Is All Wine Natural? The Story of Natural Wine

The Quick Answer

Not at all. In fact most wine currently available to buy is a heavily industrial product. But, there is hope.

Wine used to be just wine — grapes, time, and fermentation. But as industrialization took over, winemaking changed. Additives, chemicals, and manipulation entered the picture. What we now call “natural wine” is simply a return to the origins.

👉 In Georgia, the birthplace of wine, there’s no need for the label. There, wine = natural wine. The rest have names like factory wine, modified wine, etc.

How Wine Lost Its “Natural”

For thousands of years, people made wine the same way: crush grapes, let them ferment, and wait.
Simple, alive, and unfiltered.

But the rise of industrial production changed everything:

• Sulfites, cultured yeasts, stabilizers, and additives became standard.

• Stainless steel tanks and lab-controlled processes replaced clay vessels and wild ferments.

• The result: factory wine — consistent, polished, but disconnected from its roots.

The Return of “Natural Wine”

The natural wine movement is really a rediscovery. It means:
✅ Grapes grown organically or biodynamically
✅ Fermentation with wild yeast
✅ No additives, no heavy manipulation
✅ Often unfiltered, unrefined

Natural wine is the attempt to reclaim what wine was before industry reshaped it.

Georgia: Where Wine Never Stopped Being Natural 🏺

In Georgia, wine never went through the industrial break.
For over 8,000 years, Georgians have been fermenting grapes in qvevri (clay vessels buried underground).

For them:

• What the world calls “natural wine” is simply wine.

• What the world calls “wine” (factory-made) is called factory wine.

It’s not a trend in Georgia — it’s a living tradition.

Why It Matters Today

Natural wine isn’t just about taste. It’s about authenticity:

• A glass of nature’s raw product.

• A way of connecting with history.

• A chance to experience wine as it was always meant to be.

And yes, like kombucha or other ferments, natural wine can even carry beneficial properties when enjoyed in moderation. 🍷

Taste the Real Thing

For us at Kinto, natural wine isn’t a marketing buzzword — it’s the continuation of an ancient philosophy.

👉 Explore our Georgian natural wines and taste the difference.