The story of American wine has long been one of taming the wild—of planting European vines in disciplined rows and mastering cellar techniques to create polished, powerful, and predictable wines. But a counter-narrative has taken root, one that seeks not to tame the wilderness but to channel it. This is the story of America’s natural wine movement, a sprawling, diverse, and fiercely independent scene that is redefining what American wine can be, from the foggy coasts of California to the rolling hills of Vermont.
Unlike in Europe, where the natural wine movement is often a rebellion against centuries of rigid appellation law, the American version is born from a different kind of freedom. It is a rebellion against the stylistic homogeneity and corporate scale that came to define the industry in the late 20th century. American natural winemakers are pioneers in a land with few unbreakable rules, free to explore forgotten grapes, unconventional techniques, and marginal terroirs that larger producers would never touch.
The movement’s spiritual home is California, but its heart lies far from Napa’s grand estates. A perfect example is Martha Stoumen, based in Sonoma County. Stoumen, who honed her craft in Italy and France, works with Italian and French varieties suited to California’s climate, farming them organically and making her wines without any additives. Her “Post Flirtation” red blend, a vibrant mix of Zinfandel and Carignan, has become an icon of the new California wine scene. It’s a light-bodied, juicy, and chillable red that is a world away from the high-alcohol Zinfandels of the past, showcasing the grape’s fresh, energetic side.
Further north, in Oregon, the natural wine scene has found a perfect synergy with the state’s counter-cultural, farm-to-table ethos. While famous for Pinot Noir, producers here are looking beyond it. A prime example is Joe Swick, a Portland native who makes wine under his eponymous label. Swick works with vineyards across Oregon and Washington, seeking out obscure varieties and high-altitude sites. His “Miuda” is a thrilling co-fermentation of Portuguese grapes like Touriga Nacional and Tinta Roriz, creating a wild, savory, and completely unique wine that speaks of his adventurous spirit.
Perhaps the most exciting frontier is the East Coast, where the climate makes growing traditional Vitis vinifera a constant struggle. Here, natural wine is linked to resilient hybrid grapes. The undisputed leader is Deirdre Heekin of La Garagista in Vermont. Farming biodynamically on the slopes of the Champlain Valley, Heekin crafts profound, complex ciders and wines from hybrids like La Crescent and Marquette. Her “Damejeanne” is a sparkling rosé that is savory, herbal, and alive, a wine that could come from nowhere else on earth and proves that hybrids can transmit terroir with stunning clarity.
What unites these producers is a shared philosophy: organic or biodynamic farming is a given, fermentation is spontaneous with native yeasts, and additions in the cellar, particularly sulfur, are kept to an absolute minimum or eliminated entirely. The resulting wines are not always tidy. But at their best, they are transparent, energetic, and deeply soulful, offering a raw and exhilarating taste of a place, captured in a bottle with as little interference as possible. This is the new American wild, and it is thrilling to explore.
