Best natural wines of 2021

One of the things I missed most about the throes of social distancing was chatting with the experts at my local wine store as they helped me choose the perfect bottle for the occasion I was looking for. After describing my awesome ideal, cold red or cloudy orange creamsicle of my dreams, they usually handed me something from their “natural” section. I’ve become obsessed with finding obscure bottles and bulk ordering from faraway places, and the more I learn about the process of making these whimsical wines that are more popular than ever, the more I want to drink. (If you’re interested in vegan wine, check out our picks for these here.)

Natural or “low intervention” wine is going through a major moment, and while there is no legal term to define the process, it is fairly straightforward. For a wine to be considered “natural”, winegrowers must forgo adding anything that does not occur naturally in the cellar’s wine: think of preservatives, additives or chemicals. They shouldn’t delete anything either. These wines are even easier to use than most organic options, which require USDA certification indicating they were grown on an organic farm that forgoes the use of certain fertilizers and pesticides. (Basically, all natural wines are organic, but not all organic wines are natural. Next?)

This form of local winemaking means there’s a lot more room for bottle-to-bottle variation, making making something new to drink with dinner a lot more unpredictable and fun too. Each wine, even from the same vintage, presents a new opportunity to be surprised by the variation in notes, cloudiness and color. And while I’m not about to waste money on wine just because it’s pretty, a lot of these little winemakers just have some amazing artwork on their labels. So whether you want to show up to Friendsgiving with something funky to satisfy the ‘wine guy’ in your group or impress someone new with a great drink pairing, we’ve rounded up some tasty natural options for every mood.