Natural wine

Formerly the usual term for a wine that was not allowed to be enriched with sugar (in order to increase the alcohol content). One attribute used for this purpose was " naturrein", but this was abolished in 1971 in connection with the German Wine Act. As a result, the "Verband deutscher Naturweinversteigerer" (Association of German Natural Wine Auctioneers) became the well-known successor organisation VDP (Verband Deutscher Prädikatsweingüter) in 1972. In Germany and Austria, the designation "Natur", but also "echt", "rein" and "Gesundheitswein", as well as word combinations with these, are not permitted.

Labelling regulations

The legislator assumes that wine is fundamentally a natural product and that additional labelling with "natural" and similar terms is misleading competition for consumers. In some cases, wines that have been vinified without the use of special cellar techniques and/or agents are labelled as "natural wines". However, this has no meaning under wine law and is prohibited on the label and in advertising. The terms natural wine or unadulterated wine are also used for the alternative wine types natural wine and orange wine. However, most of these names have no legal meaning under wine law. In purely colloquial terms, natural wine is sometimes also understood to be an organic wine (eco-wine) within the framework of organic viticulture with, in contrast, defined production specifications under wine law.