Natural Wine Question?

If a wine is made from vines that are grafted onto rootstock, can the wine be called a natural wine?

Natural vs. Unnatural?

As I understand the term, natural wine refers to winemaking (cellar) operations…not grape growing. I’ve always understood natural winemaking as analogous to biodynamic farming.

But if you made wine from GMO grapes?

Is wine made from a GMO grapevine natural? By your definition, GMO wine would be natural wine?

A grafted grapevine is unnatural because it is artificial. A grafted grapevine does not occur naturally.

"Artificial: Made or produced by human beings rather than occurring naturally."

Because a grafted vine is produced by human beings, a grafted vine is by definition unnatural.

Similar to a GMO. A GMO is produced by human beings, and is also unnatural.

Splice a gene or splice growing tissue, both are unnatural by definition.

Zzzzzz

Well then all wine is unnatural as all wine requires human manipulation.

If “natural wine refers to winemaking (cellar) operations…not grape growing…” then by that definition, wine made from GMO grapes could be natural wine.

Natural wine, from GMO grapes?

Sure, for all the good it would do them…since the GMO grapes would eliminate most/all the folks interested in the natural winemaking aspect. But GMO is so inflammatory I’m not sure it’s as useful/interesting as ‘do the grapes have to be organic for a wine to be called natural’? Anyways, all the natural discussions I’ve seen/heard have focused on the winemaking side. I’m sure they intend for it to be applied to similarly grown grapes.

I suspect/think that everyone would be a lot happier if another term, other than natural, had been used…organic winemaking instead of natural for example, except organic wine already had a meaning that’s not esp useful. Course, there’s also the issue that what’s allowed in organic farming has gotten so expanded that it’s no longer the ‘low tech/old school’ approach to farming that it used to be, and that most folks think it is.

Also, regarding ‘natural’ vs ‘unnatural’…wine doesn’t exist on a two dimensional line, so the opposite of natural isn’t necessarily unnatural. Another (or several) completely orthogonal concepts would seems more appropriate. That makes natural harder to disprove…but I don’t think the natural vs unnatural ‘proof’ achieves anything.

So why would Peter ever say anything inflammatory?

Since there is no actual definition for a “natural” wine, the answer is of course, 47.

Sure there’s a definition…but it’s an English Major’s definition, not an Mathematician’s.

Where’s the “All of the above” button?

With these “Natural Wine” threads, plus the “Dry Farming” thread, I’d swear Mercury must be in retrograde this week. But it’s not. Must be ancient spirits visiting us during this most cursed of holidays.