones.

2. Look for wines with low/ no sulphates
“The use of excessive sulphites means wines are not being processed as easily by the liver and noxious elements are getting stuck in our system for longer,” says Legeron. “Recent research suggests those with lower sulphites are much more digestible, and better for you.”

3.Change the way you shop
Ordering a job lot of wine on your Tesco delivery? Not any more. Try Wholefoods, Planet Organic or smaller delis, or Google for online stockists of natural wines from smaller growers.

4. Start with organic
As with our food, switching to organic is a good starting point if you want your wine to be more natural. “The fermentation process doesn’t get rid of pesticide residue, so in non-organic wine, we are still ingesting it,” says Legeron.

5. Go advanced with biodynamic
For those that want to go further, there are biodynamic wines, which means that as well as its crop treatment, the farm which produces the wine has a more holistic approach, with sustainability in all areas.

6. Think of it as going for Green and Blacks over Dairy Milk
Yes, going natural does mean you’re unlikely to get a bottle for a fiver in Tesco, but just like the way we pay Planet Organic bread prices or pick up an organic Waitrose chicken, we are shelling out more for quality. “It’s like really good chocolate,” says Legeron. “Finding it takes more work and and will be a bit more expensive, but it’s worth it.”

7. Look for the less traditional labels
“A lot of natural wine producers tend to have funky labels and be creative with lots of drawings,” says Legeron. “They’re a bit outside the box and that really reflects in the packaging. Read the backs of these bottles for information but they are likely to be natural wines.”

8. Ignore the regions you normally go for
As natural wines are more expensive than others, those from big-name regions like Burgundy will be super-expensive. Instead of going for the obvious, experiment.

“Muscadet is a very interesting region because it boomed in the 80s then died off and now the land is extremely affordable, there’s a renaissance of the area,” says Isabelle. “There are amazing growers quietly doing great stuff, and you can get bottles for under a tenner.”

9. Get recommendations
See the Natural Wine Cellar section in Isabelle’s book, or visit the RAW website for comprehensive lists of natural wines.

10. Or order one of these five Isabelle-approved bottles instantly...
AOC Champagne Fleury Blanc De Noirs (£29): From the champagne region’s first biodynamic producer, via the lovely organic wine site Vintage Roots. Perfect if you want to toast good news but ease the hangover.
Semplicemente Vino Bianco “Bellotti” (£10): The ideal natural white to serve cold in the garden now the weather’s (slightly) warming up.
Chateau Musar (£21.99) This Lebanese red is available in Waitrose which is handy, plus it has a cult following for a reason.
Testalonga El Bandito Skin Contact (£26): A gorgeous “orange” wine - ie a white wine made with red wine principles so the grapes macerate with their skins.
Cascina Tavijn, Bandita (£22): A medium-bodied Italian red (with a bottle you’ll want to decorate a shelf with when you’ve drunk it).

RAW Wine Fair takes place at the Old Truman Brewery on 17-18 May.

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