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206 films, stories, journal posts, guides, glossary terms, regions, producers and city guides. Filter by type or city.
- GlossaryNatural wineWine made with minimal intervention: organically or biodynamically farmed grapes, fermented with native yeasts, and bottled with little or no added s…
- GlossaryFunkyA spectrum of wild, unconventional aromas in wine — barnyard, kombucha tang, cider, cheese rind — usually produced by native yeasts, minimal sulfites…
- GlossaryPét-nat (pétillant naturel)Sparkling wine made by the méthode ancestrale: bottled before the first fermentation finishes, so the remaining sugar creates natural bubbles. An old…
- GlossarySkin contact / orange wineWhite wine made like a red: the juice ferments with the grape skins for days to months, extracting color, tannin, and grip. The result ranges from go…
- GlossaryQvevriA large egg-shaped clay vessel buried in the earth, used in Georgia for thousands of years to ferment and age wine; UNESCO lists the qvevri method as…
- GlossaryAmphoraA clay fermentation and aging vessel, used from Georgia to Italy to California. Clay breathes like wood but adds no flavor, so amphora wines keep bri…
- GlossaryBiodynamicA farming system that treats the vineyard as a self-sustaining organism — composts, cover crops, lunar-calendar rhythms, and preparations instead of…
- GlossaryOrganic (wine)Wine from grapes grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides, or fertilizers. Organic certification is mostly about farming (EU rules also limit s…
- GlossaryLow interventionThe umbrella philosophy of natural winemaking: do as little as possible in the cellar. Native yeasts, no additives, no fining or filtering, minimal o…
- GlossaryZero-zeroWine with nothing added and nothing removed — no sulfites at any stage, no additives, no fining, no filtration. The strictest expression of natural w…
- GlossaryVin Méthode NatureFrance's voluntary natural wine label, validated by the French fraud authority (DGCCRF) in 2020. Certified organic grapes, hand harvest, native yeast…
- GlossaryNative / wild yeastThe yeasts naturally present on grape skins and in the cellar, used for spontaneous fermentation instead of lab-selected commercial strains. They fer…
- GlossarySulfites (SO2)A preservative and antioxidant used in winemaking for centuries. All wine contains a little from fermentation. Conventional wine may legally carry se…
- GlossaryBrettanomyces (brett)A wild yeast that produces barnyard, leather, smoked-bacon, and band-aid aromas. In small doses it adds savory character — classic in some French red…
- GlossaryVolatile acidity (VA)Acetic-acid compounds that read as a kombucha tang, balsamic note, or nail-polish edge. A little VA gives lift and energy; too much means the wine is…
- GlossaryMousinessA fault that tastes like stale crackers or corn chips, appearing on the finish and building with each sip. Caused by microbes in low-sulfite wines; y…
- GlossaryReductionSulfur compounds that smell like struck match, garlic, or rubber, formed when wine is made with little oxygen exposure. Often blows off with air or a…
- GlossaryOxidationWhat happens when wine meets too much oxygen: bruised apple, nutty, sherry-like notes. Intentional and beautiful in styles like Jura's vin jaune; a f…
- GlossaryPyrazinesAroma compounds (methoxypyrazines) that smell like green bell pepper, cut grass or jalapeño. Naturally high in Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon and…
- GlossaryDiacetylThe compound that smells like butter or buttered popcorn, made during malolactic fermentation — the source of 'buttery' Chardonnay. Not a fault, and…
- GlossaryRotundoneThe aroma compound behind black pepper in wine — classic in cool-climate Syrah and found in Grüner Veltliner. It's the same molecule that gives peppe…
- GlossaryGlou-glouFrench onomatopoeia for glug-glug: light, juicy, dangerously drinkable wine that asks to be chilled and finished. The gateway style of natural wine —…
- GlossaryChillable redA light-bodied, low-tannin red served cold — Gamay, Frappato, Zweigelt, Poulsard. A natural wine staple that ignores the room-temperature rule becaus…
- GlossaryVin de soif'Thirst wine' — simple, fresh, low-alcohol wine made for drinking, not contemplating. The opposite of a trophy bottle. Most glou-glou is vin de soif;…
- GlossaryCarbonic macerationFermenting whole, uncrushed grapes in a CO2-filled tank so fermentation starts inside each berry. Produces vivid color, low tannin, and candied, bubb…
- GlossaryWhole clusterFermenting grapes with their stems attached instead of destemming. Adds spice, structure, and a green freshness; risky with unripe stems. Common in n…
- GlossaryUnfined / unfilteredWine bottled without fining agents (egg white, casein, bentonite) or filtration. Keeps texture, aroma, and a little haze — cloudiness in natural wine…
- GlossaryLeesThe spent yeast cells left after fermentation. Aging wine on its lees adds creamy texture and bready depth. Many natural wines stay on lees for month…
- GlossaryTerroirThe taste of place: the soil, slope, climate, and farming that make a wine from one vineyard different from its neighbor's. Natural winemaking exists…
- GlossaryVigneronA winegrower — someone who farms the vines and makes the wine, as opposed to buying fruit. Natural wine culture centers the vigneron because the farm…
- GlossaryNégociantA producer who buys grapes or finished wine from growers rather than farming their own vines. Traditionally industrial-scale, but a new wave of natur…
- GlossaryField blendDifferent grape varieties planted together in one vineyard, picked and fermented as one wine. The old-world default before monoculture — revived by n…
- GlossaryPiquetteA light, fizzy drink made by rewetting and re-pressing already-pressed grape skins. Historically the field worker's drink; now a low-alcohol natural…
- GlossaryCuvéeA specific bottling or blend from a producer — one producer usually makes several cuvées. On natural wine lists, the cuvée name is often how you tell…