Natural Wines

A formal charter for natural wine has launched in France under the name 'vin méthode nature'. The Institute for Origins and Quality (INAO), the French Ministry for Agriculture and the French Fraud Control Office all recognise the new denomination.

In order to use the denomination grapes must come from certified organic vines, be hand-picked and produced using indigenous yeast. Methods which are banned during the winemaking process include thermovinification, reverse osmosis, flash pasteurisation and cross-flow filtration.

An addition of up to 30 mg/L of sulphur dioxide is permitted in all types of wine across all appellations, but no additions are permitted before or during fermentation. Wines where no SO2 addition has been made can be labelled 'vin méthode nature sans sulfites ajoutés' (natural method without added sulfites) while those with a post-fermentation addition can carry the 'vin méthode nature avec moins de 30 mg/l de sulfites ajoutés' (natural method with less than 30 mg/l added sulfites) tag.

(Updated 11/16/2020) click on column heading to sort, on wine name to see details

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DEC = Decanter
JS = James Suckling
VIN = Vinous
WA = Wine Advocate (Robert Parker)
WE = Wine Enthusiast
WS = Wine Spectator
W&S = Wine & Spirits Magazine