Clean Wine Brands You Should Know

Every trend works its way through our lives, vegan, gluten free, keto. Lately, I’ve noticed a healthy lifestyle trend that I was excited to test out. More than that, I NEEDed to try it out…on behalf of all wine lovers. 

It’s no wonder clean crafted wine is the latest participant in the organic and natural movement, because, who doesn’t feel better drinking wine without all the junk? Ahem, headaches and hangovers, move on over. 

If you think drinking clean is some futuristic endeavour, think again. The history of winemaking dates back to Bible times with no need to put chemicals and synthetic ingredients into their precious fermented grape commodity. So why should we now?

The list of ingredients should be simple on a wine label. A glass of wine should be a pleasure to enjoy without the worries of allergies, arsenic (more on that here), or after effects. According to Food and Wine Magazine, wine has many long term and heart-healthy benefits.

It’s not a mystery why every product category is leaning towards “clean.” Wine made with organic grapes, sustainably farmed with minimal intervention is key.

These days, many of the bottles of wine on the shelf are full of additives, fining agents (like egg whites) and sometimes even artificial flavors. The mass produced wines are also sometimes made in a lab. So what you see isn’t always what you get. 

Why we want clean wine

After these chemical preservatives were approved in 1959, the need to clean up their act in the winemaking industry became an overdue necessity. Really, this natural wine movement could be considered the old made new again.  

Of course there are controversial claims made that have some of the traditional winemakers (and wine writers) who make commercial wines uneasy, i.e. chemicals saved both money and shelf-life. Two sides to every story. Some say it’s just a wine marketing frenzy but I’m happy going back to basics with good clean wine.

Some wineries are now Hollywood Collabs. Cameron Diaz and Katherine Power are now making a “clean wine” Avaline. Bon Jovi and his son are co owners of a winery called Hampton Water. JCB, an organic winery in Burgundy, France is a friend of John Legend and Chrissy Teigan to name a few.

If you can make something without all the additives and chemicals, it makes sense. Since I believe in voting with my money, I’ll certainly pay a few extra dollars to see the wine industry take as much care with my health as I do.

I’ve composed a list of clean wine that pairs with a healthy lifestyle that you can follow. A new genre in the wine industry that is growing in variety and popularity–though still a little hard to find this clean alcoholic beverage at your local market (believe me, I’ve checked). 

Scout and Cellar (clean crafted wine)

My favorite wine: Soleil. Vent. Âme. Chardonnay
A crisp white wine from White wine from Languedoc, France.
Versatile and impressive. Serves perfectly with (and in) risotto.

The prominent wine advisors in the clean crafted wine movement are the owners of Scout and Cellar. Just take one look on Google for clean crafted wine and you’ll see they’re pioneers. 

I love drinking their delicious wines because I can count on them to have a strict set of guidelines–which means I can keep my label reading to a minimum. 

For every winery they work with, Scout and Cellar vets them by checking their wine with an independent lab. They’ve earned my trust. It’s also a great wine company to buy from if you believe in supporting small businesses and vineyards. 

S&C tests the final product for the 300 pesticides and 250 chemical additives found in most mass produced wines, making sure there are no added sugar (though some of their wines have natural residual sugars) or chemicals. That’s right, unless they have ZERO additives, they aren’t part of the Scout and Cellar family.

We can thank the CEO, Sarah Shadonix for finding vineyards making the clean crafted commitment after her own lingering hangovers almost made her quit drinking wine altogether. If you’re looking for a specific region or varietal, use the filters to sort through the wines. Scout & Cellar rotates through 70-80 wines so you’ll have a lot of choices selected from clean wine companies.

Viticcio Vineyards

My favorite wine: Chianti Classico
Bright flavor that can carry its’ own from Tuscany, Italy
Tasty bold wine with bell peppers and sausage.

While they don’t leave out the sulfites to preserve their wine, they have invested their time in making their organic wine using biodynamic practices. Usually I like to leave sulfites at the door, however, there is a difference between pesticides and chemical additives and responsible preservation. This vineyard seems to do it’s best to produce the most natural wines possible with minimum copper and sulfur, while giving us a long shelf life. They pride themselves on experimenting and changing when needed to maintain their balancing act.

Bonterra Organic Vineyards (wine club)

My favorite wine: Bonterra The Butler Biodynamic Single Vineyard Red
A full-bodied red wine from Mendocino, California, United States
A bottle I like to keep around for special occasions since the flavor only blossoms with time.

Bonterra represents organic vineyards that have committed to not spraying their grapes with pesticides, instead, they rely on good old-fashioned bugs and the natural biodynamic farming cycle. This means you have natural wine, at least until it’s bottled. 

Bonterra does not ‘add’ sulfates (nothing synthetic) and adheres to stricter FDA regulations for their organic wines: “We are required by organic standards to use lower levels of Sulphur (a maximum of 1/3 of the amount conventional wines are allowed.”

Frey Vineyards (wine shop and club)

My favorite wine: Frey Biodynamic Field Blend Red
A biodynamic red blend from Mendocino, California.
Great with mellow flavored cheeses, like Emmental and Gruyere and tart fruit.

Just one look at their site and you can tell they go the extra mile on educating their customers on why they’re different. They have committed to making organic wine without added sulfites or other synthetic preservatives. I like that they explain how to store their wine for optimal shelf-life. Super important when you don’t have sulfates in your wine and like to take your time savoring each bottle.

If you have patience and like to do a little research because you love wine like I do, you can find other Vineyards without synthetic pesticides and chemicals by using sources like this one. 

Craving a glass of wine now? Me too! If you drink bubbly wine read this next.