Natural Wines

Natural Wines at Red Rock Vineyards.

Our natural wines are made from our sustainably grown vineyard and are all handpicked. Our wines undergo fermentation in small batches without any additives or sulfites.  Our wines are not filtered and therefore may have some sediment.  These estate grown wines are living wines and therefore they must be cared for as such.  We keep our wines at 50-55 F to prevent re-fermentation and slow the process of oxidation over time.  Our wines also contain solublized carbon dioxide produced during fermentaiton which limit oxidation that will occur over time. 

1.  What are natural wines?

Answer: The definition of natural wines varies but they should be are made by growing and hand picking grapes, and then turning them into wine through fermentation. Also, natural wine, is made from grapes that not sprayed with pesticides or herbicides. In addition, natural wines do not have added preservative such as sulfites but some natural wines can have low amounts of sulfites.  We do not add any sulfites to our wines.

2. How long can you keep natural wines before the wine will oxidize? 

Answer: Typically these wines continue to evolve in their bottles and despite being corked they will oxidize over a variable period of 2-4 years depending on the variety of grape.  Therefore, we recommend that when buying natural wines which do not have any added sulfites or preservatives to drink them within a year.  The keep them stable they should be kept refrigerated until consumed.

3. What happens if I do not keep the wine at 55 degrees F? 

Answer: As this is a living wine with live yeast, it can reactivate and produce carbon dioxide which will lead to increased pressure within the bottle, displacing the cork out of the bottle.  Also, since the wine is kept at 50-55 degrees before it is sold the soluable carbon dioxide gas that is formed with fermentation will expand with increased temperature and also lead to increased pressure releasing the cork.  An example:  taking the wine home on a hot day in Texas and leaving it in the car and going shopping.  The extreme hot temperature in your vehicle will increase the wine temperature which will cause the wine to expand and release the cork prematurely.  We recommend taking your wine home directly after you have bought it.

 4.  Are natural wines perfect?

Natural wines can be very healthy but some wines have what is referred to as having off flavors or scents.  Some are sold without off flavors but with time they may oxidize and produce such effects.  We do not sell these wines and we are careful to discard any wines which have off distinct flavors.