Natural Wine for the People: What It Is, Where to Find It, How to Love It

by Alice Feiring

A compact illustrated guide to the emerging and enormously popular category of natural wine, a style that focuses on minimal intervention, lack of additives, and organic and biodynamic growing methods.

Today, wine is more favored and consumed that it's ever been in the United States--and millennials are leading the charge, drinking more wine than any other generation in history. Many have been pulled in by the tractor beam of natural wine--that is, organic or biodynamic wine made with nothing added, and nothing taken away--a movement that has completely rocked the wine industry in recent years. While all of the hippest restaurants and wine bars are touting their natural wine lists, and while more and more consumers are calling for natural wine by name, there is still a lot of confusion about what exactly natural wine is, where to find it, and how to enjoy it. In Natural Wine for the People , James Beard Award-winner Alice Feiring sets the record straight, offering a pithy, accessible guide filled with easy definitions, tips and tricks for sourcing the best wines, whimsical illustrations, a definitive list to the must-know producers and bottlings, and an appendix with the best shops and restaurants specializing in natural wine across the country, making this the must-buy and must-gift wine book of the year.

Genres: Wine, Nonfiction, Food, Reference, Food and Wine

176 pages, Hardcover

Published August 6, 2019

Reviews

[Michael MacDonald · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty good overview of the natural wine movement by one of the primary advocates for natural wine in journalism. My personal interest in natural wine doesn't always align with Feiring's, and sometimes I'm a little turned off by the partisan way in which natural wine is pitched as "good" while all other wine is cast as "bad" in broad strokes, which I think is in line with the cultist way that consumers in some US cities have approached the burgeoning natural wine movement. Some of the arguments for natural wine border on zealotry (e.g. claims of health benefits don't reference science to back them, and claims regarding sustainability don't address life cycle realities of international transport and temperature controlled storage for delicate wines).

I feel like there is a story out there to be told about the unpretentious and accessible Parisian natural wine bar scene, the artists who have flocked to the Loire in France to experiment in wine, the travelers who went on to spread wine through word of mouth and importing, the way that their relatively-affordable and independent approach has made them accessible for a generation that is priced out of elitist and pretentious wine worlds, and the way in which these wines have found homes for themselves outside of French & Italian cuisine traditions (Japan, Denmark, Night+Market, vegetarian/vegan). Sadly, this isn't that book, but it was educational and enjoyable all the same.

[Khloe Zolgharnain · Rating 5 out of 5]

Learned so much!! Great if you want to know more about natural wind farming,tasting etc

[Stephanie S · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted to run out to buy bottles the minute after I finished reading.

[Kim Raymond · Rating 3 out of 5]

3,5*

Court essai sur les vins natures, la philosophie derrière le mouvement et les vignerons qui la font vivre. Très intéressant, un excellent primer sur le sujet, avec certaines parties moins pertinentes si on a déjà une bonne connaissance du monde du vin et du vocabulaire de la dégustation, mais pas inutiles pour autant. Le glossaire qui est fournit en début de livre est très pratique! Contre toute attente, c'est vraiment la partie sur les vignerons qui m'a le plus accrochée, puisqu'on présente le travail de plusieurs viticulteurs qui sont des personnages plus grands que natures.

Je retire une demi étoile parce qu'Alice Feiring a pris le pari d'écrire un essai relativement opiniâtre où elle se donne le rôle de la personne qui détient la vérité, ce qui m'a hautement gossé à la longue, mais ça ne change rien sur le fond de son propos.

[Lindsey Geddes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first Alice Feiring book I have read . I was lead to it because I have been exploring the world of natural wine. Pretty much wine needs to be clean for me to drink. I am allergic to so many additives and histamines are battle for reds for me. I needed more option. Luckily this book came out to give me a start in a whole new world of wine for me. Biodynamics has always been a topic of interest for me so this book was like a kid in a candy store. I must say the natural wine world is more my pace weird and witchy right up my alley! In terms of how the book is laid out. Very easy to reference although I would have appreciated a label picture for the producer section. Helps with memory. I looked every single producer so I could remember the wines better.

[Jameson Fink · Rating 5 out of 5]

Check out a review of this book on my blog.

[Jerry Ciesielski · Rating 2 out of 5]

A light read. The first two-thirds of the book is a good introduction to natural wine for people coming into it with zero-knowledge, but if you already have on interest in natural wine, you may not learn much more until you get into the last third. After that, the content turns to the regions, the people, and producers, and some of the stories behind them were interesting. The book’s tone is sometimes apologetic, (especially when discussing funk and off-flavors) and at other times proselytizing (natural wine is almost always better than conventionally made wine!)
I’m not sure what I expected from the book, but by the end, I didn’t feel quite satisfied.

[Timothy · Rating 4 out of 5]

An excellent introduction to the world of natural wine. Alice Feiring does a wonderful job of defining what natural wine is, taking into account the malleability inherent in natural winemaking since there is no official standard in place. The book is written without any sort of preachiness, superiority, or condescension (a few sentences are on the verge of being so, but don't quite go over the line). I highly recommend this book to anyone who is curious about the natural wine movement or with a general interest in wine.

[Debbie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conventional wine making includes seventy-plus additives, including two genetically modified yeasts. The GMO yeasts are legal only in the United States and Moldova. Seriously. And, unlike food manufacturers, wine makers are not required to tell the consumer what additives they include in their wine. Unbelievable!

Natural wines are as yet hard to find, but that is slowly changing. This book is very informative and user friendly. I'm officially on the hunt.

[Erin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book and definitely have a stronger understanding of natural wine after having read it. This book is not without pretension, though, and the author has very strong opinions that sometimes veer into rant territory.

The illustrations in this book are a ton of fun! I wouldn't necessarily say the tone of the writing matches the poppy, color-blocked graphics that are featured, but they do help to lighten the mood.

[Marcelo Ferranti · Rating 3 out of 5]

Come on, Alice. To say that conventional winemaking (that benefits from technology, thus, enhancing each varietal characteristics) is "impure" and/or full of added chemicals and flavour enhancers (some bulk wines are, to be fair), while Natural wine is "vibrant" and "pure" is totally misleading. The best wines of the world use some form of modern technology (since Nature is not perfect). This romantic view is naïve and hippieish.

[Erin Pacitti]

I enjoyed this book and definitely have a stronger understanding of natural wine after having read it. This book is not without pretension, though, and the author has very strong opinions that sometimes veer into rant territory.

The illustrations in this book are a ton of fun! I wouldn't necessarily say the tone of the writing matches the poppy, color-blocked graphics that are featured, but they do help to lighten the mood.

[Sam Asthana · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lovely book, quick read. The first 1/3 is a great intro to natural wine, the middle 1/3 is great info about details of actually pursuing tasting and buying natural wine, and the last 1/3 is a bit of narrowcasting info for those really in the world. A good read but also a good reference book to keep around the house. Enjoyed it!

[Sarah Holliday · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed the tone & learned a lot—but the author assumes the reader will have a decent amount of knowledge about wine, so there were several times I didn’t follow.

I’ll definitely be purchasing (I read a copy from the library this time around) once I’ve built up my foundational wine knowledge a bit more!

[Hannah · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've had this book for years but finally read through it. Now I'm up on all the best natural wineries in various countries and I'm more familiar with all the natural wine terminology from Oxidative (not oxidized) to zero/zero. A good guide for those who want to find out what natural wine is. Also, with fun colorful illustrations!

[Allison Kohl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Of all the wine guides I’ve read this year, “Natural Wine for the People” was my favorite, in part due to my adoration for Alice and the wonderful work she’s doing in the wine world. A must read for any wine lover - beginner or not.

[Cassandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

Nice introduction to the natural wine world, but leaving with more questions for myself to dive into outside of the book.

A good portion of the book is dedicated to wine producers. It would’ve been helpful to see images of labels or logos so I can easily identify them in the wild.

[Shelby Stevens · Rating 4 out of 5]

ah yes--rounding out a soberhealingreading weekend by reading a book on natural wine. learned a lot, likely retained little, but have now left the book with a very specific thirst and a good list of natural wine shops around the city to visit.

[Lara DiBlasio · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved it. It’s non pretentious and i feel smarter. Wine education can be so classist and snooty and this book is anything but. This book is for the average person!!! I will be using my newfound knowledge at my restaurant job tmrw💐💐💐

[David M · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good introduction to the movement. A suggestion: including pictures of wine labels & winemakers, importer logos, and maps showing selected producers would increase the book's value.

[Emma McL · Rating 5 out of 5]

Could not put this down.

[Sarah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Super interesting backfill of some natural wine gaps I’ve acquired in tandem with loving it more over the last 18 months. Recommend!

[Missy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Outstanding guide to natural wine. The author’s absolute love of the subject is infectious.

[Becca Saulsberry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great subject, writing, and illustrations. Not quite as digestible as “Wine Simple”

[Morane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Such a great book if you want to know more about the natural wines and the trend around it.
Bonus : the illustrations of Nishant Choksi are super nice !

[Andrew Ettinger · Rating 3 out of 5]

The first two sections: what and how are must-reads for people who prefer natural wine, but the rest is a little above my pay grade.

[Josh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great overview of natural wines for anyone trying to learn about it. Really loved the basic definition of what a natural wine is as well as the regional overviews of where to try them.

[Данило Гончар · Rating 5 out of 5]

Дуже цікаве видання, яке розкрило мені сутність нової для мене філософії щодо натурального вина, окремо хотілося б виділити оформлення, яке бездоганне

[Mercedes · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’ve read two of Alice’s books now and frankly I think she’s full of shit. That’s the review.

[Abhishek Kona · Rating 2 out of 5]

One chapter in it thats worth reading. Everything else is lists of tings. NOPE