I want to tell you about a conversation I had recently with a guest at MaMeMi.
She had been coming to us for months, always letting my cousin Danilo pick her wine. She trusted him completely, which is the smartest thing you can do when you have a certified sommelier who has personally visited hundreds of Italian vineyards sitting right there. One evening she asked him, “What exactly is natural wine? And what is biodynamic? Is it the same thing?”
Danilo pulled up a chair and talked to her for twenty minutes.
This blog is that conversation, written down. Because this question comes up all the time, and the answer matters. Not just for understanding what is in your glass, but for understanding why wine from Italy is having a moment right now that the whole world is paying attention to.
First, What Is Natural Wine?
Natural wine does not have an official legal definition, which is part of what makes it confusing. You cannot point to a label and say that word means exactly this. But the natural wine community has a shared understanding of what it means, and it is actually quite simple.
Natural wine is wine made with minimal intervention, both in the vineyard and in the winery.
In the vineyard, this means no synthetic pesticides, no chemical herbicides, no artificial fertilizers. The grapes are farmed as close to naturally as possible, working with the land rather than against it.
In the winery, it means the grapes are allowed to ferment with the wild yeasts that occur naturally on their skins, rather than commercial yeasts added to control the process. It means no heavy manipulation of the wine with additives, no industrial filtration that strips flavor and character, and little or no added sulfites, which are the preservatives most conventional wines rely on.
The result is wine that tastes like it came from somewhere specific. From a particular piece of land, in a particular year, made by a particular person with a particular philosophy. Natural wine has character and individuality that mass-produced wine often lacks.
Italy is not entirely a natural wine country. It produces wine using various methods, including conventional, organic, biodynamic, and natural practices. The natural wine movement specifically focuses on minimal intervention in both vineyard management and winemaking. But Italy is home to some of the most exciting natural wine producers in the world right now, and the country’s extraordinary diversity of native grape varieties gives Italian natural wine a range of flavor and personality you simply cannot find anywhere else.
What Is Biodynamic Wine?
This is where it gets interesting, and where people often get confused.
Biodynamic wine is not the same as natural wine, though there is a lot of overlap. Think of it this way. All biodynamic wine tends to be natural, but not all natural wine is biodynamic.
Biodynamic wine is made using a holistic, environmentally focused approach to viticulture that treats the vineyard as a living, self-sustaining ecosystem. While it shares some similarities with organic farming, biodynamics goes further, combining natural methods with specific practices that align with lunar and cosmic rhythms.
The philosophy behind biodynamic farming comes from an Austrian philosopher and scientist named Rudolf Steiner. Biodynamic viticulture is rooted in the scientific spiritual approach to agriculture presented by Rudolf Steiner in the 1920s. While there are some similarities to organic farming methods, the biodynamic methodology takes on a more holistic framework. Steiner proposed the concept that a farm is and should be treated as a self-sustaining organism, a closed-loop system that integrates cover crops, animals, and compost to create not only a healthy yield but ecological balance.
In practice, what does this mean for a winemaker in Italy?
It means they farm their vineyards without any synthetic chemicals. It means they use specific natural preparations, often made from herbs, minerals, and composted materials, to nourish the soil. These preparations are used alongside herbal composts made from plants such as camomile, yarrow, and nettles, creating a rich humus which helps to nourish the soil.
And it means they pay attention to the lunar calendar.
The Lunar Calendar: Strange or Sensible?
I know what you are thinking. The moon?
Let me explain, because this is the part that sounds mystical but actually has a straightforward logic behind it.
Another distinctive aspect of the biodynamic viticulture method is the consideration of lunar cycles. Just like the effect on tidal movements, it is believed that the moon’s distance from earth and its gravitational force can influence the growth of and sap flow within a plant, ultimately altering the quality of the wine. Producers schedule farming activities like pruning, harvesting, and bottling based on the lunar phases in order to enhance growth and vitality and to optimise the final product.
The idea is that certain phases of the moon, or positions of the planets, are more favourable for different vineyard tasks.
Some people are skeptical of this. That is completely understandable. What is harder to argue with is the quality of the wines that come from biodynamic producers. Whether the lunar calendar is the reason or whether it is simply the attention and care that biodynamic farming requires, the results speak for themselves.
Danilo has visited biodynamic producers all over Italy. He always says the same thing. The best biodynamic winemakers are the most attentive people he meets. They know every corner of their vineyard. They notice things that a more industrial producer would never see. Whether that attention comes from Steiner’s philosophy or just from the discipline the method requires, it produces extraordinary wine.
Natural Wine vs Organic vs Biodynamic: What Is the Difference?
This is the question Danilo gets most often, so let me lay it out clearly.
Conventional wine uses synthetic pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and commercial yeasts. Additives are used freely in the winery to control flavor, color, and stability. This is how most of the wine in the world is made.
Organic wine eliminates synthetic chemicals in the vineyard. No pesticides, no herbicides, no artificial fertilizers. In the winery, organic wine can still use commercial yeasts and some additives, though limits are tighter than conventional wine. Italy is the world leader in terms of the percentage of surface area dedicated to organic wine grapes. As of recent years, over 16 percent of Italy’s vineyards were organically cultivated, accounting for 26 percent of the world’s organically farmed vineyards.
Biodynamic wine goes further than organic, treating the whole farm as a living organism with the lunar calendar and specific natural preparations guiding every decision. Both certifications require strictly no use of synthetic chemicals, closed-loop farming practices, the use of biodynamic fertiliser and compost preparations, and adherence to the calendar. Annual inspections take place to make sure that producers maintain compliance. The two main certifications to look for are Demeter and Biodyvin.
Natural wine is the broadest and least regulated term. It encompasses organic and biodynamic wines but also includes producers who follow minimal intervention principles without formal certification. Certification is expensive, and many of the best small producers simply cannot afford it, even though their practices are exemplary.
At MaMeMi, our wine list of over 1000 labels spans all of these categories. When Danilo selects a wine, he is not just looking at the label or the certification. He has visited the producers. He knows how they farm. He has seen the vineyards and the cellars. The certificate matters less to him than the person behind the wine.
Why Italy?
Italy is one of the most exciting places in the world for natural and biodynamic wine right now, and there are specific reasons for this.
First, the diversity. Italy’s geography provides an ideal setting for biodynamic agriculture. The country’s varied microclimates and rich soils offer a fertile ground for growing grapes biodynamically. The combination of altitude, climate, and soil composition in regions like Piedmont, Tuscany, and Sicily allows for distinct grape varieties that reflect their unique terroir.
Second, the native grape varieties. Italy has hundreds of indigenous grape varieties that exist nowhere else in the world. Nero d’Avola from Sicily. Nerello Mascalese grown on the slopes of Mount Etna. Timorasso from Piedmont. Greco di Tufo from Campania. These varieties have evolved over centuries to thrive in their specific environments. When you grow them biodynamically, without forcing them with chemicals, they express their character with extraordinary clarity.
Third, the culture. Italian farming has always had a strong tradition of working with the land rather than against it. Many of the principles that biodynamic farming formalizes were simply how Italian farmers operated for generations before industrial agriculture changed everything. The return to biodynamic methods feels, for many Italian producers, like a return to something that was always there.
What Does Natural Wine Actually Taste Like?
This is the question that divides people, and I want to be honest about it.
Natural wine can taste like almost anything. That is both its greatest strength and the source of most of the skepticism around it.
At its best, natural wine has a vibrancy and aliveness that conventional wine rarely achieves. It tastes of somewhere specific. It has texture, character, and complexity that surprises you. It changes in the glass as you drink it. It pairs with food in ways that feel almost intuitive. If you want to know exactly which bottle to reach for with dinner, we also have a broader guide to which wine goes best with your pizza.
At its worst, natural wine can be cloudy, unstable, and taste of things you were not expecting. There is a style of natural wine sometimes described as “funky” that has turned a lot of people off the entire category. Too much volatile acidity, brett, or oxidation in wines that were not made carefully enough.
The key, and this is what Danilo always tells guests, is trusting the person who is recommending the wine. A good sommelier who knows the producers personally can guide you to natural wines that are expressive and delicious without being challenging. That is what Danilo does at MaMeMi every single evening.
When you let him pick, you will not get something weird. You will get something that makes you stop and think, where has this been my whole life?
How to Start Exploring Italian Natural Wine
If you are new to natural wine and want to start exploring, here is Danilo’s practical guide.
- Start with white wines. Natural whites are often more approachable as a first experience. Look for wines from Campania, Sicily, or the volcanic regions around Mount Etna.
- Try an orange wine. Orange wine is white wine made with extended skin contact, which gives it a deeper color, more tannin, and more complexity than a conventional white. It is one of the most interesting categories in natural wine right now and Italy produces some of the world’s best.
- Ask questions. If you are in a restaurant with a knowledgeable sommelier, tell them you are new to natural wine and ask for guidance. A good sommelier loves this conversation. It is the reason they do what they do.
- Be open minded about appearance. Some natural wines are cloudy because they are not filtered. This is not a flaw. It is a sign of minimal intervention. The clarity of conventional wine often comes from processes that strip flavor along with the sediment.
- Visit MaMeMi. Danilo has personally selected every wine on our list of over 1000 labels. He has met the winemakers. He knows the stories behind the bottles. He can match you with something that works for you and for whatever you are eating.
Come Explore With Us
Natural and biodynamic wine is not a trend. It is a return to something that wine used to be before industrial production changed everything. A connection between a specific piece of land, a specific climate, and the specific person who decided to tend that land with care and attention.
At MaMeMi, we have been building our natural wine list since we opened. We go to Italy every year. We visit vineyards. We meet winemakers. We taste hundreds of wines and choose the ones that belong on our list.
When you come to MaMeMi, you are not just getting a glass of wine. You are getting a piece of somewhere in Italy, chosen personally by someone who has been there.
Come visit us at Mysundegade 28 in Vesterbro. Weekend lunch is open every Saturday and Sunday from 12:00 if you want to start exploring natural wine in the afternoon with Roman style pizza and no particular rush. Book your table here.
Danilo will take care of you.
Francesco
MaMeMi is a natural wine bar and Roman style pizzeria in Vesterbro, Copenhagen. Our sommelier Danilo has personally curated over 1000 natural and organic Italian wines. We are located at Mysundegade 28, two minutes from Enghave Plads metro. Weekend lunch open Saturdays and Sundays from 12:00. Book your table or walk in Wednesday through Sunday.
