Natural vs Organic vs Biodynamic Wine

In the EU

EU organic wine must be made from certified organic grapes and follow EU rules on winemaking. The rules restrict which additives and processing aids may be used and set lower sulfite limits than for conventional wine: 100 mg/L (ppm) total SO₂ for red wine and 150 mg/L (ppm) for white and rosé with residual sugar under 2 g/L. Other wines get 30 mg/L (ppm) below the conventional limit. These limits were first set in Regulation (EU) No 203/2012 and are carried over under Regulation (EU) 2018/848 (Annex II, Part VI) in Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1165, Annex V, Part D. (Sources: EUR-Lex, Regulation (EU) 2018/848; Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1165.)

In the US: “organic” vs “made with organic grapes”

The USDA has two categories:

• “Organic” wine: grapes and other agricultural ingredients must be certified organic, and sulfites may not be added. Naturally occurring sulfites must stay under 10 mg/L (ppm). Only this category can carry the USDA organic seal.
• “Made with organic grapes”: all grapes must be certified organic, but sulfur dioxide may be added as long as total sulfites stay under 100 mg/L (ppm). These labels may not use the USDA seal.

(Sources: USDA AMS, “Organic Wine: Oversight, Labeling + Trade”; TTB wine labeling guide; NOP Policy Memo 10-2.)

This is why many European organic wines are sold in the US as “made with organic grapes”: EU organic rules allow added sulfites, the USDA “organic” category does not.

Biodynamic farming builds on organic farming and adds its own practices, such as preparations made on the farm and a calendar for vineyard work. The two main certifiers for wine are Demeter and Biodyvin. In general, biodynamic certification requires the vineyard to be organically certified first.

Demeter also sets stricter cellar rules. For still wines with under 5 g/L fermentable sugar, Demeter France allows 70 mg/L (ppm) total SO₂ for red wine and 90 mg/L (ppm) for white and rosé. Fermentation must start with native yeasts; added yeast is only tolerated to restart a stuck fermentation, and a wine fermented with added yeast from the start loses the label. (Source: Demeter France, summary of vinification specification, 2024.) Biodyvin sets 80 mg/L (ppm) for dry red wine and 105 mg/L (ppm) for dry white and rosé (up to 5 g/L sugar); for wines aged more than 9 months the limits are 110 and 135 mg/L (ppm). (Source: Biodyvin, Cahier des charges, updated 26 November 2024.)

There is no legal definition of natural wine in the EU or the US. The most established standard is France's Vin Méthode Nature (since 2020). Under its charter:

• 100% of the grapes must come from certified organic farming
• grapes are hand-harvested
• fermentation uses only native yeasts
• no oenological additives
• no filtration, reverse osmosis, flash pasteurization, thermovinification or centrifugation
• no sulfites before or during fermentation; a small addition afterwards is allowed up to 30 mg/L (ppm) total, and must be shown with a separate logo

(Source: vinmethodenature.org, “Le label” and Charter of Commitment.)

Many natural wine producers are not certified under any natural wine charter but follow similar principles.

PACT works with small producers in the Languedoc, around Béziers. Their farming status, as recorded in our database:

For every wine we list the additives and sulfites the producer reports.