How to Find Natural Wine When You Travel

Finding natural wine in a new city is mostly about knowing what counts as evidence. A sign that says "natural wine" is a start; a wine list that names natural producers is proof. Here's the method we use, and how to use ours.

1. Start with a list that shows its proof

Open your city on Cities. Each city guide with at least three proven places has a short answer: the best-proven places, why each counts (its own site, its wine list, press or importers), a source link and the date we checked. The city guides list every proven place, and the Top 10 pages pick ten, unranked, for the cities we know best.

If your city isn't there yet, the method below still works, and you can suggest places for us to check.

2. Read the wine list, not the sign

Most bars publish their list on their website or Instagram. Look for:

• Producers' names, not just grapes and regions. Natural-wine lists name the grower.
• Words like pét-nat, skin contact, orange, macération, zero-zero or "sans soufre ajouté".
• A list that changes often. Natural-wine bars buy small lots and turn over quickly.

If you don't know the producers, that's fine: a list that names them is already a good sign. The glossary covers the words.

3. Follow the importers

Natural wine travels through a small number of specialist importers and distributors, and many of them list the bars and shops that stock their wines. If a place appears on a natural-wine importer's stockist list, that's evidence. It's one of the four kinds of proof we use.

4. Ask for it in the local language

• French: vin nature, or vin naturel
• Italian: vino naturale
• Spanish: vino natural
• Portuguese: vinho natural
• German: Naturwein

Then name a direction rather than a grape: light and chilled, bubbles, skin contact, or "clean but natural".

5. Check before you go

Small bars keep short, changeable hours, and some close for weeks in summer or winter. Check the venue's own site or Instagram on the day. If a venue links a booking page from its own site, you'll find it on its isitfunky page.

6. Plan a walkable night

Two or three places a short walk apart beat five across town. The crawl planner builds a walking route between proven places, and the map shows them all. If there's a natural-wine fair in town while you're there, it's the fastest way to taste widely.

7. Ask your assistant, with sources

If you use Claude or ChatGPT, our data is available to them through our MCP server, and every answer links back to the venue with its proof. How to connect it

Some starting points: Montréal, New York, Paris, Cape Town and Québec City.