“Natural wine” has become such a common phrase that sometimes we no longer know what it means. Is it a wine without sulfites? Without filtration? Without human intervention? Or simply a wine that wants to appear more authentic than the rest?
The truth is that the term "natural" is a bit slippery—like a fermentation gone awry. There's no universal legal definition, and each producer interprets it in their own way. That's why many prefer to talk about ancestral or traditional wines, which aren't trying to be trendy, but rather a return to their roots.
What makes a wine "ancestral"?
Traditional method of treading grapes to make red wine. Source: elviopires.blogspot.com
In short, these are wines made the way they were made before modern winemaking, when wine depended more on instinct, experience and natural microbiology than on technology, additives, pesticides, etc.
Some examples of methods that fit that philosophy:
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🍇 Spontaneous fermentation: the wine ferments with the native yeasts present on the grape skins and in the winery. No commercial yeasts are used, only the local flora that gives the place its identity.
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🍷 No filtration or aggressive clarification: the wine is left to rest and bottled with its small natural particles.
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🪵 There are no additives: excess sulfites, enzymes, or chemical corrections are avoided. The wine is cared for, but not disguised.
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🍾 Ancestral Method (Pét-Nat): the oldest sparkling wine. It is bottled before fermentation is complete, allowing the natural CO₂ to be trapped. No dosage, no controlled second fermentation: just honest, lively bubbles.
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🏺 Skin maceration or aging in clay amphorae: ancient techniques that seek texture and character. Before barrels, wine was stored in clay pots or amphorae, and many wineries are reviving this art.
Amphora for the rearing stage. Source: https://www.gourmethunters.com/
In short, ancestral/traditional wines remind us that wine is a living food—a direct expression of the land, the grape, and time. The expression of terroir has always been what sets wine apart from any other beverage, and has done so for centuries.
A winemaker once told me that not using indigenous yeasts was a fatal error if one wants to make terroir driven wine. "Fatal!" was exactly what he said. To do so, one must tend to the vineyards using organic or sustainable practices. There is no alternative if we want the wine to express its origin.
Natural wine doesn't have to be funky, although many think that's what defines it. It's crucial to understand that wines have been made with "minimal intervention" and "naturally" for centuries. Chemicals, herbicides, and pesticides are from the twentieth century. Before then, they didn't exist, and the way to stop or kill a pest was only with something natural. There was no laboratory-grown yeast until the late 19th century. Filtration and stabilization were achieved using practices many still employ, such as racking and opening the cellar doors in winter to allow cold air in, causing the solids to settle naturally. What many winemakers want when making natural wine is to return to the methods of our ancestors and continue the tradition of crafting a wine that proudly reflects its origin.
A toast to those who are no longer with us
And perhaps that's why the subject feels so appropriate for this time of year.
While Mexico fills with candles, flowers and pan de muerto, and we prepare offerings to welcome those who visit us from the other side, ancestral wines invite us to do the same: honor our origins.
Because every spontaneous fermentation holds a memory, something that comes from afar. And if the Day of the Dead is a bridge between worlds, what better wine to offer than one made as before—without haste, without pretension, with soul?
So this November 2nd, when you place the glass on the offering, choose a traditional or ancestral wine.
Perhaps, at the first sip, someone from the past will smile and say: "That's what wine tasted like when the land spoke more than the label."
