Hello natural wine lovers!🍷
Welcome to our blog, pleasure to have you here. Because we are a natural winery, we have been asked this question a thousand times: are natural, organic, and biodynamic wines the same thing?
Maybe you also had this question at some point. That's why we decided that the first post had to help clear up all these doubts!
The answer is no. Thanks for reading!
Ok, we were just joking... Let's get to the point:
Organic wines
Organic wines are those that do not use chemical treatments in the vineyard. That is, no pesticides, herbicides or fungicides. Only sulfur and copper sulfate can be used. Fertilizers must also be organic! Generally, manure from horses or cows is used, but also from other surrounding livestocks. Organic production is certified, and in the EU, you can identify it with a green leaf label like this one.
EU organic label
Natural wines
We call "natural" wine a production style called minimal intervention, both in cultivation and in the production process. That is, it does not use chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or additives such as yeasts, preservatives, color correctors, etc. Therefore, a natural wine will always be an organic wine. Careful though! This does not mean that all organic wines are natural! They may be organic but if they have added sulfites, they will not be natural wines. For now, there isn't a label that indicates that a wine is natural. So if you are curious, the first step is to identify if it has an ecological seal. If it has one, visit the winery's website and find out if they mention it or contact them directly.
Biodynamic wines
Finally, we have biodynamic wines. Biodynamic wines are organic and natural. But not all natural wines or all organic wines are biodynamic. Biodynamic farming uses a holistic approach. As in organic farming, no chemicals or synthetics are used and they work mainly with fertilizers and compounds. But it also includes a spiritual component with preparations that provide cosmic forces to the soils. For example, burying an ox horn in manure in autumn and recovering it in spring, to merge the animal kingdom with the plant kingdom. They must also consider the phases of the moon for various processes such as harvesting, planting, or even bottling. Biodynamic wines do have a seal:
Biodynamic label
In conclusion,
a biodynamic wine is natural and ecological. A natural wine is organic but not necessarily biodynamic. An organic wine does not have to be natural or biodynamic.
A little clearer? Maybe not, but if you still have questions, send us a message on Instagram or ask us when you see us at a tasting or wine fair!
At Celler 9+ we make natural wines, so they are also organic. We don't make biodynamic wines, but we do use some biodynamic techniques. For example, we are guided by the Moon calendar during the different processes our wines go through, from the ground to the table.
Tip of the day: According to the Moon calendar, the best days to taste wine are the flower and fruit days (we add the company component, which also helps!).
Salut!🧡