Hype about natural wine: clouded joy

For some, natural wine is no longer a new trend, for others it is still completely unknown. In any case, our columnist finds it delicious.

Grapes: Natural wine means that little effort is made in cultivation and production and many things are sacrificed for freshness Photo: Sebastian Kahnert/dpa

The future is already here, it’s just not evenly distributed – this clever quote from cyberpunk pioneer William Gibson also applies to food trends. I find this particularly obvious at the moment with natural wine. In a very small part of Germany, where I happen to live, I would have felt strange even when I started this column three years ago to still call natural wine a new trend. At the same time, I am sure that most Germans have never heard of it and are certainly not drunk. This is also supported by the fact that only recently on Deutschlandfunk Nova and in the local section of the SZ Basic natural wine explanatory articles have been published.

In principle, natural wine has been around for over a hundred years. When it comes to cultivation and production, the wine is grown without any pesticides, no specially bred yeasts are used, the grapes ferment spontaneously, and if possible, no sulphites are used either, which slow down the fermentation and oxidation of wine. It is also not filtered.

The result is usually cloudy in the glass and often only has a distant resemblance to classic wine in the mouth. It is more reminiscent of fermented grape juice, sometimes it is close to cider, and in general natural wine is more acidic and less smooth. And the orange varieties – these are white wines that are made like red wines – can be complete surprise packages.

The whole thing is a little reminiscent of the craft beer trend from 10 to 15 years ago. An established alcoholic drink is freed from the uniformity and favors of the mass market, and the range of flavors is expanded. The bottles are given colorful labels and sold at high prices to an international urban audience.

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I have to say: As much as I try to maintain a critical distance, Don’I don’t believe in the hype and so, I can’t do it. Unfortunately, I think natural wine is cool, fresh, a real upgrade.

In the small part of Germany where I happen to live, in the north of Berlin-Neukölln, a veritable trend has developed around natural wine. Wine bars are back in fashion, although the transition from a shop that also serves wine to a bar that also sells bottles is fluid. Unfortunately, a 0.15-liter glass usually costs 8 euros or more there, and that’s just too much for me.

Instead, I recently bought my first natural wine-based vinegar for a few euros. Also unfiltered, also delicious, and also a totally surprising taste. In this case, however, I quickly realized that it was probably due to the crushed star anise. It was hidden in the cloudy bottom of the bottle.