The Encyclopedia of Natural Wine

20 Terms Every Drinker Should Know

You’re at a wine bar. You ask the sommelier for a recommendation. They say: “This one is a low-intervention, skin-contact pét-nat from a biodynamic producer in the Jura. No added sulfites. Unfined and unfiltered.” You nod. You have no idea what any of that means.

You’re not alone. Natural wine has its own language—a dense vocabulary born from winemaking philosophy, ancient tradition, and a deliberate rejection of industrial shortcuts. At Sun & Soil, we believe that language should not be a barrier. It should be a door.

This is your key.

 

There is no legally protected definition of “natural wine.” No governing body, no certification, no official rulebook. This is both its freedom and its controversy. But within the natural wine world, a consensus has formed around a few core ideas.

 

  01 

Natural Wine

The whole movement. The big idea.

Natural wine is, at its core, a philosophy of non-intervention. The grower farms without synthetic pesticides or herbicides. The winemaker ferments with the wild yeasts already living on the grape skins. Nothing significant is added. Nothing is taken away. The wine is a direct expression of the place and the vintage — for better or worse.

It is the opposite of industrial winemaking, where over 70 legal additives (including artificial yeasts, enzymes, color concentrates, and acidifiers) can be used to make every bottle taste consistent and predictable year after year.

 

Why it matters: A truly natural wine is alive. It can change in the bottle, in your glass, from year to year. That unpredictability is not a flaw. It is the point.

  02 

Low-Intervention Wine

The pragmatic cousin of natural wine.

A producer who uses minimal but not zero intervention in the cellar. They might add a tiny amount of sulfur dioxide (SO₂) at bottling for stability, but nothing else. They use wild yeasts, avoid filtering, and farm organically or biodynamically.

This is the honest middle ground. Most wines at Sun & Soil fall here. The winemaker is doing as little as possible while making sure the wine arrives at your table in good shape.

 

Why it matters: Low-intervention is often more useful as a term than “natural” because it acknowledges the reality that some care in the cellar is not a betrayal — it’s responsibility.

  03 

Organic Farming / Organic Wine

The foundation. The minimum.

Organic farming prohibits synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilizers in the vineyard. In the EU, it also restricts sulfite additions in the cellar. Certifications include AB (France), EU Organic, and USDA Organic.

Important distinction: organic farming (how you grow the grapes) is separate from organic winemaking (what you do in the cellar). A farm can be certified organic but still use heavy-intervention winemaking techniques.

 

Why it matters: Organic certification is the most verifiable, legally defined claim in the natural wine world. It is the floor, not the ceiling.

  04 

Biodynamic Farming

Organic, but the farm is a living organism.

Biodynamics goes further than organic. It treats the farm as a self-sustaining ecosystem. Farmers use a planting calendar based on lunar cycles (root days, flower days, fruit days), prepare specific herbal and mineral compost preparations (the famous “500” formula involves cow manure fermented in a buried horn), and aim to make the farm entirely self-sufficient.

It sounds esoteric. The wines, however, are often extraordinary. The main certification body is Demeter. Major biodynamic producers include Zind-Humbrecht (Alsace) and many of the great Slovenian and Georgian estates.

 

Why it matters: Biodynamic vines often produce lower yields of more concentrated, complex fruit. The philosophy forces the farmer to pay intense, sustained attention to every plant.

  05 

Lutte Raisonnée

French for “reasoned struggle.” The pragmatist’s approach.

A farming approach that is not organic but uses chemical treatments only when absolutely necessary — when disease or pest pressure makes intervention unavoidable. It is a step above conventional farming but below organic certification.

Many excellent small producers farm this way because full organic certification is expensive and bureaucratically demanding for tiny estates. Do not dismiss a wine simply because it is lutte raisonnée.

 

Why it matters: Certification costs money. Many of the world’s most conscientious small farmers are practicing sustainable agriculture without the paperwork to prove it.

 

This is where the philosophy becomes wine. What the winemaker does — or doesn’t do — between harvest and bottle defines everything.

 

  06 

Wild / Ambient / Native Yeast Fermentation

The original winemaking. No packets required.

Grapes are covered in millions of wild yeast cells — the white dusty bloom you see on the skin of a grape is largely made up of them. In natural winemaking, the winemaker relies on these indigenous yeasts to begin and complete fermentation, rather than adding commercial lab-cultivated yeast strains.

Wild fermentation is slower, more unpredictable, and can “stick” (stop before all sugar is converted). But it produces wines of extraordinary complexity and site-specificity. The flavor you taste is genuinely from that vineyard.

 

Why it matters: Commercial yeasts are designed to produce predictable, consistent results. Wild yeasts produce terroir. They are one of the main reasons a natural wine from Georgia tastes fundamentally different from one made in New Zealand.

  07 

Sulfites (SO₂)

The most debated molecule in wine.

Sulfur dioxide is a natural byproduct of fermentation — all wine contains trace amounts. It is also the most common additive in conventional winemaking, used as a preservative and antioxidant. Natural winemakers either add zero SO₂ or add a very small amount at bottling (typically under 30 mg/L total, versus the legal maximum of 150–200 mg/L in conventional wine).

The “no sulfites” movement is controversial. Without SO₂, wines are more fragile, more susceptible to heat and oxidation, and must be stored and transported carefully. But many drinkers report fewer headaches and a cleaner feeling the morning after a no-SO₂ bottle.

 

Why it matters: If you see “contains sulfites” on a label, that’s almost nothing — all wine contains sulfites naturally. The real question is: how much was added? Look for “no added sulfites” or “sans soufre ajouté” for the real signal.

  08 

Unfined & Unfiltered

Why your natural wine is cloudy. It’s supposed to be.

Fining is the process of adding a clarifying agent to wine to attract and remove suspended particles. Common fining agents include egg whites, casein (milk protein), gelatin, and bentonite clay. After fining, the wine is clear. Filtering passes wine through a membrane to remove yeast cells, bacteria, and solids.

Natural winemakers skip both. The result is a wine that may be hazy, cloudy, or have a sediment at the bottom of the bottle. This is not a flaw. It means the wine retains all its natural proteins, colloids, and micro-organisms — and more of its flavor.

 

Why it matters: Many sommeliers believe aggressive filtration strips flavor and texture from wine. The sediment in your natural wine bottle is a feature. Decant or embrace it.

  09 

Maceration / Skin Contact

The technique behind Orange Wine. Also critical for many reds.

Maceration is the period during which the grape juice ferments in contact with the grape skins, seeds, and sometimes stems. For red wine, this is standard — it’s how you extract color and tannin. For white wine, it’s the defining technique of Orange / Amber wine.

Maceration can last anywhere from a few hours (for a light blush of texture) to several months (for a deeply tannic Qvevri wine from Georgia).

 

Why it matters: Skin contact changes everything — color, tannin, texture, and flavor. It’s the single most important variable in determining what kind of wine ends up in your glass. Read our full Orange Wine Guide at sunandsoilshop.com/blogs/news/ultimate-guide-orange-wine-history-production

  10 

Carbonic Maceration

The technique that makes Beaujolais Nouveau. And a lot of joyful natural wine.

A fermentation technique where whole, uncrushed grapes are placed in a sealed, CO₂-filled tank. Fermentation begins inside the individual grape berry, driven by the grape’s own enzymes rather than yeast. The result is a wine that is extremely fruity, low in tannin, and very easy to drink.

It is associated with Beaujolais (Gamay) in France, but is widely used across the natural wine world for producing fresh, gulpable reds and even some whites.

 

Why it matters: If you taste a natural red that has an explosive scent of bubble gum, fresh raspberry, and banana candy — that’s carbonic character. Not a defect. A deliberate stylistic choice.

 

Once the wine is made, how it’s bottled and presented tells its own story.

 

  11 

Pét-Nat (Pétillant Naturel)

The original sparkling wine. Older than Champagne.

Pétillant Naturel (“naturally sparkling”) is made using the méthode ancestrale: the wine is bottled before fermentation is fully complete. The remaining sugar ferments inside the bottle, creating CO₂ and natural bubbles. The wine is sealed with a crown cap (like a beer bottle), not a cork and cage.

The result is a wine with soft, gentle bubbles — not the aggressive carbonation of Champagne — and often a slight haze from residual yeast. They are almost always lower in alcohol (often 10–11%) and have a refreshing, cider-like quality.

 

Why it matters: Pét-nats are the gateway drug to natural wine. They are approachable, fun, and often the cheapest bottle on a natural wine list. If you’re new, start here.

  12 

Col Fondo

Italy’s answer to Pét-Nat. Prosecco’s cloudy ancestor.

Col Fondo means “with the bottom” in Italian — referring to the sediment of dead yeast (lees) that sits at the bottom of the bottle. It is the traditional method of making Prosecco before the industrial charmat method (large tank carbonation) became dominant in the 20th century.

A Col Fondo Prosecco is refermented in the bottle, leaving lees and natural bubbles. It tastes completely different from supermarket Prosecco — leaner, yeastier, more savory, and less sugary.

 

Why it matters: Col Fondo is proof that the Prosecco region used to produce something genuinely interesting. The modern version is largely a sweet, industrial cocktail mixer. Col Fondo is the real thing.

  13 

Orange Wine / Amber Wine

White grapes. Red wine technique. Ancient history.

Orange wine is white wine made with extended skin contact. The skins give it color (gold to deep amber), tannin, and complex phenolic flavors. It is the oldest wine style in the world, with roots in Georgia’s Qvevri tradition dating back 8,000 years.

The term “Amber Wine” is preferred in Georgia and increasingly by producers who want to honor the historical tradition rather than the trendy marketing label.

 

Why it matters: Read our comprehensive Orange Wine Guide: sunandsoilshop.com/blogs/news/ultimate-guide-orange-wine-history-production

  14 

Vin de Soif

French for “thirst wine.” The highest compliment.

A wine that is so refreshing, light, and easy to drink that it practically demands another glass. Low alcohol, high acidity, minimal tannin. The word “soif” means thirst in French — this is the wine you reach for on a hot afternoon, not the one you analyze.

Many natural wines aspire to this quality. It is the opposite of the over-extracted, high-alcohol blockbusters of the 1990s Parker era. It is wine as a beverage, not wine as performance.

 

Why it matters: The return of vin de soif is one of the most important trends in modern wine. Lighter, more drinkable wines are better for the planet, better for your head the next morning, and better with food.

  15 

Qvevri Wine

Wine made in clay. The original vessel.

A Qvevri is a large, egg-shaped clay vessel used in Georgia for over 8,000 years. Grapes are fermented and aged inside the buried Qvevri, sealed with beeswax. The clay is porous enough to allow a tiny exchange of oxygen (like a barrel), and the underground temperature keeps fermentation cool and stable.

The results are wines of extraordinary depth, structure, and complexity — and sometimes a distinct mineral, earthy quality that you cannot get from stainless steel or oak.

 

Why it matters: Georgia is the cradle of wine. Qvevri is the cradle of the Qvevri. Drinking a Qvevri wine is drinking 8,000 years of unbroken tradition.

 

Natural wine labels are often minimal, hand-drawn, or cryptic. Here’s how to decode them.

 

  16 

Négociant vs. Domaine vs. Vigneron

Who actually made this wine?

A Domaine grows its own grapes and makes its own wine from start to finish. A Négociant buys grapes or finished wine from other growers and produces wine under their own label. A Vigneron is simply a wine grower — someone who farms vines, though it implies a small, hands-on operation.

In the natural wine world, the vigneron/domaine model is strongly preferred because it means one person controls everything from vine to bottle and is accountable for every decision.

 

Why it matters: If you care about who made your wine and how, you want a domaine or independent vigneron. The négociant model can produce excellent wine, but it breaks the chain of accountability.

  17 

Terroir

The untranslatable word that explains everything.

Terroir (pronounced “teh-RWAHR”) refers to the complete natural environment of a vineyard: soil composition, subsoil geology, altitude, slope, sun exposure, rainfall, and the local microclimate. It is the reason a Pinot Noir from Burgundy tastes nothing like a Pinot Noir from Oregon, even if made the same way.

For natural winemakers, expressing terroir is the entire point. Every intervention — added yeast, added acid, heavy filtration — obscures terroir. The goal is to make it audible.

 

Why it matters: Terroir is why natural wine is worth drinking. It is the difference between a wine that tastes like a product and a wine that tastes like a place.

  18 

Appellation / AOC / DOC

The official geography. The legal address.

An Appellation (or AOC in France, DOC in Italy, DO in Spain) is a legally defined wine region with specific rules about which grapes can be grown, how the wine must be made, and what it can be called. Natural wine and appellations are often in conflict: many natural wine producers are refused their AOC because their wine is too cloudy, too orange, or too unusual for the tasting panel.

This is why you’ll often see natural wines labeled Vin de France or IGT — the “lower” category — even when the wine comes from a prestigious region. The producer simply couldn’t (or wouldn’t) comply with the rules.

 

Why it matters: A “Vin de France” label does not mean cheap or simple. It can mean the producer was too radical, too honest, or too independent for the appellation committee.

  19 

Reduction

That sulfur smell. It goes away.

Reduction is a winemaking fault — or non-fault, depending on who you ask — where the wine develops compounds (mercaptans, hydrogen sulfide) that smell like struck match, rubber, or burnt rubber. It is common in natural wines because they lack the SO₂ that would otherwise prevent it.

The good news: reduction is almost always temporary. Pour the wine into a decanter, swirl it aggressively, or let it sit in the glass for 20 minutes. The compounds blow off on contact with air and the wine opens up beautifully. If it doesn’t, then yes — it may be a fault.

 

Why it matters: Do not return a natural wine because it smells funky on opening. Give it air. If you’ve ever smelled a natural wine that seemed wrong and then put it aside and returned an hour later to find it transformed — you understand why patience matters.

  20 

Brett (Brettanomyces)

Barnyard, leather, and Band-Aid. Friend or foe?

Brettanomyces (Brett) is a wild yeast strain found naturally in wineries, barrels, and vineyards. In small amounts, it adds complexity: earthy leather, smoked meat, dried herbs, and a savory barnyard quality beloved by Burgundy collectors and fans of aged Rhône wines. In large amounts, it overwhelms the fruit and produces a medicinal, Band-Aid smell that most people find unpleasant.

Natural wines, by their very nature (no SO₂, wild fermentation), are more susceptible to Brett. Whether a given amount is a “fault” or a “feature” is entirely subjective — and one of the most spirited debates in the natural wine world.

 

Why it matters: Brett divides rooms. The same wine that one person calls “funky and complex” another calls “broken.” Understanding Brett means understanding that natural wine asks you to expand your definition of what “good” smells and tastes like.

 

 

Term	Farming	Cellar	Sulfites
Conventional	Synthetic chemicals allowed	Up to 70+ additives	Up to 200 mg/L
Lutte Raisonnee	Minimal chemical use	Standard	Standard
Organic	No synthetics (certified)	Restricted additives	Reduced
Biodynamic	Holistic ecosystem farming	Minimal intervention	Very low
Natural	Organic / biodynamic	Nothing added or removed	Zero to trace

 

“Natural wine is not about purity. It is about honesty. It is the winemaker saying: I grew these grapes, and I made this wine, and what you taste is exactly that — nothing more, nothing less.”

 

Natural wine is not always comfortable. It is cloudy when you expect clarity. It is tannic when you expect freshness. It smells of barnyard when you expect flowers.

But it is honest. It is alive. And once you learn the language — once terms like “pét-nat” and “Qvevri” and “no added sulfites” stop being intimidating and start being invitations — the world of wine becomes dramatically more interesting.

At Sun & Soil, every bottle we carry is selected because someone, somewhere, made a decision to do less and trust more. Trust the land. Trust the grape. Trust the drinker.

Now you have the vocabulary to trust them back.

→ Shop Our Natural & Low-Intervention Collection at Sun & Soil

 

Read More:

→ The Ultimate Guide to Orange Wine

→ The Encyclopedia of Georgian Grapes

→ The Encyclopedia of Greek Grapes