"Nothing added, nothing taken away," is the mantra of natural wine enthusiasts. Best put, I would describe natural wine as a return to pre-industrial winemaking techniques. With the use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides, and pesticides widely used in vineyards to help preserve the crop production, nowadays many wines have veered far off track from the simple ways of fermenting grape juice. After all, wine has been successfully made for thousands of years, why alter a good thing? Well, it should come as no surprise that higher crop yields = more money for producers. Sadly, the craft of making wine is sometimes overshadowed by the capitalist's agenda to turn a profit.
Luckily for us oenophiles, there has been a renaissance in the industry and many vignerons are turning back to the natural wine making methods from the old world. The trend of "let the grapes and terroir speak for themselves" is becoming more and more the mind set of winery owners and wine makers alike. Today, the wine world is full of natural wine ambassadors. And though there's no set of formal rules they follow, most natural wine producers adhere to the following guidelines:
-Grapes are grown organically, biodynamically and/or sustainably
-Grapes are hand harvested and sorted
-Only indigenous yeast is used in fermentation
-Any methods of addification or manipulation are rejected
-The use of sulfur is limited
In the world of sparkling wine, Pét-nats are becoming a popular trend that is on the rise! Pét-nats (aka Pétillant-naturel) are sparkling wines made in the ancient winemaking style. It is a catch-all term for practically any sparkling wine made in the méthode ancestrale, meaning the wine is bottled before primary fermentation is finished, without the addition of secondary yeasts or sugars. Look for these fun bottles at any natural wine bar or wine shop!
We Drink Bubbles prides our company in joining this renaissance! We are thrilled to bring these natural style bubbles right to your door. In particular, it is even more difficult to find these hand-crafted bottles made with integrity in the champagne and sparkling wine world. We are excited for all the amazing bubbles we will discover together! Cheers!
