Say What?
Natural wine: fad or the future?
I would suggest it is more future than fad, but it depends on two criteria: 1. The definition of natural wines. No wine is truly natural because they are ALL touched in some way by the human hand, therefore not natural. And, of course, definitions range to both extremes. Having said that, I do believe there is a trend in the industry to be more in sync with Mother Nature and producing wines that are more interesting to the consumer. 2. I think more of the fad aspect comes from those that use the term as a marketing strategy to sell more wine with or without the basis of more natural farming and/or winemaking practices.”
Wayne Bailey, Youngberg Hill
Please correct the question to read ‘fade or the future?’ Vinegar time bombs have no future.”
Todd Hamina, Biggio Hamina Cellars
Natural wine is not a fad. People have been making wine for thousands of years, and for the vast majority of that time, the only way to make it was naturally. ‘Unnatural wine’ may be a fad, but I think natural wine is here to stay. The term ‘natural wine’ is a marketing term related to an undefined way of making wine. The future of wine, like many other things, is a continuation of advancing and refining the science, while maintaining traditional techniques. The future of ‘natural wine’ is debatable. It could go out of vogue or evolve into something that actually means something and is properly defined.”
Cyler Varnum, Varnum Vintners
