We like the funk. It's not the point.
The name is half a joke. Natural wine is so much more than a smell in the glass, and so are the people who make it, pour it and sell it.
Heritage.
Old vines, old ways, old family farms. Things worth keeping.
A lot of the wine we love comes from vines older than the people tending them, and from families who never stopped farming the way their grandparents did. Heritage isn't nostalgia. It's knowledge that took centuries to build and only a season or two to lose, which is why we want to know who grew the grapes and where.
Rebellion.
Saying no to the additives, the shortcuts and the rulebook that made wine boring.
Natural wine started as a refusal. Growers said no to the long list of things wine can legally contain, no to machines doing the tasting, and no to the idea that every bottle should taste the same every year. That stubbornness is the reason a whole scene of bars, shops and fairs exists today.
Continuation.
Handing it on: to the next vintage, the next generation, the next person at the bar.
Every good bottle is a handoff. The grower passes it to the importer, the importer to the shop or the bar, the person pouring to you, and you to whoever you're sitting with. We want each of those handoffs to be honest, so the thing that arrives in your glass is the thing that left the vineyard.
Respect.
For the soil, the grower, the person pouring, and you.
Respect looks like living soil and fair prices for the people who farm it. It looks like a server who tells you a wine is cloudy on purpose, and a room that lets you ask a dumb question without feeling dumb. It also looks like telling you the truth about what we know and what we don't.
Creativity.
Skin contact, pét-nat, a wild idea in a garage. We like a risk.
Some of the best things we've drunk came from someone trying something they weren't sure would work: whites left on their skins, a sparkling wine bottled before it finished, a blend nobody had tried. Not every risk lands. We'd still rather taste the attempt than another safe copy.
Uniqueness.
Places that could only be where they are. No two the same.
A bar that only makes sense on its block. A shop run by someone with opinions. A dish that exists because of what came in that morning. We look for places with a point of view, and we think you can feel it the minute you walk in.
People, places, products, pop-ups
People
Growers, importers, sommeliers, cooks, shop owners, the person behind the bar on a Tuesday. Natural wine is a people business before it's a product, and we'd rather point you to the person who cares than to a logo.
Places
Wine bars, restaurants, cafés, bottle shops, fairs and the odd backyard pop-up. Independent first, with a room and a list that reflect the people running it. Our map is built from evidence, not from who paid to be on it, because nobody can.
Products
The wine, obviously, but also the bread, the cheese, the glassware, the ceramics, the zines and the things made by hand by people who share the same values. If the supply chain is honest from the start to your table, it belongs here.
Pop-ups
A grower pouring for one night, a chef taking over a wine bar, a pizza oven on a roof, a disco downstairs. Pop-ups are where the scene meets itself: we put them on the map with the flyer, the time and who's behind it, so you can follow the people, not just the address.
What we don't dig
Large chains. Cookie-cutter rooms. Anything where the supply chain gets murky somewhere between the vine and your glass. We're after the brands, products, places and people who are honest through and through.
What we do
Any venue, shop, pro, product or experience that lines up with the above: we dig it, and we'll put it on the map.
We don't take anyone's word for it. Proven means proof on file (their own list, named press, or a natural importer); Vetted means natural wine spotted, proof pending. What natural wine is · Help us look: become a Funk Scout · What we never do
— isitfunky