Natural Wine: All The Health Benefits + Why You Should Make The Switch

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Conventional wine

1. The growing process

Irrigation is a common practice in farming as it lowers the overall cost for wine companies while also increasing the fruit yield. While it may produce more grapes overall, irrigation isn’t ideal for the vine and lowers the nutrient density of the grapes themselves. And since part of the benefit of red wine is its antioxidant polyphenol content, we want to keep these as high as possible.

2. High in sugar

To make wine, you ferment grape juice by adding yeast which eats the sugar in the juice. This produces alcohol and carbon dioxide. Conventional wine makers typically add in additional sulfites (these also occur naturally at low amounts due to the fermentation process) which kill off the yeast early before it has the chance to eat all of the sugar - leaving residual sugar in the final product. Additionally, a lot of brands add more sugar into the wine to achieve a particular flavor or sweetness to attract different consumers.

3. GMO-yeast

Most conventional wines rely on GMO, lab-made yeasts for fermentation because of their low costs which allow for mass production. While good for business, these aren’t the best for our health.

4. High alcohol content

Wait, wouldn’t you want your wine to give you a little bit of a buzz? Most people do at least. But studies have shown that large amounts of alcohol can affect your cognitive function. Most people don’t need a super high alcohol content to still enjoy a glass of wine and a little buzz without waking up the next day with a headache or residual brain fog.

Natural wine

1. Dry farmed

Instead of relying on irrigation, natural wine farmers let the vines find their natural water source, a process known as “dry farming.” Not only does it produce a more nutrient-dense grape, dry farming saves millions of gallons of water each year. 

2. Low sugar content

Natural wines are also fully fermented wines. Instead of adding in extra sulfites, natural winemakers allow the yeast to eat all of the sugar resulting in wines much lower in sugar. In fact, a lot of natural wines can be considered “sugar-free” at less than 1g per bottle. Because of this, these wines can also be considered paleo and keto-friendly. Now that’s a win in my book.

3. Low in sulfites

Many people have a sensitivity to sulfites which can contribute to side effects such as swelling, digestive pain, and headaches. Since natural wines don’t add in additional sulfites during the fermentation process, it results in wines that only contain low-levels of naturally occurring sulfites. Looking at it this way, sulfites can naturally occur in wine up to 30ppm (parts per million) per bottle, whereas conventional wines typically have between 150-300ppm per bottle.

Dry Farm Wines

This is why I source all of my wine from Dry Farm Wines. As a company, they are committed to partnering with winemakers from all over the world that fall in line with specific standards they have set for natural wine.

All wines Dry Farm Wines are:

• Dry farmed (hence the name!)
• Naturally or biodynamically farmed
• Lab tested for purity
• Sugar-free (<0.15g/glass)
• Lower alcohol (<12.5%)
• Handcrafted/Small Batch
• Old World International Natural Wines
• Mycotoxin/mold free
• Wild, native yeast
• Free of Industrial Additives
• Grown From Older Vines (35-100 years)

Instead of spending hours researching companies, I can subscribe to a monthly or bi-monthly subscription to get a variety of high-quality red, white, and rosé wines delivered straight to my door.

Since wine doesn't have nutritional labels, I can trust that each bottle I receive lines up with their strict standards because Dry Farm Wines is transparent in what they look for from each winemaker and in each bottle.

Every shipment includes free shipping and their promise of a full refund should you not love what was sent to you. Although I don’t drink wine often (I consider it a special treat), I personally noticed a difference in how I felt the next day after my first bottle of Dry Farm Wines. And the taste reflects the quality in the bottle. Just how you can taste the difference in high-quality meat or produce, you can taste the purity in each sip.

For a limited time, with each new Dry Farm Wines subscription order, you’ll get an extra bottle for only a penny! So whether you are a fan of red wine or prefer something lighter like white wine or rosé, you’ll love Dry Farm Wines. It’s a difference your taste buds will thank you for as well as your health. Grab your subscription here.

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