Conventional vs organic, biodynamic or natural wine

What is the difference between conventional, organic, biodynamic and natural wine?

It's not always easy to tell whether a wine is natural or not. Some genuine natural wines carry no certification at all, while some supermarket wines display two organic logos. Here is a clear breakdown of the four main categories.

Conventional wine

Conventional wine, especially bulk wine made for supermarkets, is heavily processed both in the vineyard and in the cellar.

In the vineyard: machine harvesting, no hand-picking, herbicides and pesticides used year-round, dead soil: no plant life, barely any insects

In the cellar, more than 72 legal additives are permitted. These include: commercial yeast from a packet, available in different flavour profiles, added acid or sugar, oak chips to mimic barrel ageing, fining, filtering and sulphite additions

The goal is consistency: the same product every year, regardless of the harvest. None of these additions need to appear on the label.

Not all conventional wine is bad, there are producers who farm carefully and add very little. But it is a fundamentally different product from natural wine.

Organic wine

Organic wine means the grapes come from a certified organic vineyard: no synthetic herbicides or pesticides, organic treatments such as Bordeaux mixture (copper and lime) against mildew, compost from plants and animals as fertiliser

Important: additives in the cellar are still permitted in organic winemaking, as are filtering and sulphite additions. Organic certification covers the vineyard, not necessarily the cellar.

Certification: the EU green leaf logo.

Biodynamic wine

Biodynamic farming goes further than organic. The concept was developed in the 1920s by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner and is based on the interconnection between soil, plant, animal, moon and seasons.

In practice this means: no chemicals in the vineyard, always hand-harvested, use of natural preparations such as nettle, chamomile or cow horn manure, fermentation always with native yeasts

It is intensive work and requires a healthy ecosystem as a starting point.

Certification: Demeter.

Natural wine

Natural wine is not simply about doing nothing. A natural winemaker works harder in the vineyard and cleaner in the cellar.

In the vineyard: always organic or biodynamic grapes, hand-harvested, no machines, no herbicides or pesticides, cover crops, herbs and animals to maintain a healthy ecosystem

In the cellar: spontaneous fermentation with native yeasts, no or minimal added sulphites (SO2), no added sugar, acid, enzymes or tannins, unfiltered

This is why natural wine is sometimes cloudy, not a flaw, but a consequence of not filtering. And you will rarely encounter new oak flavours: those come from ageing in new barrels and are an addition to the wine, not a natural characteristic of the grape.

Watch out for greenwashing

Wines with "NATURAL WINE" or "ORANGE" printed large on the label are not automatically natural wine. Always check: are the grapes from organic or biodynamic farming? were any additives used in the cellar? were sulphites added?

Real natural wine is sold at specialist wine shops, like us, where producers are known personally.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between organic and natural wine? Organic wine has certified grapes but may still contain additives in the cellar. Natural wine goes further: minimal intervention in both vineyard and cellar.

Is biodynamic wine always natural wine? Not necessarily. Biodynamic certification covers the vineyard. In the cellar, biodynamic winemakers can still use sulphites or other processing aids.

Does natural wine always contain less sulphite? Yes, generally. Conventional wine often contains up to 200mg/l SO2. Natural wine usually contains less than 30mg/l or none at all.

Why are additives not listed on conventional wine labels? Because the law does not require it. Unlike food, wine additives do not need to be declared on the label.