What Is Natural Wine?
A Guide for Australians Seeking Wine With Integrity
In recent years, natural wine has moved from underground cellars and small bars into the wider Australian conversation. Yet despite its growing popularity, many people are still asking the same question:
What exactly is natural wine?
At Amor Fati, we believe natural wine isn’t a trend — it’s a return. A return to farming with respect, to winemaking with restraint, and to wine as a living expression of place rather than a manufactured product.
This guide is written for Australians who want clarity — without dogma — on what natural wine really is, how it’s made, and how to choose bottles that align with both quality and values.
What Is Natural Wine?
At its core, natural wine is wine made with minimal intervention, both in the vineyard and the cellar.
While there is no single global legal definition, natural wine generally follows three principles:
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Grapes are farmed organically or biodynamically
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Fermentation happens using native (wild) yeasts
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Additives and processing are avoided or kept to an absolute minimum
In other words, natural wine allows grapes to become wine without heavy manipulation.
No shortcuts.
No cosmetics.
No industrial fixes.
What Makes Natural Wine Different?
To understand natural wine, it helps to contrast it with conventional winemaking (most wines found in big chain liquor stores and supermarkets).
Conventional Wine
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Synthetic pesticides and fertilisers
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Commercial yeasts engineered for flavour consistency
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Acidification, tannin powders, enzymes, colour enhancers
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Heavy filtration and stabilisation
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Designed to taste the same, year after year
Natural Wine
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Organic or biodynamic farming
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Native yeast fermentation
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Little to no additions (often zero)
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Minimal filtration (or none at all)
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Reflects vintage variation and terroir (land it comes from)
Natural wine is alive — and that liveliness is exactly what draws people to it.
Is Natural Wine the Same as Organic Wine?
Not quite.
Organic Wine
Organic wine refers primarily to how the grapes are grown. In Australia, organic certification means:
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No synthetic pesticides or herbicides
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Strict soil and farming standards
However, organic wine can still be heavily manipulated in the cellar.
Natural Wine
Natural wine goes further:
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Organic or biodynamic farming plus
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Minimal intervention winemaking
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Fewer additives than legally allowed in organic wine
Think of organic as the foundation — and natural wine as the philosophy built on top.
What About Biodynamic Wine?
Biodynamic wine is often part of the natural wine world, but not always.
Biodynamics treats the vineyard as a living ecosystem, guided by seasonal rhythms, lunar cycles, and holistic farming practices. These methods support soil vitality, root health, and vine resilience, often resulting in fruit of exceptional quality.
However, biodynamic certification alone does not guarantee low-intervention winemaking. Some biodynamic wines are still heavily adjusted after harvest.
At Amor Fati, many of the wines we curate are both biodynamic and natural, because when farming and winemaking are aligned, the results speak clearly for themselves.
How Is Natural Wine Made?
Natural wine follows a simple but demanding process:
1. Farming With Respect
Healthy soil is everything. Natural winemakers prioritise:
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Living soils
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Biodiversity
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Hand harvesting
This is where flavour truly begins — long before the grapes reach the cellar.
2. Native Yeast Fermentation
Instead of adding commercial yeasts, natural wine ferments using wild yeasts present on the grape skins and in the winery.
This creates:
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Greater complexity
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Unique textures
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Wines that reflect their place of origin
3. Minimal Intervention in the Cellar
Natural winemakers avoid:
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Enzymes
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Acid adjustments
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Tannin powders
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Heavy filtration
Some wines receive a small amount of sulphur (a natural preservative) at bottling, others none at all. The goal is stability without stripping character.
Wine as Energy: Sun, Soil, and Mineral Memory
At its most fundamental level, wine is stored sunlight.
Every vine draws energy from the sun through photosynthesis, converting light into sugars, acids, and compounds that later become wine. But sunlight alone is not enough. What gives wine its depth, structure, and tension is the mineral composition of the soil the vine is rooted in.
Calcium, magnesium, potassium, iron — these minerals move from soil to vine, from grape to fermentation, and ultimately into the bottle. They are not flavourings added later. They are inherited.
This is why natural winemaking matters.
When vineyards are farmed organically or biodynamically, soils remain alive. Microbial ecosystems stay intact. Minerals are not stripped or locked away by chemical inputs. The vine can access what it needs — and express it honestly.
Many growers also work in rhythm with lunar and planetary cycles, not as belief, but as observation. Sap flow, root activity, and fermentation behaviour respond to gravitational forces and seasonal timing. These cycles influence how vines grow, how grapes ripen, and how wine settles and evolves.
When winemaking is restrained — no aggressive filtration, no heavy manipulation — these subtle expressions are not erased.
What remains is a wine that carries:
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The warmth of its sun
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The structure of its soil
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The memory of its season
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The quiet imprint of its place
At Amor Fati, this is why we choose natural wine.
Not because it is fashionable — but because it preserves what already exists.
Does Natural Wine Taste Different?
Yes — and that’s the point.
Natural wine can be:
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Fresh and vibrant
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Textural and layered
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Savoury rather than sweet
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Cloudy or unfiltered
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Slightly wild, but never careless
While poorly made natural wine does exist (as with any category), well-made natural wine offers clarity, energy, and depth you simply won’t find in mass-produced bottles.
Is Natural Wine Better for You?
Natural wine is not a health product — but it is often:
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Lower in sulphites
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Free from synthetic additives
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Easier to digest for some people
More importantly, it is honest wine.
What you see is what you get.
Natural Wine in Australia
Australia has a thriving natural wine scene, driven by:
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Small, independent growers
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A strong bar and restaurant culture
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Consumers seeking transparency and authenticity
From Victoria to South Australia and beyond, Australian natural winemakers are producing wines that stand confidently on the world stage.
At Amor Fati, we also curate exceptional natural wines from Europe, focusing on growers whose work is deeply rooted in place, tradition, and restraint.
How to Choose a Good Natural Wine
When buying natural wine in Australia, look for:
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Clear information about the producer
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Organic or biodynamic farming practices
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Importers or retailers who curate with intention
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Wines that are stored and shipped with care
Natural wine rewards trust — and choosing the right source matters.
Explore Natural Wine With Amor Fati
Amor Fati exists to make natural wine approachable, meaningful, and worthy of attention.
Each bottle we select is chosen not just for flavour, but for:
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Integrity of farming
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Thoughtful winemaking
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A sense of place and story
🔗 Explore our curated natural wine collection →
(link to Natural Wines collection)
Final Thoughts
Natural wine is not about perfection — it’s about presence.
It invites you to slow down, to taste closely, and to engage with wine as something alive rather than engineered.
For Australians seeking wine with integrity, natural wine offers a deeper connection — to the land, to the maker, and to the moment you open the bottle.
And that, ultimately, is the philosophy behind Amor Fati.