Reading all about the world going up in flames, we're feeling like a drink might be in order. Given the circumstances, we're thinking it'll need to be something from the sustainable camp. Natural wines slip comfortably into that category.

Once upon a time, all wine was natural. It was probably served in a cave. Humanity has moved on somewhat from those halcyon days. A small but growing category, today's natural wines are relatively difficult to define, and aren’t certificated in the way that, say, biodynamic wines are. They appeal in particular to those among us who want to know precisely what is in their glass.

Natural wines are farmed with as little intervention as possible and ‘transformed’ without the addition or removal of anything in the cellar. Additives or processing aids are generally shunned, and intervention in the naturally occurring fermentation process is kept to a minimum. Neither fining nor filtration is employed. The result is a wine full of naturally occurring microbiology; it’s about using what one was given, with the wine evolving in its own way.

There is something to be said for doing things the old way. In the end, of course, it comes down to whether what’s in your hand is a great glass of wine, and only you can be the judge of that. Check out these wines; they can lay claim, to varying degrees, to the titles of Pét-Nat, vegan-friendly, unfined, unfiltered and sulphur-free. As ever, we choose carefully; there are no duds here.