Organic wine is unconventional in the sense that it doesn’t use industrialised tools such as chemical fertilisers, pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, and genetically modified crops. The winemaker instead make use of certain farming practices such as enriching the soil with natural compost or minerals to maintain optimal soil conditions, water balance, nutrient concentrations and plant growth. Other related terms include biologic and ecologic wine, which similarly to organic wine lacks chemical manipulation and has been produced with respect to the environment.

Biodynamic wine is similar to organic for as far as it applies environmentally friendly farming techniques, but then it also looks at ecosystems and how to nurture these to cultivate the most optimal environment and produce. The vineyard is self-sustainable and everything living on it should be in balanced interaction. There is no chemical intervention, but the winemaker may enhance the soil’s fertility by the use of certain natural materials and compost. The winemaker looks at the lunar calendar and the position of the sun and planets to determine a specific process and timeline for planting, harvesting and pruning. Biodynamic wine is thereby produced in harmony with the earth’s cycle and with a mix of science, ethics and spirituality.

Natural wine can either be organic or biodynamic, but then it takes it one step further as it includes the philosophy of applying as little intervention possible; no chemicals, other additives or filtrations, and the wine ferments in its own native yeast (and that of its surroundings in the wine cellar). To summarise it, natural wine is the unfiltered and unaltered version of what we normally call wine. Before the industrialisation all wines were natural wines; it is wine as it was once intended, and what wine was meant to be naturally. Protagonists might say that this results in a purer wine with more expression of grapes or terroir. The natural wine industry is often represented by small, independent producers who hand-pick the grapes and do not use the aids of modern winemaking. It is wine made by people, and not by machines.

Where the winemaking shows maximum respect for the environment, it allows nature to speak and the produce is also a testament to the winemaker’s skill. This is why we love natural and bio wine, but also because consuming these kinds of wines means less of a headache. Without the chemicals and other additives these wines may not just be friendlier to nature but also to our bodies. Without added sulfites (as in most natural wines), there is less of a hangover, and without using industrialised filtration processes - which often includes applying animal protein to clear the wine - these wines are often vegan friendly.