NATURAL GROWTH

Just 10 or so years ago, those who preferred natural wine would’ve been hard pressed to quench their thirst outside of a big city. Stores that did highlight natural selections either didn’t declare so or may have seemed intimidating to unfamiliar shoppers.

Now, “natty” wine is far from fringe, and stores that specialize in the category can be found everywhere from the Midwest to Texas, the woods of Vermont and small towns in between. Today, natural wine purveyors are inclusive neighborhood destinations where visitors are encouraged to learn more about what’s gone into each bottle.

How did such a dramatic transformation happen?

“You put tasty organic wines in enough glasses, and eventually people hop on for the ride,” says Andrea Sloan, co-owner of Campus Fine Wines in Providence, Rhode Island.

Let’s Start at the Beginning

Emerging from an ideological approach to winemaking developed by four growers in Beaujolais during the late 1970s and ’80s, natural wine hit American shores in the ’90s.

In its most pared down sense, “natural” implies wine that’s made with “organic viticulture,