Natural wine
Natural, organic or biodynamic wine: what's the difference?
Three words you'll find on the same shelves, that don't mean the same thing at all. A simple explanation, no jargon.
By Lara — published on 2026-07-07
It's the question I get at every tasting. The trick is knowing what each word actually refers to: the vineyard, the winemaking philosophy, or what happens in the cellar.
Organic: what happens in the vineyard
Organic is an official, controlled certification. It bans synthetic products in the vineyard and regulates certain cellar practices, including lower sulphite levels than conventional wine.
So an organic wine can still be heavily manipulated in the cellar. Organic doesn't mean natural.
Biodynamic: a whole-system approach
Biodynamics goes further than organic: plant-based preparations, soil care, attention to natural rhythms. It's backed by private certifications such as Demeter or Biodyvin.
What interests me most is the result: living vines often give more precise wines.
Natural: what happens in the cellar
Natural wine has no single official label. It's a commitment: organic grapes, hand-picked, wild yeasts, no correction, very little or no added sulphites, generally no fining or filtering.
The direct consequence: two bottles from the same winemaker can differ from one year to the next. That's a flaw for the industry, a quality as far as I'm concerned.
In short
Organic is about farming, biodynamics about a whole philosophy, natural about winemaking. All three can overlap — and the wines I love most often do.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a natural wine always organic?
- In practice, almost always, since you can't make natural wine from chemically treated grapes. But not every natural winemaker seeks certification.
- Is an organic wine a natural wine?
- No. Organic covers the vineyard and still allows plenty of cellar intervention, which natural winemaking refuses.
- Which should I try first?
- Start with a natural wine made biodynamically, served chilled: it's usually the easiest and most enjoyable way in.