In the last century, winemaking has become more commercialized. Large wineries produce standardized, high-volume bottles of wine that taste identical, year after year.
We prefer a different approach: low-intervention Natural Wine, grown on small vineyards with heritage winemaking practices that have endured for thousands of years. Our growers create exquisite wine that stands apart from the average commercial bottle.
Here are ten differences between commercial wines and Dry Farm Wines.
1) NO ADDITIVES
In the United States, wine producers can use 76 different additives in wine. [*] The European Union allows 59 additives. [*]
Wines can include defoaming agents, colorants, sweeteners, and preservatives, and none of them are listed on the wine’s label.
That's why we prohibit over 70 additives commonly found in wine.
2) NO SUGAR
Many wines contain residual sugar after fermentation. Even dry European wines can legally contain up to 9 grams of sugar per liter. [*] They don’t taste sweet, and can be a hidden source of sugar in your diet.
Every wine from Dry Farm Wines contains 1 gram of residual sugar per liter or less, which is statistically sugar free. We only source wines that are fully fermented, which means the natural yeasts turn all the fermentable sugar in the grape juice into alcohol.
3) LOWER ALCOHOL
Average alcohol content in wine has been rising over the past couple decades, currently sitting around 14% ABV. [*] Many wine regions are getting more sun, which leads to more sugar in the grapes, and more alcohol in the final wine.
Higher alcohol content worsens hangovers and can drown out finer tasting notes in wines.
We prefer a lighter experience. We only offer wines at or below 12.5% ABV, and many of them lower.
4) BIODIVERSE ARTISAN GROWERS
Commercial vineyards aim to produce the highest volume of grapes for the lowest price. That often comes at a cost to both the environment and the quality of wine.
Many producers plant monoculture vineyards: nothing but grapes for miles, which maximizes capacity but can destroy the soil. [*] Commercial wineries also use pesticides, which disrupt natural ecosystems and end up in the finished wine. [*]
Dry Farm Wines only sources wines grown on small, family farms, without pesticides or artificial irrigation.
Our winemakers grow grapes alongside olive trees, almond trees, native bees, local flowers, herbs, and other natural life. This style of farming preserves biodiversity. It also creates resilient grapes with a wide array of aromatic compounds, imparting greater depth to our wines.
5) LIVING WINES
Most commercial wines are chemically sterilized and clarified to increase consistency from bottle to bottle. Dry Farm Wines remain living organisms. Here is an example, from the book Natural Wine by Isabelle Legeron:
The top photograph is a commercial Sancerre wine that’s been sterilized and clarified. The bottom is a Sancerre that’s been grown organically and bottled without filtering.
The commercial Sancerre is dead. All the living organisms in it have been killed and removed. The artisan Sancerre is alive with friendly bacteria and native yeasts. It continues to evolve in the bottle.
We believe artisan, living wines offer greater complexity and lead to more enjoyable drinking. Our wines are never chemically sterilized or clarified.
6) NO IRRIGATION
Man made irrigation systems are common in modern farming. Irrigation is meant to give vines more water so they grow faster and bigger, but it comes at a cost.
Our wines are dry farmed, which means our growers use no artificial irrigation on their vineyards. Instead, their grapes rely on natural rainwater and groundwater.
Dry farming takes time. Without easy access to water, vines must spend several seasons growing strong root systems, so they don’t immediately start producing grapes.
But we believe the tradeoff is worth it. Dry farming makes vines stronger in the long run. Where irrigation encourages roots to stay near the surface where there is water, dry farming forces roots to dig deeper to search for their own water. Dry farmed vines are more resistant to drought and contribute to better soil quality.
Dry farming saves a lot of water, as well. We estimate our dry farming growers save over 7 billion gallons of water every year by not using irrigation.
7) NATIVE YEAST
Without yeast, there would be no wine. Yeasts grow on the skins of wine grapes. When the grapes are crushed, the yeasts gain access to the sugar in the grape juice. They turn it into alcohol through fermentation.
In winemaking, there are 2 types of yeast: lab grown and native. Lab grown yeasts are popular in commercial winemaking. They’re engineered to produce certain flavors and profiles in wine, which makes it easier to standardize wine as a product. [*]
Native yeasts are naturally found on the skin of every grape. They ferment more slowly and produce more variation in flavor from vintage to vintage. [*]
Dry Farm Wines are fermented with native yeasts, the way wine has been made for thousands of years.
8) CALORIES & CARBOHYDRATES
Calories in wine come from two places: alcohol and sugar.
Unfortunately, most commercial wines carry hidden sugars and high alcohol levels that push calorie and carbohydrate counts unexpectedly high – even dry reds, where acid can mask levels of 10+ grams/L of residual sugar.
That means calories in wine can reach over 150 per serving.
In contrast, carbs and calories are minimal in our low ABV, sugar free lab-tested wines, confirmed by an independent third party lab.
9) LAB TESTED TRANSPARENCY
In virtually every other consumable good industry—food, beauty, personal care products—ingredient lists are mandatory. You can look at the label and know exactly what you’re getting.
But because wine is taxed as alcohol, not food, the government doesn’t require producers to disclose ingredients. This includes even basic nutritional facts like sugar content.
We send every one of our wines to a certified third party oenologist for lab testing. The lab tests for sugar, alcohol, additives, nutritional value, heavy metals, mold (ochratoxin A), and several other variables. We only offer pure Natural Wine that’s independently tested for quality.
10) BACK LABEL TRANSPARENCY
Unlike processed foods, wine labels are legally exempt from detailing ingredients or nutritional facts. This means a bottle of wine can legally contain additives, synthetic fining agents, high residual sugars, and even the incorrect ABV level without ever informing the consumer.
Dry Farm Wines created the most transparent back label in the wine industry, featuring a complete serving panel, ingredients list, and verified testing dates.
