I have a bit of travel advice for you: When you’re in a new city, find a natural wine bar. They’re usually situated in cool, up-and-coming neighborhoods and staffed by...
I have a bit of travel advice for you: When you’re in a new city, find a natural wine bar. They’re usually situated in cool, up-and-coming neighborhoods and staffed by interesting folks who can give you recommendations for their favorite shops, restaurants, and things to do. The right bartender or server can be the key to the city, offering advice that you probably won’t find on travel blogs.
While the world of wine can sometimes feel elitist and joyless, natural wine is anything but—and it tends to attract open-minded and creative people with a zest for life (and sometimes a slight penchant for anarchy).
In conventional large-scale winemaking, big-name wineries often use pesticides, herbicides, and machines to grow and harvest grapes at an industrial scale. During the fermentation process, they’ll use additives to get a predictable product: sulfur to keep the wine from going bad, carbon dioxide for fizz, and in some truly bizarre cases, fish, egg whites, oak flavoring, or even Mega Purple, a super-concentrated food coloring to make the wine look and taste right.
But natural wine, also called raw or naked wine, is the wild child of the wine world. It’s made with little or no intervention, letting the grapes and wild yeasts create wines that are bold, funky, and full of character. Natural wine usually comes from small-scale producers who prioritize biodynamic farming practices and eschew monoculture to create a product that highlights the nuances of terroir. It’s farm-to-table, not factory-made.
If you’re intimidated by the world of wine, natural wine is a great place to start. Children’s Atlas of Wine, run by James Sligh, offers tastings and classes that dive into specific genres within natural wine, mainly through the lens of geography. “Wine tasting is really two totally different sets of skills,” says Sligh. “Learning how to pay attention to what's in your glass, and—this is the tricky part!—finding language to name what you’re paying attention to. Wine is just another language.”
In recent years, the natural wine movement has taken New York City by storm. You’d be hard-pressed to find a wine bar or small plates restaurant below 14th Street that doesn’t offer natural wines. But beyond wine bars, some of the best restaurants in the city are bucking tradition and pairing fine dining with wine that’s fun, irreverent, and playful. Here’s where to experience it for yourself.
The O.G. Wine Bars
While the city abounds with hip places to sip funky wines, the first stop on your natural wine journey should be at one of the places many consider to be the vanguard of the natural wine movement. Perhaps the most famous is Four Horsemen, a tiny Michelin-starred Williamsburg wine bar that pairs an impressive range of international wines with delectable small plates. In the East Village, Ruffian has an ever-changing menu of bites and wine from lesser-known wine regions like Hungary, Slovenia, Lebanon, and the Republic of Georgia. And The Ten Bells, the go-to Lower East Side date night spot of the 2010s, is one of the pioneering natural wine bars, serving unusual varietals since it opened in 2008.
Classic French Bistros
Natural wine is now a staple at some of the city’s finest French dining establishments. At Libertine, a whimsical West Village spot that celebrates lesser-known French dishes, natural wine is simply the logical choice. The restaurant highlights local and seasonal ingredients and wanted its wine list to reflect that. “Agricultural cuisine requires agricultural wine,” says owner Cody Pruitt. “Serving conventional, industrial, corporate wine alongside such integrity-driven dishes would be incongruous and nigh-on disrespectful to such a rich culture.”
The recently rebooted Le Veau D’Or serves unique wines from small-scale producers alongside impeccable renditions of classic French fare. Though natural wine may seem anachronistic in the retro-chic setting, exemplary steak frites, duck magret, and lobster salad pair perfectly with the energetic and earthy wines chosen by wine director Jorge Riera who reminds diners to “always taste with an open mind.”
At Zimmi’s, a new French eatery from chef Maxime Pradié, lesser-known French and Italian varietals complement hyperregional dishes like poireaux vinaigrette and pâté de campagne. The homey country inn vibes are perfect for wine that’s made with love and a little rough around the edges.
Unexpected Flavors
At some of the city’s dynamic international and fusion restaurants, natural wine is a popular pairing. Adam Gil, wine director at Thai Diner, attributes this to versatility. “Whether it’s a chilled red, skin contact, or pet nat, I think the sensibilities of winemaking without manipulation have allowed wine to be enjoyed in different ways, and in different places.” The range of aromas and flavors in natural wine pair well with the spicy dishes at the cult-favorite Thai restaurant in Nolita.
Natural wine is also a focus of the beverage menus at Bonnie’s, the popular Cantonese-American restaurant in Williamsburg, and Meju, the Michelin-starred Korean restaurant in Queens that serves a tasting menu of fermented delicacies. Ilis, the wildly creative Greenpoint restaurant opened by Noma co-founder Mads Refslund, is known for impeccable attention to the provenance and preparation of each ingredient. This holistic approach to fine dining is reflected in the natural wines, sakes, and fortified wines on the menu.
Fine Dining
While many of the city’s top dining institutions still cater to more conventional oenophiles, a few have embraced the natural wine movement. Chambers, one of the city’s most underrated restaurants, features a menu of rare and unexpected wines curated by the legendary Pascaline Lepeltier, a Master Sommelier known as the “natural wine evangelist.” There, at least 90% of the 1500 bottles of wine, cider, sake, and coferments on the menu are biodynamic or no/low intervention. In Lepeltier’s philosophy, natural wine can fulfill a craving for connection—to people and to the land. “Wine is such a powerful human creation,” she says. “It’s part of civilization.” At Chambers, every glass of wine—and every dish—has a sense of place. Sit at the chef’s counter to experience the magic for yourself in dishes like hamachi crudo with cara cara oranges and miso or boudin blanc with brussels sprouts, paired with a mineral Vouvray.
At Vestry, wine director Aidan Cooper aims to show diners the sophisticated side of natural wine. The incredibly extensive wine list leans toward biodynamic wines made with a traditional approach. Less funk and more finesse, a fitting accompaniment to elegant dishes like steak tartare and butter-poached lobster.
Hip Hangouts
But what if you just want to sit at a bar with friends and travel the world through your wine glass? Downtown New York is prime for an evening of sips and snacks where you can have a casual glass of wine or two without committing to a multicourse dinner. Elvis, on Great Jones Street, only takes walk-ins for wine bar bites and aromatic pours by the glass in a convivial atmosphere. Modeled after a French tabac, Le Dive is an all-day/all-night hangout. The outdoor seating there has some of the best people-watching in Dimes Square.
Around the corner, Parcelle feels like the living room of a chic artist friend, while nearby Skin Contact offers fresh and funky wines in a cozy candlelit space. Just make sure to pace yourself—people like to claim that natural wine won’t give you a hangover, but I promise that’s just a myth.