🎶🍷 What Is Natural Wine? The Ultimate No-BS Guide (with Playlists to Match)

July 22, 2025 Playlist Wine

Natural wine. Mysterious, misunderstood, sometimes funky, always vibey. But what actually is it? And why is it everywhere from your cool friend's fridge to the trendiest natural wine bar with the best playlists?

At Playlist, we think of natural wine like music: expressive, alive, and all about the vibe. We’re here to break it down - no gatekeeping, no snobbery, no B.S. Just stories, feelings, and playlists.

What even is natural wine?

Natural wine is the raw, unfiltered mixtape of the wine world. Grapes are grown organically or biodynamically - no synthetic chemicals. In the cellar, winemakers step back: no commercial yeasts, no additives, no flashy corrections. Minimal or no sulfites. The result? A living wine that changes, evolves, and speaks its truth.

🎵 Imagine an unplugged live set - raw, pure, and electric.

How is it different from organic or biodynamic wine?

Organic focuses on farming practices only. Biodynamic treats the vineyard as a holistic, spiritual ecosystem (yes, there’s moon magic). Both can still be manipulated in the cellar. Natural wine demands purity in both vineyard and winery: nothing added, nothing taken away.

🎧 If organic is your local farm-to-table café, biodynamic is a chef’s lunar dinner party, then natural wine is a warehouse rave with a surprise DJ set at 4 a.m.

Why do people love it?

Because it’s real. It’s personality over perfection, vibe over polish. Natural wine tastes like where it’s from, who made it, and the wildness of the vintage.

🎵 It’s like playing your favorite playlist on shuffle and discovering that new track you’ll play on repeat all summer.

Wine styles that define the natural wine vibe

Orange wine

White grapes made like red, fermented on their skins. Bold, tannic, and unexpected. The synth-pop of wines - layered, weird, and addictive.

Pét-Nat

Short for pétillant-naturel. Sparkling wine bottled before fermentation finishes. Wild, fizzy, unpredictable. Like a backyard disco anthem.

Chillable reds (glou glou)

Juicy, light reds meant to chill and chug. Not all reds should be chilled - these are specially made to be bright and low-tannin, perfect for an ice bucket moment. The indie dance track you play on loop.

Cloudy whites

Often unfiltered and sometimes hazy, but not all natural whites are cloudy - many can be bright and clear too. Crisp, mineral, and full of energy. Like those fresh indie pop songs that make you feel alive.

Rosé

Bright, playful, and endlessly versatile. Like a perfect summer jam that somehow fits every playlist.

Piquette

Technically not wine - a second life for grape pomace (pulp), rehydrated and refermented. Low ABV, super crushable, and totally carefree. The bonus track you didn’t know you needed.

Co-ferments

Mixed grapes (or even grapes and apples) fermented together. The ultimate genre mashup.

Myths & hot takes

Myth: All natural wine is funky.
Truth: There’s a spectrum - from clean and mineral to wild and farmy.

Myth: Natural wine is new.
Truth: This is ancient winemaking. Modern intervention is the real new kid.

Myth: No hangovers.
Truth: Sorry. Hydrate, eat pizza, and don’t text your ex.

🎧 Natural wine isn’t always the weird noise album. There’s plenty of smooth soul and catchy pop.

The deeper stuff: How it’s made

Natural winemakers use native yeasts from the vineyard air, ferment spontaneously, and avoid fining and filtering. There are no 60+ additives allowed in conventional winemaking (yes, they exist: color stabilizers, sugar, acidifiers, even fish bladders). In natural wine, what you taste is grape, place, and nothing else.

Some might use minimal sulfites to keep the wine stable, but even then, at way lower levels than commercial wines.

Global vibes: Where natural wine shines

From the orange wines of Georgia to chill glou glou Beaujolais, to new-wave California and experimental Australia - natural wine is a global movement. Each region adds its own groove to the playlist.

How to enjoy it

Serve slightly cooler than you think. Chill reds, orange wines - embrace the unexpected.

Use a big glass. Let it breathe.

Don’t overthink. Let it evolve in the glass.

🎵 Like letting a new album play all the way through before skipping tracks.

The Playlist perspective

At Playlist, we drink to moments, not scores. We believe every bottle is a story, a mood, a playlist waiting to happen. We want you to feel free to explore, mix it up, and set your vibe - whether it’s a dinner party, a solo dance session, or a lazy Sunday.