The discerning drinker: natural wines

It's a huge and variegated event - but one dominated by large importers and national campaigns. It's quite a contrast to the 100-plus small producers who gathered earlier this week at Borough Market for the first Natural Wine Fair, united in their dedication to small-scale, non-interventionist wine production.

Natural wine has become steadily trendier over the past couple of years. Think of it as turbo-organic: at a minimum, "natural" producers use organic or biodynamic, methods but most go further, for example embracing forgotten local grape varieties and shunning artificial yeasts and various additives. The aim: to get purer wines, truer to their terroir - the place they're from - and without corrupting influences.

But are they any good? For wine anoraks like me, natural wines can be hugely intriguing: within 10 minutes of arriving at the fair, for example, I'd tasted five obscure south-western French grapes for the first time. But intriguing doesn't necessarily mean good. They're a mixed bag.

Partly this is because there's a sensible logic to plenty of "unnatural" processes used in this man-made product. There's nothing "natural" about proper winery hygiene, but you're likely to make rubbish wines without clean equipment - as natural winemakers would accept. And without the addition of sulphur dioxide, a bête noire for many of them, a lot of wines are unacceptably oxidised.

In fact there is no accepted definition of what constitutes a "natural" wine, let alone any body regulating it, as is the case for wine made from organic or biodynamic grapes. Indeed some natural winemakers seem to embrace the philosophy out of sheer cussedness as much as anything.

I tasted one Roussillon wine this week that would, with its blend of grapes, have qualified to be labelled as a perfectly respectable Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes. I asked why the winemaker had instead chosen to label it as a humble Vin de Table. "He doesn't want to format his wines like they [the authorities] want!" came the impassioned reply.

The French wine authorities are indeed inflexible bureaucrats: I have lampooned them in this column before now. The Italian equivalent are similar but less efficient. Breaking their rules can result in more interesting wines. But it seems to have become a bit of an end in itself for some natural wine proponents. "This guy's crazy!" enthused one importer to me recently. Fine, but if his wine tastes marmitey, or cidery, or just plain weird, I'll skip them.

Do explore natural wines, though: they're full of surprises, and at their best, they're wonderfully individual and expressive. The perfect antidote to corporate winemaking, in fact.

Where to buy natural wines:

Les Caves de Pyrène, lescaves.co.uk - the leading UK natural wine importer - a big, sometimes offbeat selection. Mail order or from their shop near Guildford.

Aubert & Mascoli, aubertandmascoli.com - a particularly strong Italian selection but many interesting French natural wines too. Mail order only.

Yapp Brothers, yapp.co.uk - well established French Rhône and regional specialist: a fine range with a good number of natural and organic wines. Mail order only.

Green and Blue, 36-38 Lordship Lane, SE22, greenandbluewines.com - delightful East Dulwich wine shop and wine bar; a well-chosen selection including many natural wines.

Terroirs wine bar and restaurant, 5 William IV St, WC2, terroirswinebar.com - backed by Les Caves de Pyrène, this is London's best selection of natural wines, including many real gems.Unmissable.

Brawn, 49 Columbia Rd, E2, - The new bistro from Les Caves de Pyrène, in much the same mould as Terroirs; another impressive wine list.