Yesterday I talked to a master somm
If you’ve ever stood in the wine aisle wondering what any of those labels actually mean, you’re not alone.
Yesterday I talked to a master somm...
We found ourselves circling around the same word that everyone seems to be using lately: natural.
What does it really mean when it comes to wine? Most people assume it’s a category—something clearly defined, like organic or biodynamic. Then he said something that stuck with me: there’s actually no legal definition for natural wine. None. Even the Court of Master Sommeliers doesn’t officially recognize “natural wine.” Are you surprised?
Here’s what matters more: intention. Making wine that doesn’t rely on additives or shortcuts. Just grapes grown with care, fermented into something alive, honest, and reflective of the land. That’s the shared goal, whether you’re a farmer, a winemaker, sommelier, or someone simply trying to drink better wine.
Join us for the next wine class
Most wines on grocery shelves are made to taste identical year after year. They’re engineered for consistency, adjusted with stabilizers, sugar, and lab-grown yeast. But when you reach for smaller producers, the experience changes. You start tasting personality, knowledge, soil, climate, and craftsmanship showing up in the glass. It’s wine with a heartbeat.
The farming behind it matters just as much. Regenerative agriculture brings the vineyard back to life—restoring soil health, encouraging biodiversity, and creating balance without chemicals. Healthy soil grows strong vines, and strong vines don’t need fixing resulting in grapes full of character and depth.
Small-production wines honor that philosophy. They’re hand-harvested and sorted by people who know the fruit, not machines programmed for speed. Some are left unfiltered or unfined so what you see as “haze” in the glass is just the trace of real grapes, the native yeast, not a flaw. It’s the texture of authenticity, it’s the terroir.
At allmine, we’ll keep celebrating wines that feel good for your body and for the planet. Not because they fit a label, but because they represent care, craftsmanship, and connection.
We’ve also made a few cozy menu changes for the season, and our next Thursday Wine Social, on November 20th, will be all about decoding wine labels and spotting better bottles at the grocery store. We’ll taste, talk, and share a few tricks for pairing wines with your holiday meals.
Bring your curiosity. I'll bring the wine.
Roxana
