Annual NAtural Wine
Fairs & FEstivals
The Best Annual
Wine Tasting Fairs & Events
For Natural Wine Lovers
Small and independent, natural winemakers face many challenges when it comes to promoting and selling their wines in such a crowded and noisy global wine market. Rather than go it alone, many have come together to form independent winemaker associations based on shared values and minimal intervention winemaking beliefs.
These winemaker groups typically hold their own annual natural wine tasting events, and also take part in wider gatherings of likeminded international winemakers. I’ve outlined some top independent winemaker groups and their awesome natural wine fairs you should attend! For a complete list of event dates for 2020, please head to the natural wine events page.
One of the largest organizations (600+) of independent, small and medium producers from all over Italy. Every November, FIVI (Federazione Italiana Vignaioli Indipendenti) hosts a tremendous tasting expo in Piacenza, IT. If you can’t attend, don’t worry, just look for their logo on the back label of your next wine bottle. You will be supporting a fantastic group of producers.
The original natural wine organization combining Italian and French producers. Vini di Vignaioli is dedicated to adhering to and promoting minimal intervention winemaking and celebrating these wines during their annual November tasting event in/around Parma, IT.
With over 170 members across Europe, VinNatur adorns the bottles of many top natural winemakers. They also conduct soil research and aim to help preserve the terroir of every wine region they represent. Keep an eye out for this logo on the back label of your next bottle and check their site or instagram for upcoming events!
Representing artisanal winemakers across Europe, Triple A is synonymous with dynamic and interesting wines that reflect the individual personalities of their producers. Triple A stands up and fights against industrial wines, additives and chemicals. They host numerous events throughout Europe and truly champion these small, traditional winemakers. Check your nearest wine shop or bar for their label on the neck of the bottle.
Naturebas Fair in Sao Paolo, Brazil is a growing force in the organic, low intervention wine scene in South America. With 7 years under its belt, it still remains the only fair of its kind in Brazil, but is steadily attracting more top winemakers every year. A great selection of natural winemakers from Brazil, Argentina and Chile make up the bulk of the fair, while a few European, and other South American winemakers complete the diverse group.
Zero Compromise in Tbilisi, Georgia is an incredible natural wine festival, and one I highly recommend attending if you can! Featuring almost only Georgian wines, this is a perfect way to taste your way around the country, its historic qvevri winemaking and its tasty indigenous grapes. For a review of the annual May event, head to my Georgia travel guide.
Vella Terra is an annual natural wine fair in Barcelona, Spain. The group also has a natural wine and tapas bar, Vella Terra Garage Bar, located in downtown Barcelona. Most of the producers hail from Spain, Italy, France and surrounding European countries, with a few from North and South America. Vella Terra has strict guidelines for entry, akin to Raw Wine, as they want to showcase a very high standard of natural wine. Growing in popularity, I expect Vella Terra to become even bigger in years to come! Follow them on social media to stay up to date with other tasting events they do throughout the year.
Sorgente del Vino is a natural wine organization and event producer in Italy. They host Sorgente del Vino LIVE wine fairs within Italy, all focused on natural wines from small to medium producers. They’ve been around since 2009 and have even done a wine festival dedicated solely to orange wine. Run by an Italian agricultural preservation group, Echofficine, the producers come from Italy and a few neighboring countries like Slovenia, France and Germany.
Le Marche, Italy hides a great deal of intriguing and age-worthy wines, especially those of Verdicchio. Terroir Marche is a tight-knit group who are putting their regional wines and organic winemaking practices on the map. They are a hardworking group of passionate winemakers who are achieving global notoriety. In addition to local wine road events throughout the year, they also host a big tasting event in Macerata, Italy.
La Terra Trema stands up and fights for preservation of authentic, local wine, beer and food. In their own words. “La Terra Trema is one form of resistance to the long distribution chain that impoverishes the farmers and enriches the large-scale retail trade. This event is a promotion to little, critical and sensible farmers, and to conscious consumers; a hymn to the rural tradition, to the land/earth and to the territory that must be defended at all costs from the advancing devastation.” Founded in Milan, they host an annual event there every Fall.
Raw Wine is a fast-growing force in the global wine event scene. This natural, low-intervention wine event has established itself as a great springboard for new discoveries. Now held in more than 5 international cities, RAW is part trade fair and part consumer tasting event. RAW aims to promote pesticide-free, low sulfite winemaking. It sheds light on the importance of biodiversity and smart agricultural decisions. If you are a producer looking for representation, or simply a curious consumer, RAW is worth attending.
A newer group based in Emilia Romagna, Back to the Wine has quickly found their footing as a project dedicated to showcasing natural winemakers and artisan food producers who utilize traditional methods to create with integrity and authenticity. Faenza, IT plays host to their annual tasting and wine laboratory (seminar) expo.
Live Wine is an annual event that brings together boutique producers under the strict guidelines of low sulfites and no added yeasts or chemicals. They host seminars and aim to educate wine drinkers on the benefits and beauty of these unadulterated wines. Check them out in Milan every winter.
Vi.Te (Vignaioli e Territori) showcases the authenticity of organic and biodynamic producers throughout Italy and surrounding European wine regions. This non-profit now organizes the Vivit area within the massive VinItaly wine trade event in Verona, Italy every year. They aim to protect the diversity and individualism of each terroir.
La Dive Bouteille in Samur, France is the original natural wine event. Taking place since 1999, it’s been a major driving force in spreading the word on natural wine philosophy and the need for pesticide-free farming. La Dive has inspired countless other natural wine fairs and movements in its 21 years. Held annually in February, it’s an event French natural wine lovers should not miss! Every year also features a good mix of European winemakers from neighboring countries like Italy, Spain, Austria, Portugal, Switzerland and Germany.
Wild World is an American natural beverage festival series, started at a Farmhouse Brewery in Texas in 2019. Wild World aims to showcase the best wild fermenting wine, beer, cider and mead producers from around the world. Still in its infancy, they’re constantly adding smaller events and attracting great producers to participate in cities around the United States. Keep an eye out for one of their events near you, or head to Texas for the big festival held in May or June.
WINe Fare is one of the only natural wine festivals celebrating women winemakers and equality. The 2020 Fair in San Francisco showcased winemakers from the U.S., France and Argentina, all of whom produce chemical-free, low intervention wines. The group firmly stands on 5 core values, first of which stating, “our central mission is to work towards equity for women who work in our field, eradicate discrimination and disrespectful behavior, and promote women’s contributions and create opportunities for women who work in this industry.”
VI.NO.SO is an annual wine event in Amsterdam, showcasing chemical and additive-free wines from around the world. With strict criteria for participation, they bring together some of the most hardworking natural winemakers who grow grapes from organic or biodynamic viticulture, use indigenous yeast, practice no fining or filtration, use no additives during vinification and lastly use
a max of 35 mg/l of total sulphur. A small but growing festival, it’s definitely worth checking out if you’re visiting The Netherlands in Spring.