Natural Wine: Definitions, Challenges, and Key Selling Points

This document provides an in-depth exploration of natural wine, including its definitions, challenges faced in production, and key selling points. It discusses the health benefits and sustainability of natural wine.

Natural wine
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Table of Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................3
WHAT IS NATURAL WINE.........................................................................................................3
Definitions..............................................................................................................................3
Practices in the Vineyard and Winery....................................................................................4
CHALLNEGES FACED BY PRODUCTION OF THESE WINES...............................................4
In the process of wine making................................................................................................4
Confusion around the term.....................................................................................................5
Credibility and Authenticity'..................................................................................................6
KEY SELLING POINTS.................................................................................................................7
Health Benefits.......................................................................................................................7
Sustainability better expression of place/ variety...................................................................7
Producer’s story......................................................................................................................8
CONCLUSION................................................................................................................................9
REFERENCES..............................................................................................................................10
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INTRODUCTION
From the very beginning itself natural wines have successfully created a culture notoriety
in the market and people till follow-up a number of debates related to this topic since then.
Natural wine still is believed by many to be novelty. However there can be a number of different
typ0es of wines with each one of which the quality and taste will also differ. There are people
believing that natural wines are bitter and undrinkable whereas there are a number of others who
believe that it is exciting and alive (Capitello and Sirieix, 2020). It is necessary to understand the
meaning of the term natural wine along with its definitions. The difference between vineyards
and winery is to be discussed in detail in the following report. After that a discussion on what are
the various challenges which are faced while making these wines and various key selling points
of the topic is also done.
WHAT IS NATURAL WINE
Definitions
Natural wine is refereed to as a generalised movement of winemakers in order to produce
wine. It is often seen that the production of this wine is done without the use of any addictives,
chemicals or pesticides. Natural Wine is often farmed organically and also nothing is removed or
added to the cellar where it is created. There is no intervetion while making this product so that
the generation of wine can be a s natural as possible.
“The most excellent wine is one which has given pleasure by its own natural qualities, nothing
must be mixed with it which might obscure its natural taste” (Columella)
This is a loose definition of natural wine present. There is no other definition which is
official for natural wine. There is a certified approval for natural wine in France known as
“L'Institut National de I'Origine et de qualite” (INAO) which has also approved the natural wine
to be called as “Vin Methode Nature” the following stated that the wines are required to to be
made up of organic grapes, they are also needed to be harvested by hand as well as fermented
with yeast. It is also required to make sure that there are no added preservatives other than
sulphur dioxide4 that too in a certain amount. There is also no use of modern method done that is
known as thermo vinification, filtration as well as osmosis.
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Practices in the Vineyard and Winery
A vineyard refers to a plantation that can be of any size in order to grow grapes for
production of wine in the further period. On the other hand, Winery is a property that is
government approved and certified for making of wines from grapes.
There are a number of wine producers who have vineyards as well a wineries. There are a
number of different practices carried on in order to make Wine which comes along with a
number of different cultures as well as believes. There are a number of countries like EU where
the use of synthetic products in the prohibited strictly (Sáez, Kitzes and Merenlender, 2020).
The major goal while growing up grapes refers to growing the grapes in 100% organic
formula. It is necessary that they are grown in healthy soil, organic matter with no chemicals. It
is often notices that the producers refuse to use sugar in wine as it contains acid amount for
longer period of time then and also this have good results for end product including lower rate of
alcohol in it.
There are a number of producers for Wines who depend of fermenting by native yeasts.
They are often fermented in steel vessels or oak barrels. The sedimentation after the production
is done by most of the producers instead of using filtration. There are some producers who might
add sulphur in wines while bottling them. In order to get rid of powdery mildew sulphur oxide is
also sprayed in vineyards. It is considered to be a natural product which can be used in both
biodynamic as well as organic farming. It can also be used as a preservative to control inhibit
spoilage from yeast and bacteria.
Petillant Naturel is most common type of natural wine. The low intervention is this type
of wine is completing its fermentation in the bottle itself. It also creates a carbonic spritz. Yeast
cells in these wines often imparts as yeasty character. It is still not considered in industrialisation
as most of the wine producers prohibit any kind of intervention in wine.
CHALLNEGES FACED BY PRODUCTION OF THESE WINES
In the process of wine making
It is noticeable that the flavours in wine varies a lot. If the wine is successfully produced
the various characteristics of wine can be seen the produces such as various microflora present
without having any impact on the wine (Marchante and et. al., 2020). It is necessary to take care
of the washing and cleaning of the products before using them for wines as they might have
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negative impact on the wines end produces. Examples can be taken such as Brettanomyces yeast
in high quantity in wine may change its taste and due to it wine might taste as band-aid or a wet
dog. Due to fermentation of wine on skins by a number of winemakers may result in higher level
of tannin in wines. This however adds structure to wine but when it is left for too long it may
negatively impact wine to taste bitter. In order to add texture and weight to wine a small amount
of oxygen is also added to it many a times. However, when high quantity of oxygen is added it
might result in changing taste of wine and wine loosing its fruity characteristics. It is therefore
considered to use grape in wine with low level of Ph. There can also be some unpredictable
results from wine and in its taste by addition of different acid concentrates such as
Brettanomyces. This might also help producers of wine to come up with a range of different
varieties of wine for them. This might even be better than the expected wines. This might deliver
great results to the winemakers around the world who are constantly looking for good global
wine portfolios and excitement in wine. Also in order to create a perfect natural wine
winemakers are required to look into a number of other factors such as low intervention,
dedication experience and utmost hygienic environment.
Confusion around the term
The only confusion in wine cannot be the term used for it but there are a number of other
factors which create issues around the topic. There are a number of customers aware about the
where their other products come from and what are the produces used in order to do so. But the
production of wine and the process used to do so is still not popular between a number of its
consumers. There are also a majority of people who are working in the same field and are still
unaware about the process, addition and a lot of treatments which are done in order to go through
this process of making wines (Binati and et. al., 2020). The convention of winemaking is
essential to understand in order to get a knowledge of all the processes and services included in
wine making. To understand the natural process of winemaking it is essential to first understand
the reactors against which the producer is reacting various wines. It demotes that the
environment is critically controlled by the wine makers wi8th the help of various machines as
well as additives which are added in it. In the natural wine he ingredients are not listed other than
those which an cause allergies due to that the confusion of customers regarding different kinds of
wine is also increased. However, all the wines are made from the grapes but the additives which
are added in it to being a difference in the wine brings out the difference in a number of different
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wines. It is also often noticed that consumers associate with all the wines that are more cloudy
and amber. Most of them are n0ot natural wines but consumers are misled due to its appearance.
Credibility and Authenticity'
It has been noticed that the consumers in today's scenario are bent on using organic and
natural products. The demand for sustainability in market is also increasing heavily. The
consumer demand for natural food as well as drinks is also heavily increasing these days. It can
be displayed that the consumers who are more aware about the various types of products and
services they are using as well as there impact on the environment are more concerned about the
credibility a well as authenticity of wines effectively. It is necessary to understand that the people
who are ready to pay for natural wines what are the criteria they are checking before buying and
consuming it. It is necessary to understand various situations as well as labels which are affecting
them. Natural wines are also considered to be credible as they are fulfilling the requirement of
environment friendly as well as health conscious consumers (Nanni and Messori, 2020).
The authenticity of natural wine is also developed by the factors regarding the ingredients
which are used for the production of such wine as well as the production process which is
followed to complete the following process. It is also often seen that labels are misleading
customers in terms of food as well as wine. It is thus necessary by the consumers to follow self
survey before choosing amongst them. There are however a number of different attributes of
wine which are leading to its consideration of being authentic and credible. The consumer
demand is affected by various attributes such as sensory attributes, motivational factors, aroma
etc.
Natural wine is a whole movement of demography. It is basically a farm-to-table
movement used for natural wine as well. People know that the natural wines are made with the
help of grapes. It becomes essential for customers to also authentically understand about the
various procedures of production through which it is passing effectively. More than being a
millennial thing natural wine is considered to be an experimental thing these days (Staub and et.
al., 2020).
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KEY SELLING POINTS
Health Benefits
There are a number of different benefits to human body from natural wine. They are
generated with the help of grapes which have a number of different protective properties for
heart as well as for the skin and flesh in a human body. There have been researches which prove
that the antioxidants which are present in red wine are responsible for preventing a number of
different heart diseases by the way of increasing levels of high-density lipoprotein, good
cholesterol and also protecting against various damages caused to artery. These antioxidants also
help to save a human body from a number of different pests, bacteria, frosts and different
growing conditions.
The wine is also helpful in bringing various benefits to the stress in human. They help in
fighting the stress cells. The are also helpful in providing benefits which do not contain any kind
of chemicals or any additives (Ramírez and et. al., 2020). They are also beneficial for human
body as they help in avoiding consumption of any other harmful alcohol. It is also been seen that
the mortality rate amongst wine drinkers is less than that of spirit or other beer drinkers. It is also
devised that most of the blue zones throughout the world have major population of wine drinkers
amongst them. And those wines are not commercial but natural wine.
There are also some of the bacteria present in Wine which helps human body to fight
inflammation. They are as beneficial for human body including a number of other foods that
effectively include sauerkraut and kimchi.
When comparing to conventional wine there are a number of benefits provided by natural wines
instead. There are no added preservatives or colours in natural wine. They are made without any
intervention and no manipulation of grape juice is done while natural wine is fragmenting in the
vessels. However, alcohol is alcohol. Drinking too much or natural wine can also lead to a
number of hangovers but when comparing with others have low heart risk and damage to human
health.
Sustainability better expression of place/ variety
Natural wine is considered not to be immune from the the problem of global economy
and supply chain. There are a number of places throughout the world where natural wine is
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shipped effectively. They are required to be carried in good managed boxes and trucks which are
air-conditioned. However there are a number of processes in which natural wines rae included
but the factor that they are grown organically from grape and is not considered in
industrialisation is giving it a chance to be beneficial for the environment and the habitat. It can
be seen that seeking for the wines which are systematically and responsibly farmed are often
bringing benefits for the organisation. Another benefit to environment from natural wine is the
methods which are used to produce it. It is often noticeable that there are no pesticides used for
soils in which grapes are planted for production of natural wine. It helps in keeping the richness
of soils intact by the responsible farming (González, and Parga-Dans, 2020 ).
There are organic grapes planted for natural wine. There are also no added sugar in these
grapes. Emphasis is put on farming which helps in satisfying the needs for the soil enrichment
and sustainability in environment. There are a number of Microorganisms which are deeprooted
systems underground. It is also seen that the vineyards which are converting conventional
farming into biodynamic have seen a number of good efforts.
It is often seen that the warming of planet is already affecting natural wines. The flooding, global
warming are damaging vines. Therefore, there can be sustainability developed by help of natural
wine farming and production
Producer’s story
Around 1980s a movement in vineyards and sailors took place in France in order to gather
fresh tasting wines which are low in alcohol as well as high in acidity and fitness. They were
made in high quantities and also appeared in a number through Parisian restaurants as well as
wine bars. Depending on one’s taste the living winds were then considered to be more of
commercial lines. In 1990s this wind movement expanded and a number of Fruit Vale aromas
and flavours of wines would discover by commercial wine makers. And in mid-2000s wine was
sent to US and the customers were curious about its taste. More producers of wine were then
discovered in various parts of France, Italy and Germany who worked similarly in order to make
less manipulated or intervened wine.
Natural wine is always considered to be a contested term between the wine makers. It is
necessary that deep grave which is use a natural wine must be grown by a dynamically as well as
organically however certification for this is not necessary. The natural wine makers have an
ethics of no use of hands while making natural wine. Jenny and Franco’s selection is a wine
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company which brought wine bottles to New York City in 2000 from France. The best sellers in
New York then gathered to contain mine and sell it in their restaurants and bars (Gerardi and et.
al., 2020).
Australia in the new world is also guilty of being overworked with a number of different
commercial styles. One of these important styles is the ethnic wine makers who are mostly
shifted in California which are held by the natural boom of grape there. However, transparency
as well as experimentation still helps in defining a new branch for winemaking in a number of
countries. In this way a number of producers of wine effectively spread the culture of natural
wine throughout the world.
CONCLUSION
The above report helps to conclude that natural wine is something which have no
commercial additives or preservatives added while fermentation and watering of the wine in the
process. The grapes which are used in the wine or also naturally and organically farm. When
considering the place of natural wine in Wine market the demand for natural wine is growing
rapidly as the environmental conscious consumers are increasing in the market day by day.
People demand for wines which are pesticide free and organically made. A 14% rise in South
Africa as well as Norway in the last five years have been seen regarding the selling of natural
wine in the market. The sales of a natural wine in France have been strongly increasing on 7.7%
every year which results in conversion of a number of wine yards into natural wine yards. With
the help of the above report it can be concluded that the place of natural wine in the wine market
is strong and growing as per increasing environmental conscious consumers.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals
González, P.A. and Parga-Dans, E., 2020. Natural wine: do consumers know what it is, and
how natural it really is?. Journal of Cleaner Production, 251, p.119635.
Ramírez, M. and et. al., 2020. Analysing the vineyard soil as a natural reservoir for wine
yeasts. Food Research International, 129, p.108845.
Staub, C. and et. al., 2020. How do you perceive this wine? Comparing naturalness perceptions
of Swiss and Australian consumers. Food Quality and Preference, 79, p.103752.
Nanni, A. and Messori, M., 2020. Effect of the wine lees wastes as cost‐advantage and natural
fillers on the thermal and mechanical properties of poly (3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐
hydroxyhexanoate)(PHBH) and poly (3‐hydroxybutyrate‐co‐hydroxyvalerate)
(PHBV). Journal of Applied Polymer Science, 137(28), p.48869.
Binati, R.L. And et. al., 2020. Contribution of non-Saccharomyces yeasts to wine volatile and
sensory diversity: A study on Lachancea thermotolerans, Metschnikowia spp. and
Starmerella bacillaris strains isolated in Italy. International Journal of Food
Microbiology, 318, p.108470.
Marchante, L. and et. al., 2020. Potential of Different Natural Antioxidant Substances to Inhibit
the 1-Hydroxyethyl Radical in SO2-Free Wines. Journal of Agricultural and Food
Chemistry, 68(6), pp.1707-1713.
Chandra, M. and et. al., 2020. Forest Oak Woodlands and Fruit Tree Soils Are Reservoirs of
Wine-Related Yeast Species. American Journal of Enology and Viticulture, 71(3),
pp.191-197.
Capitello, R. and Sirieix, L., 2020. What does ‘sustainable wine’mean? An investigation of
french and italian wine consumers. In Social Sustainability in the Global Wine
Industry (pp. 137-154). Palgrave Pivot, Cham.
Muñoz‐Sáez, A., Kitzes, J. and Merenlender, A.M., 2020. Bird friendly wine country through
diversified vineyards. Conservation Biology.
Gerardi, G. and et. al., 2020. The dose–response effect on polyphenol bioavailability after
intake of white and red wine pomace products by Wistar rats. Food & Function, 11(2),
pp.1661-1671.
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