Natural wine in Amsterdam — an honest guide

Natural wine appears on almost every interesting wine list in Amsterdam. Yet hardly anyone can say precisely what the term means. That is no accident: there is no legal definition. This guide explains what natural wine means in practice, what to expect in the glass, and how to choose without being swept along by fashion.

What is natural wine?

Natural wine is wine made with as little intervention as possible. In the vineyard that means organic or biodynamic farming, hand harvesting and no synthetic treatments. In the cellar it means fermentation with wild yeasts, no additions such as commercial yeast, acid, sugar or enzymes, and little to no added sulphite.

Important: "natural wine" is not a certification. Organic and biodynamic (Demeter) are. So a bottle calling itself natural can be anything from a precise, low-sulphite wine to a cloudy, heavily yeasty one.

Natural, organic and biodynamic: the difference

Organic concerns the vineyard: no synthetic treatments, certified and verifiable.

Biodynamic goes further: the vineyard is treated as a whole, following an agricultural calendar and using preparations. Also certifiable.

Natural is mostly about the cellar: adding and removing as little as possible. Not certified, but recognisable through the producers and importers.

Many excellent wines are organic without being natural. And not every natural wine is by definition better than a classically made bottle.

What does it taste like?

Natural wine often has more energy and less polish than conventional wine. Expect:

• fresher, sometimes wilder aromatics
• lighter structure in reds, often served cooler
• a slightly cloudy appearance, because the wine is unfiltered
• occasionally a light spritz or a cider-like note

Those last two are not always intentional. Cellar faults produce aromas heading towards nail polish, mousiness or rancid cider. That is not a style, that is a flaw. A good natural wine is fresh and clean, simply less ironed-out than a conventional one.

How to choose a natural wine you will enjoy

1. Say what you normally drink. If you like Sancerre, a low-sulphite Loire white is the logical step. If you like Burgundy, start with light Gamay or Poulsard. 2. Ask about the importer. In the Netherlands the importer is often a better quality signal than the label. 3. Start with whites and sparkling. Pét-nat and low-sulphite whites are more approachable than the most experimental reds or orange wines. 4. Try it by the glass first. Natural wine varies from bottle to bottle. A glass costs you nothing if it is not for you.

Orange wine: a chapter of its own

Orange wine is white wine made on the skins, like a red. That gives tannin, texture and notes of tea, apricot and nuts. It is not the same as natural wine, though the two often overlap. With shared dining, orange wine is remarkably versatile: it holds up against spice, umami and dishes where white is too light and red too heavy.

Natural wine in Amsterdam: what to expect

The city has a lively natural wine scene, particularly in De Pijp, the Jordaan and Amsterdam East. You will find bars devoted entirely to natural wine, and bars that pour it alongside classic bottles.

At Paskamer we do the latter. Our list holds more than 350 European wines, including organic, biodynamic and low-sulphite bottles — selected on taste, not on category. If you want an evening entirely of natural wine, that is possible. If you would rather taste a natural wine next to a classic Burgundy to understand the difference, that is often more instructive.

Questions worth asking a sommelier

• Which wine on the list is low in sulphite but still clean?
• Do you have a natural wine that suits this dish?
• What is the difference between these two bottles of the same grape?

Those are the questions that make a wine list genuinely useful. Our sommeliers are happy to help — whether you want to go all in on natural wine, or simply want to know what the fuss is about.