Organic Wine, Natural Wine, and Sulfites: a Complete Guide
“Organic,” “natural,” “biodynamic,” and “sulfite-free” are some of the buzzwords being thrown around the wine industry today. Marketing terms that make promises such as these conjure up very specific images in the mind of the buyer, who likely imagines idyllic, countryside vineyards and 15th-century fermentation barrels. For some, these words mean better wine. To others, they might seem pretentious.
But far from being just trendy descriptors thrown onto high-end labels to accompany their lofty price tags, these adjectives hold the key to important information about how this particular wine was grown, processed, and fermented -- at a multitude of price points.
But what do words like “organic,” “natural,” “biodynamic,” and “sulfite-free” actually mean? What does it mean for the wine? Let’s find out.
What is organic wine?
The exact definition of “organic” gets a little fuzzy because it is usually up to the country in which the wine is being made. There isn’t exactly a universal standard for what constitutes an “organic farming practice,” but there are guidelines in place which have similar results. First, the grapes used to make organic wine should be untreated with artificial fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides throughout the growing process. Second, no sulfites should be added to the wine during the fermentation process. This is the most important factor in determining what is organic wine and what isn’t, although the allowable level of sulfites varies across different governments. The USDA certifies organic wine which has been grown using organic principles, and contains less than 10 ppm of sulfites. Organic wines will often have a bolder, sweeter and more varied taste from bottle to bottle. You can also expect a little bit of funk as the lack of sulfites allows the wine to age more rapidly. Here are some of our favorite organic wines from the Argaux collection.- 2024 Hanna Glatzer Carnuntum Blaufränkisch A light- to medium-bodied Austrian red from certified organic vineyards in Carnuntum, with sour cherry, wild raspberry and a long, spice-laced finish.
- 2021 La Rioja Alta Viña Alberdi Reserva Rioja A medium-bodied Tempranillo with bright acidity, aged two years in American oak and made with organic farming practices.
What is natural wine?
Natural wine may be thought of as organic wine without the certification. Also known as “low intervention” wine, natural wines contain no additives, and are farmed in accordance with principles that have been around since humans first began tilling the land and planting seeds. Many conventional labels contain things like lab-grown yeast, sugars, acids, and other supplemental ingredients which hasten or encourage the fermentation process. Natural wines, on the other hand, are made with grape juice, the naturally-occurring yeast on the surface of the fruit, time, and nothing else. By contrast, organic wines may contain additives such as added yeast or sugar but can maintain their certification as long as those ingredients come from an organic source. Natural wines have an undeniable funk to natural wines that comes from the wild yeasts being the main proponent of fermentation. They will also be slightly cloudy in appearance and might leave a bit of grit at the bottom of your glass -- but this just means that every sip is going to be an adventure. Skin-contact "orange" wines are a big part of that world, and our guide to orange wine explains how they are made and what they taste like. Here are some of the best natural and low-intervention wines that Argaux has to offer.- NV Martha Stoumen Post Flirtation Orange Wine A skin-contact orange wine from California’s North Coast, with dried apricot, chamomile and tangy citrus peel. The winery calls itself a small natural wine producer.
- 2025 Stolpman Vineyards Sauvignon Blanc A Santa Barbara County white from a family estate in Ballard Canyon that farms organically and favors native fermentation and minimal intervention in the cellar.
- 2023 Bedrock Wine Co. “Evangelho Heritage” Contra Costa Red Blend A field blend from own-rooted vines planted in the 1890s, farmed organically and fermented with native yeasts in open-top tanks.
What is sulfite-free wine?
To be frank, truly sulfite-free wine is a myth. Sulfites, as we mentioned earlier, are an inevitable by-product of fermentation and help to keep the wine fresh and unspoiled as it ages. It is however possible to find wine which is so low in sulfites that they are an insignificant aspect of its makeup, such as in many organic labels. Conventional wineries typically add sulfites to their wines as an artificial preservative, which gives them a much longer shelf-life and greater chemical stability. This means that most conventional wines have a relatively high concentration of sulfites, and this is typically when sensitive drinkers will experience the dreaded sulfite-headache. Of course you can avoid high sulfite levels by buying natural or certified-organic wines, instead. One of the reasons conventional winemakers use sulfites is to achieve a consistent flavor with each fermentation. But this can also dull the taste and dampen some of the nuances which make wine so delightful to imbibe. Like we said, you’ll be hard pressed to find a wine which is truly sulfite-free, but wines with no added sulfites will be more willing to show you their deep and subtle undertones. We can’t promise you a sulfite number for these two, but both come from organically farmed vineyards and are fermented with native yeasts.- 2023 Le Rocher des Violettes Chenin Blanc A dry, crisp Chenin from 60-plus-year-old vines in Montlouis-sur-Loire, with certified organic farming and native yeast fermentation.
- 2024 Bachelet-Monnot Santenay Blanc A white Burgundy from 30-plus-year-old vines on chalky soils, made by a domaine that practices organic farming. Native yeast fermentation, then 12 months in 350-liter barrels.
What is biodynamic wine?
The concept of biodynamic farming takes natural agriculture one step further. Rather than planting a monocrop of grapes, which natural farming still does, it seeks to create an ecosystem for the crop that replicates as closely as possible how grapes might grow in the wild. In nature, there are built-in checks and balances which allow plants to grow and thrive without being completely overwhelmed by weeds, pests, or fungi. And this informs how biodynamic wine is made. Grapes are integrated with other crops and often small numbers of livestock and other wild animals who, through their daily acts of living, will help to fertilize the plants and keep them in check so that one crop doesn’t take over the other. The soil fertility is also a critical aspect of biodynamic farming. Chemical pesticides and others are avoided at all costs in order to support a rich and healthy microbiome which will help to feed the grapes. Biodynamic farming is not a new concept, although there are still relatively few winemakers on the planet who follow these principles. And we’re not kidding when we say you can taste the soil in which the grape was grown. The plant’s proximity to wildness lends biodynamic wines an utterly unique and otherworldly depth of flavor. Here are some of the exquisite biodynamic wines we carry at Argaux.- 2025 Diwald “Vom Loss” Grüner Veltliner A Grüner Veltliner from Austria’s Wagram region, with white pepper, citrus zest and green apple. The Diwald family has farmed organically since 1976 and biodynamically since 2023, as members of respekt-BIODYN.
- 2021 Salicutti “Piaggione” Brunello di Montalcino A Brunello from Salicutti, Montalcino’s first organic estate, which its owners have been converting to biodynamic farming. Expect wild cherry, rose petals and dried herbs from a small, limestone-rich vineyard.
