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To unlike organic wines (certified by one of the independent accredited bodies) or biodynamic wines (certified by Demeter Where Biodyvin), so-called “natural” wines do not have a definition that is unanimously accepted by players in the French wine industry. Nor does such a definition exist internationally. So what are we talking about?

In France, the spiritual father of natural wine is called Jules Chauvet. Born in 1907, this researcher at the Institute of Biological Chemistry in Lyon, taster and winegrower in Beaujolais said: “The less you touch wine, the better it is. “Spiritual father, because if natural wine is difficult to define, it is because it is above all a question of a philosophy: to get as close as possible to the ideal definition of wine, which would only be juice fermented grape, and nothing else.

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Natural wine has no legal existence. In France, the use of the compound denominations “natural wine” or “natural wine” for wines is not authorized. In the absence of a regulatory definition, the use of the terms “nature” or “natural” may be authorized to qualify a specific production method or a particular quality, ie a “method”. A “natural method wine” label complying with a charter, validated by the National Institute of Origin and Quality (Inao) and recognized by the General Directorate for Consumer AffairsCompetition and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) since March 2020. Created on the initiative of the Syndicate for the defense of natural wineswhich had 109 winegrowers in 2020 and 156 in 2021, it notably guarantees consumers: manual harvesting, 100% organic grapes, native yeasts, no oenological inputs, no added sulphites before or during fermentation.

A space of freedom

If attempts at organization still seem to struggle to federate winegrowers on a massive scale, it is because natural wine has appeared as a space of freedom operating in self-certification around the key concept of transparency (I say what I do and I do what I say). Some refuse the standardization of a definition for natural wines, because they fear the possible recovery by manufacturers of this denomination.

There are many natural winegrowers who have freed themselves from the system of PDO/AOC (protected/controlled designations of origin) considered too rigid in order to be able to experiment with more freedom. Others have become references within their appellation: Ganevat or Overnoy in the Jura, De Moor or Derain in Burgundy, Breton in the Loire. The notoriety of certain natural winegrowers has brought to light wine regions such as Beaujolais, Jura, Savoie and Auvergne.

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Trend or fundamental movement?

Natural winegrowers must use organic grapes. According to certification bodiescertified vineyards total 90,298 hectares in 2021 (out of the 750,000 hectares of French vineyards), up more than 13% compared to 2020. Almost 70,000 hectares are currently in conversion, which means that 20% of the area of ​​French vineyards could be certified organic in 2024.

Unlike certified organic wines, it is impossible to find reliable data regarding the volume of production, consumption, export or even the number of estates producing natural wines. If we stick to the information available on the pages of the federations, there would be a little less than 200 natural winegrowers in France. But some online shopping sites list more than 400. The majority of these winegrowers work on small estates, with limited production.

More than 80% of wine volumes sold in France are still sold in supermarkets, where there are few sulfite-free wines, and even fewer natural wines. This is partly explained by the often limited size of the estates producing natural wine (it would be difficult for them to provide a national purchasing center if they wanted to, since most natural winegrowers do not wish to sell in supermarkets ).

Due to their visibility, natural wines seem to be omnipresent on the market. Some producers, if they do not federate, come together in national fairs and international increasingly popular. They are the extreme media tip of the wine market which breaks with the standardization of appellations in France. The new aesthetic that can easily be distinguished on most natural wine labels breaks the known codes of wine. Natural wines respond to a search for authenticity, more transparent processes and a healthier diet, more respectful of the environment on the part of consumers.

Low volumes and high production costs

For wine merchants and restaurateurs, the limited nature of production volumes often forces them to work on allocation, and to pay high transport costs for small volumes, which can ultimately lead to cash flow problems. The cost of natural wines also represents a brake on its expansion: low volumes and high production costs imply high selling prices, and there are few references available at less than 10 euros a bottle. Other questions arise: the conservation of natural wines, with less or no sulphites would be more problematic, as natural wines are likely to be more sensitive to transport or temperature variations.

If there is no legal definition of natural wine, the consumer cannot easily assess the quality of the production methods that have been used. Wine is governed by a legal framework that takes into account several aspects of its composition, including its alcohol content, sulfur dioxide and volatile acidity. A good conventional wine is generally defined by the absence of faults. However, defects such as reduction, oxidation, volatile acidity, bretts, or the taste of mouse can be appreciated in certain natural wines. Traditional wine critics still pay little attention to this category. If the faults are no longer necessarily faults, how can one determine if a natural wine is bad?

New aesthetic

Categories in their own right, such as pet’ nat’ (natural sparkling wines) or orange wines (macerated white wine – a white wine made like a red wine) have appeared on wine lists and at wine merchants on the initiative of natural winegrowers. Natural wines have the right of citizenship in the greatest restaurants in the world. These small structures generally rely on agents, who distribute the wines directly to wine merchants and restaurateurs, in a short circuit, and allow them to capture a margin.

The elimination of inputs reintegrates the exploratory aspect of wine: no need for prior knowledge when each bottle can be approached as a surprise, the wine being “alive”. Natural wine thus becomes a potential gateway for consumers often frightened by the complexity of the category: new consumers and women.

This lack of standardization of taste reinforces the need for advice. This is perhaps one of the reasons that justify the enthusiasm of wine merchants and sommeliers: buying a conventional wine in the supermarket while letting yourself be guided by a well-known brand and very consistent in its organoleptic profile does not require as much advice as “living” wines. Their expansion in the field of gastronomy is based on a network of prescribers: wine merchants, bistro owners, cooks, but also sommeliers. The latter, often young, take advantage of this opportunity to distinguish themselves from their more experienced colleagues, but paradoxically often less connoisseurs of this new category of wine.

Transparency efforts

Whether it’s a trend or a basic movement, natural wine is at the very least moving the lines, and is being emulated. Gérard Bertrand, a major Languedoc trader, reuses the language and the simplification of codes by producing an organic orange wine without indication of origin (Vin de France) and promotes range of wines no added sulfur and no additives.

The new European regulations on the labeling of wines applicable from December 2023 (nutritional declaration and list of ingredients) will make it possible to reduce the asymmetry of information that has hitherto been prevalent in the industry. The effort of transparency of natural wines will thus be highlighted for all consumers, who will be able to compare the oenological ingredients of their conventional wines with their absence in their natural counterparts.

Natural wine appears to be one of the future of the wine industry, because it responds to consumer demand (health, transparency, short circuits, respect for the environment) which notably involves reducing inputs and in particular sulphites. The role of the public authorities will be decisive in the years to come in order to make it possible to study with precision (and supporting figures) the scale of the phenomenon. It will also be appropriate to follow the enthusiasm of importers for superstar natural winegrowers. It is obvious that the impact of this movement on the industry will not be via the volume effect nor via the number of consumers, but because it constitutes the media peak and embodies the direction that the industry must take in as a whole to meet the challenges of tomorrow.

* Magalie DuboisPhD student in wine economics, Burgundy School of Business, and Francois Pariseauresearch assistant, University of Sherbrooke



Everything you need to know about so-called “natural” wines