If you ask us how to describe Shuette, the answer is simple: a natural winery and regenerative farm.
People often ask whether we are an organic vineyard. The simple answer is yes. The entire property, and everything we grow and produce, is classified as organic. The one exception is our honey, because bees can find pollen outside our property.
But please don't stop there. In our view, organic farming is the minimum requirement for both natural winemaking and regenerative farming, and in every regard Shuette goes much further. To call us organic would undersell the work we do here. We grow lemons, but you would not say we are a citrus farm.
What regenerative farming means to us
For us, regenerative farming is the process of actively restoring and improving soil health, biodiversity and water cycles while producing food in a measurable way.
To do that, we use practices such as:
- Cover crops
- Composting
- Reduced tillage
- Crop diversification
- Integrated livestock
All of this is done while minimising chemical inputs.
What natural winemaking means at Shuette
Natural wine has no official definition, but at Shuette it means this:
- The wine is made from organically grown, hand-harvested grapes.
- It ferments spontaneously, without cultured yeast or a pied de cuve.
- From the 2024 vintage onward, it is not fined or mechanically filtered.
- Wines up to the 2023 vintage had sulphite additions of less than 15 mg/L. From the 2024 vintage onward, no sulphites are added.
Why we don't filter our wines mechanically
During élevage, we normally rack our wines three or four times. This lets grape solids, lees, unstable proteins and tartrate deposits settle and be removed naturally. When this is managed carefully, the wine can become clear and stable without mechanical filtration.
Mechanical filtration removes suspended material immediately before bottling. Depending on its intensity, it can also alter the wine's texture, aroma and microbiological balance. Our objective is to bottle the wine as closely as possible to how we experienced it in the cellar.
On the subject of what goes into the wine: our wines are not certified vegan, but we can assure you that no animal products are used in their production.
What are Zero-Zero wines?
Shuette has produced all its wine and other fermentable products as Zero-Zero since 2024. Zero-Zero wines are made as described above, but with no added sulphites at any time. We believe this keeps the wine "alive" and delivers its true expression. These wines take more time to stabilise naturally and are more susceptible to developing faults, which is why a great Zero-Zero wine is often seen as the pinnacle of natural winemaking.
Why isn't "natural wine" officially defined?
The natural wine community generally wants to separate itself from the rigid classifications, traditions and rules that have made personalisation and the evolution of style difficult. Winemakers tend to focus instead on individual expression and transparency of process.
Most natural winemakers agree on the core philosophy: hand-harvested grapes, spontaneous fermentation, and sulphites as the only additive that may be introduced, at less than 50 mg/L. At Shuette, wines up to the 2023 vintage had sulphite additions below 15 mg/L; from the 2024 vintage onward, we add none.