best health DECEMBER | JANUARY 2018 53WHAT ARE NATURAL WINES?
Natural wines aren’t simply organic. In winemaking,
as in other types of food production, the term “organic”
refers to a specific criteria: the absence of chemical
fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides in the vineyard.
On the other hand, the term “natural” in winemaking
describes a broader approach, resulting in wines that
are made with as little intervention as possible. Natu-
ral isn’t a regulated term, but it’s generally accepted
that the producer claiming to make a natural wine
would, at the very least, use organic practices in the
vineyard. A third category, referred to as “biody-
na mic,” goes fur ther, looking at the vineya rd as a holis-
tic system, with the soil and vines working in tandem
with the moon, the stars and other forces of nature.
“Organic” and “biodynamic” are regulated wine
terms, but “natural” isn’t, so there can be differences
in various winemakers’ interpretations of “minimal
intervention.”
That said, there is a shared idea of what natural
winemaking entails, says Mark Cuff, owner of The
Living Vine in Oakville, ON. Natural wines are gener-
ally organic, he says, but that’s not all. They contain
very few or no additives and chemicals. In addition,
very little is done to the grapes in the vineyard or to
their juices in the pressing, fermenting, aging and bot-
tling process, explains Cuff, who imports and repre-
sents scores of biodynamic, organic and naturally
made wines from all over the world.
To understand how significant this is, consider
some potential additives to conventional wines: sugar
to boost alcohol; egg whites, milk products, gelatin and
fish bladders to remove off-f lavours; calcium carbon-
ate (chalk) to lower acid; and tartaric acid or citric acid
to increase acid.
Another common additive is sulphur, which gets a
bad rap with wine drinkers who worry that it might
cause health problems. But Cuff explains that sulphur
is a misunderstood ingredient. “Sulphite allergies are
rare and don’t cause headaches,” he says. “Headaches
are usually from histamines in full-bodied red wines.”
He explains that a small amount of added sulphur is
helpful to keep wine fresh. Still, he does notice when
wines have too much. “Because I drink a lot of low-sul-
phite wine, I am sensitive to it,” says Cuff. “A lot of sul-
phites make my hands swell.”
The other important point of differentiation with
natural winemaking is yeast. “It’s 50 percent of the
equation,” says Cuff. Every wine requires yeast for fer-
mentation, but while conventional winemakers might
use imported, commercial yeast, natural winemakers
depend on wild yeast that’s already present in the vine-
yard. “You pick some grapes and mash them up,” he“SULPHITE ALLERGIES
ARE RARE AND DON’T
CAUSE HEADACHES.
HEADACHES ARE
USUALLY FROM
HISTAMINES IN FULL-
BODIED RED WINES.”
ISTOCK