Richmond event brings together Bay Area’s natural wine community

The popularity of natural wines has boomed in the United States during the previous two decades. Made from organic grapes without the aid of additives like fish bladder, tannin, coloring, or chemical preservatives like velcorin, natural wines harken back to a time before industrialization. 

While total wine consumption in the United States has declined since 2015, according to research firm IWSR Drinks Market Analysis, interest in natural wine has grown. The Bay Area has jumped into the revival of the simpler but riskier early winemaking methods, with numerous low-intervention, sustainable operations opening in the region in recent years. 

Natural wine lovers like the personality that these wines can offer — each batch is unique and somewhat unpredictable. (A large reason winemakers use additives is to provide consistency between batches over time.)

Intrigued? Saturday, Nov. 16, from 1-5 p.m. is your chance to taste natural wines from 29 vintners at the By the Way Wine Fair at The Study Wine Bar/Purity Wine in Richmond’s Marina Bay district.

Noel Diaz, Purity’s winemaker and co-proprietor of The Study Wine Bar along with his wife Barrie Quan, says that the natural wine movement is “a philosophy …. We look at the earth as being important and we are taking care of it. We are purists, we want the fruit to taste like it came from a specific place and we don’t want to make that generic by adding yeast and enzymes and artificial enhancers like oak chips.”

Diaz is a local leader in the natural wine world as the founder of the Richmond Wine Collective, a group of 21 winemakers who share space, experience, and a passion for natural wine. A dozen of the wineries presenting at the By the Way Fair are part of the collective, with the remainder of the exhibitors coming from the greater natural wine community, including women vintners and winemakers of color.

“We really want to be inclusive,” says Quan. “Wine has been an area where it’s not inclusive, so natural wine is a space where we want everyone to feel included. 

Each producer will have two to four wines to sample, including new fall releases, along with bottles for sale. 

“We’ll have orange wine and Pet-Nat [short for “pétillant natural,” a traditional sparkling wine made with minimal intervention], which are probably the most popular, but there will be something for everyone including white, rosé, and red wines. A very broad spectrum of what we all make,” said Diaz.

This marks the eighth edition of the fair, which launched pre-pandemic and now takes place twice a year, in spring and fall. 

Ruby Blanca wines is one of the participating producers in the By the Way event. Credit: Ruby Blanca Wines

Diaz and Quan hope the fair gives their fellow natural winemakers a chance to forge community with each other … and their customers. “We are small, craft winemakers. We are all bootstrap. Most of us don’t have distributors in California — we sell direct. The fair is like the wine version of a farmer’s market,” said Diaz. “There’s a lot to celebrate in life. Wine holds a special place, a social place. There’s something easier about it for people to engage with each other.”

Alongside Purity, participating winemakers include Ahha Vino!, BScene, Buddy Buddy Wine, Buggy Wine, Bushy Tail, BXT Wines, East of Eden, Everwild, Full Tilt, General Psychotic Activity, High Camp Wines, Hovik Wines, Laughing Gems, Lil Boy Wines, Lula, Maisons des Plaisances, Miles Garrett Wines, Mischief Wine, Miscreant Wines, Mujo, Onward Wines, Ruby Blanca Wines, Two Shepherds Winery, TyTy, Under The Table, Wild Jag, Wild Rejoice, and Yolia. 

Also on site will be five food popups — three savory options and two sweet, including pastries from Good Luck Bakery and Sonoran-style Mexican food from Xulo. TQ Collective, a Bay Area jazz and funk band, will also perform. Tickets ($45 plus fees) are available on Eventbrite, and include pours of two to four wines from each producer. Food and bottles of wine will be sold separately.