Low-Intervention Wine (Natural Wine?)

Back to Basics, But Not Without Intention

In recent years, wine lovers have found themselves drawn to bottles that promise more than just good taste but also offer authenticity, transparency, and a closer connection to nature. Enter low-intervention wine: an umbrella term that includes organic, biodynamic, and natural wines. These wines are part of a growing movement pushing back against overly processed, industrial winemaking. But what exactly do we mean when we say “low-intervention,” and why has this trend become so compelling?

What is Low-Intervention Wine?

The low-intervention movement can trace its roots to Beaujolais in the 1970s, where chemist and winemaker Jules Chauvet inspired a group of vignerons to rethink their approach. They focused on producing top-quality grapes and letting those grapes speak for themselves in the wine. This philosophy challenged the rise of industrial winemaking, which often prioritised uniformity, shelf life, and scale over uniqueness and character.

Low-intervention wine refers to a hands-off approach to both viticulture (grape growing) and vinification (winemaking). It’s a philosophy that respects the grape’s natural expression and avoids many of the manipulations commonly used in commercial winemaking. This doesn’t mean winemakers do nothing, after all, no wine is truly “natural”. Wine is a man-made product, grapes don’t turn into shelf-stable wine on their own. Fermentation must be controlled, and stability must be ensured to some extent for the wine to be enjoyable and safe to drink.

Instead, low-intervention winemakers aim to do as little as possible, but as much as necessary. That means minimal additives, native yeasts (rather than cultured ones), no fining or filtration, and often little to no added sulphur. The idea is to produce wines that are true to their place. Wines that are pure with unmasked expressions of grape, land, and year.

Organic vs Biodynamic vs Natural Wine

It’s easy to conflate these categories, but they represent different levels of involvement:

Organic wine

It focuses on how grapes are grown. Vineyards must avoid synthetic pesticides, herbicides, and fertilisers. Certification is regulated, with varying rules by country.

Biodynamic wine

It goes a step further, following a holistic, spiritual approach to farming that includes lunar cycles and natural preparations. Biodynamic vineyards are always organic, but not all organic vineyards are biodynamic.

Low-intervention wine (Nature Wine)

Low-intervention or nature wine do not have a legal definition. Instead, it is a wine-making approach in the cellar. It’s far stricter about what can and can’t be done during winemaking. Organic or biodynamic grapes are typically a prerequisite, but low-intervention winemaking also avoids additives, commercial yeasts, or heavy manipulation (like sugar adjustment or acidification). Essentially, it’s a wine made with as little interference as possible.

Low-Intervention Wines vs Commercial Wines

The key differences lie in both process and style:

Commercial wines often involve lab-selected yeasts, acid adjustments, added sugar, colour stabilisers, and even flavour enhancers. They’re fined, filtered, and stabilised to ensure they taste the same from bottle to bottle.

Low-intervention wines, on the other hand, might vary from year to year or even bottle to bottle. They’re often unfined and unfiltered, which can result in a slightly cloudy appearance or sediment. The use of sulphur is minimal or non-existent (“sans soufre”), which can make them more delicate, vibrant or unpredictable.

Why Low-Intervention Wines?

Consumers today are more conscious about what they eat and drink. The rise of natural and low-intervention wines parallels trends in organic food, sustainable living, and wellness. These wines are perceived as “healthier” due to:

Fewer additives
Lower sulphur content
Using naturally occurring yeasts
No artificial stabilisers or adjustments

But perhaps more importantly, low-intervention wines tell a story of a place, a grower, a vintage. They’re not made to fit a market; they’re made to reflect reality.

All that said, the downside of low-intervention or “natural” wine is that they’re unstable and the taste can be quite funky. At Wanderlust Wine, we taste every single wine before it goes on sale and we won’t ever sell wines that are by definition faulty.