The Phenomenon of Natural Wines

Natural wines have largely entered the market creating a new commercial trend. Natural wines, a term that is current lacking a legal definition, often create misunderstandings regarding the quality of natural wines, the expectations of the consumer. Today there are various definitions given by local natural wine associations (mainly European countries), including the rules to be followed, a production pattern. In any case, their differentiation from organic, biodynamic and even conventional wines is distinct. In view of the implementation of the European Common Agricultural Policy 2023-2027 in relation to the labeling of wines is important to study the future of natural wines production.

The majority of Europeans citizens agree that environmental issues have a direct effect on their daily life and health. Climate change, depleting of natural resources and human activity have a number of negative effects on the environment, resulting a greater demand for environmentally friendly products. At the forefront is the increase in demand for organic, biodynamic and natural wines [1,2].

In the wine market, perceptions of environmental quality seem to play a critical role in consumer preference [3]. The search for foods in general and wines in particular that are controlled during their production by competent organisms, focuses on organic-natural-biodynamic wines [4,5].

Natural wine is less well defined than biologically or biodynamically produced wines and is considered a movement rather than a defined form of agricultural production, as currently the products are not certified in the same way as organic or biodynamic wine production methods [6] Natural wines have in the recent past been despised and deemed defective by some wine critics, mainly due to oxidative effects and microbial spoilage that often result from minimal use of preservatives, which are included in conventional wine production practices [7]. Among the first visionaries were agronomists such as the Austrian Rudolph Steiner, the Japanese Masanobu Fukuoka, and the Burgundian chemist Jules Chauvet [8].

Many definitions are given to natural wines and there is an inability to give a single definition (Table 1).

The absence of regulation also means that a certification system cannot be applied, which creates a key problem: what will be written on the label? As is well known without certification the term natural or anything else cannot be mentioned on the label [11].

In France, natural wine has recently been recognized as a separate category and is certified under the name Vin Méthode Nature (Vin Méthode Nature, n.d.). However, this certification has provoked intense debate in the European Commission, as other EU countries do not agree with the French certification, considering it as a form of unfair competition against their own wineries [12]. To qualify as a Vin Méthode Nature, a wine must be made from biologically certified grapes that are harvested by hand. Yeasts must be native. All corrective additions sometimes used to address nature deficiencies in meeting the expectations of consumers or producers are prohibited [13] (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Logo vin methode nature.

Before 2012, wines were exempt from EC Regulation 2092/91 [14] on organic food processing and there were no rules for organic wines, only for organic grape farming [15]. Consequently the wine on the label could not be described as "organic", but "wine from organic grapes". The above regulation is repealed on 1 January 2009 by EU Council Regulation no. 834/2007. As of August 2012, organic wines can be labeled "organic" with the EU organic logo [16]. This means that the wine can now be properly identified as an organic product [17]. However, in third countries there are differences. Usually, the most important goal is not to use synthetic chemical fertilizers and pesticides and genetically modified organisms [18]. In many countries such as the USA, Canada and Australia, this category of wines has been regulated since 2000. Today, many countries, despite different regulations, allow after the certification of the product to use the term "organic wine" together with the organic logo on their label. In Europe, organic wines are certified by private bodies authorized by a public accreditation authority. This regulation allows consumers to distinguish organic wines from conventional ones [19,20].

From 2007 to 2017, the area of organic vineyards, including biodynamic producers, more than tripled worldwide, from 122,420 to 403,047 hectares, accounting for 5.7% of the total area of the vineyard [21]. France is known to be the largest wine markets, 90% of the natural wines sold until 2017, were from France. So sales of organic wines from 2010 to 2017 increased by 20% [22].

According to Arthur [23] Austria has the highest percentage of organic vineyard production with 9.6%. In Italy, organic wine accounts for 2% of the volume of all wines and there is a significant increase of 14.6% in 2016 and 109.9% from the very first quarter of 2017. In the United Kingdom, organic wines represent 2, 2% of the wine market by volume in 2017. About 72% of the organic wine sold in the UK is produced in France, Italy and Spain [24]. In Sweden it was 17% by volume in 2015 from 2.6% in 2008. In Switzerland, organic wine represents 2% of the total wine market [23].

Finally, according to R. Arthur in 2019, organic wine is still a small sector, as it represents 3.6% of global wine sales. But with more than 1 billion bottles sold worldwide by 2022, it is gaining ground [25].

Environmental awareness has sharpened, leading to a shift to more environmentally friendly habits. This implies the increase of the production but also of the consumption of wines whose production cycle does not burden the environment, that is, biologically, biodynamically, "naturally".

In the future, in order to consolidate natural wines in the market, it is necessary to regulate the legislation on the definition, so that on the one hand there is no confusion between natural wine associations and on the other hand there is effective control by approved bodies. It is primordial the education of the consumers in relation to the definition/use of the term natural and their differences from the other categories of wines.

According to the new common agricultural policy (CAP 2023-2027) of the European Union, which has been described by many as a green agreement, from 2024 on the labels of wines will be written their caloric value (E), while a QR code will lead to winery website where the ingredients of the wine will be mentioned, with the exception of the allergens that are already obligatorily listed on the label. Electronic tagging technology is believed to be able to convey accurate and complete information to the consumer, reducing misunderstandings.

Perhaps the new legislative requirements that will come into force soon will finally exert a more effective lever of pressure to establish a legislative definition but also a spectacular increase in sales of "real" natural wines.

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