Natural Wine: Minimal and Marvellous

Natural Australian Wine

Natural wine is wine that has been produced using simple traditional methods.

There is no uniform or legal definition of what natural wine is, but it is usually produced without the use of pesticides or herbicides and with few or no additives.

In its purest form, natural wine is just unadulterated fermented grape juice. Basically as little intervention as possible. 

By taking a truly minimal approach the winemaker allows the character of the vineyard including microflora to be expressed in the wine. 

“Natural wine is wine that has been produced using simple traditional methods.”

Sometimes known as naked wine, or raw wine its pretty sublime and that’s why at Kitchen by Mike its ALL WE DO!!! 

We pride ourselves on being the premier spot in the CBD for Australian Natural Wine. 

Our entire list including beers and spirits is ALL AUSTRALIAN.

But lets face it, unless you know what you are talking about, wine is confusing. Most people (my wife included…) buy wine based on price and “the label”. “If it’s got a nice label it must be a nice wine…” school of thought. 

And there is confusion surrounding sulphites, preservatives, organic, biodynamic etc…That’s why I have created a glossary of terms or Natural Wine Dictionary at the start of our list. I want to help demystify the process of choosing a bottle or glass and make these delicious wines accessible to all.

BE BOLD HAVE FUN and TRY SOMETHING NEW.

Natural Wine Dictionary 

In the beginning, all wines were interference free. That was until 1847 when farming chemicals were introduced, and winemakers began using these additives during production. Wines made with more control came to the fore, and natural wines took a backseat. 

The 1920s marked the birth of organic and bio dynamic wines when Rudolf Steiner introduced possibly the first organic farming system. In Australia, 2004 was a significant year when the First International Bio Dynamic Wine Forum was held in Beechworth, Victoria. 

The natural wine movement – striving for zero interference – became again known over the past 10 to 15 years, and today is rapidly increasing in popularity. Some lo-fi wines are hard to distinguish as such, tasting and looking like more traditional counterparts. However, many minimal intervention styles do taste different, designed to harness the fruit’s natural elements and the wine’s terroir to reflect their place and purity. It’s also not uncommon to discover sour, vigorous and spritzy quali- ties in these wines. When talking appearance, they can look cloudy or even dusty. 

MI - Minimal Intervention/ Natural Wine 

Wine that is fermented with its naturally occurring yeasts rather than con- trolling the process by adding commercial yeast or chemical additives. This process is also known as ‘minimal intervention’. Natural wine is often made with grapes from sustainable, organic or bio dynamic vineyards. Generally made with little or no sulphites added. Grapes are typically grown by small- scale, independent producers. 

S - Sustainable Practices 

Wine made in an ecologically, economically and socially responsible way, often with organic or bio dynamic grapes. 

VE - Vegan 

When fining the wine, no fish or egg proteins have been used. 

BD - Bio Dynamic Wine 

Bio dynamic is similar to organic farming in that both take place without synthetic chemicals, but bio dynamic farming incorporates ideas about a vineyard as an entire ecosystem, and also takes into account things such as astrological influences and lunar cycles. A bio dynamic farm relies on the various phases of the moon, 

absorbing its pure and natural benefits. This is because during the time of a new and full moon, the pull effect can produce more water in soils, and this increased moisture encourages viticulture. 

O - Organic Wine 

Grapes are grown in accordance with the principles of organic farming. No chemicals can be used to facilitate grape growth that have an adverse effect on the environment or human health. 

SC - Skin Contact 

Each variety has a different flavour profile, which is shaped by removing or adding the components of the grapes – skins, stalks, seeds and juice. It’s the varying amounts of time these elements are in the mix (skin contact) that produces the colourful hues of pink, purple and amber wines. Red wines all have skin contact while white wines do not there only the white wines on our menu that are skin contact have SC next to them. White wines left on skins longer produce orange wine. We recommend ‘Shob- brook Wines’ Giallo 2016’. 

UFL - Unfiltered/ UF -Unfined 

Fermentation leaves wine with a cloudy hue, caused by very fine particles. The conventional processes of fining (adding fish proteins, egg whites and clay) and filtering removes these particles for clarity – but they also remove flavour. Most natural wines simply skip this process. 

MS - Minimal or No Sulphur Dioxide (Sulphites) 

Sulphur dioxide is the main preserving agent in modern wine making, and it’s usually what gives you a headache the next day. Natural wines only have small amounts of sulphur, if any.

Don’t be afraid or embarrassed to ASK QUESTIONS when ordering wine with us. We love to talk about it and are more than happy to recommend something we think you will like. 

BE BOLD HAVE FUN and TRY SOMETHING NEW. 

Love, MIKE xx