Eat Locally, Drink Naturally: Discovering Vin Nature

While the “eat local” movement seems considerably more developed in most parts of the United States, the excitement around natural wine and a “less is more” approach to winemaking is booming in France. Natural wine is an umbrella term that has been highly contested by both proponents and naysayers of the movement. As a result, these low-intervention wines go by many names in France (and abroad) including vin naturel, vin nature, vin vivant, or even jus de raisin fermenté (fermented grape juice). For true adherents to the “nothing added, nothing taken away” approach to winemaking the key to making an honest wine (by whatever name you choose to call it) is making sure that every part of the winemaking process—from farming to bottling—embraces a biodynamic and sustainable approach to winemaking that respects the local terroir and rejects additives or synthetic manipulation of the grapes.