Our criteria

Why they exist

Terroir Radical began as an editorial project about natural, biodynamic and minimal-intervention wines. These are the criteria we use to bring new wineries on board: they say clearly what we mean by each term and what we do to check it. It is not an official label: it is our own standard, public and open to review.

What we look at

In the vineyard

• Natural or biodynamic viticulture, with no herbicides or synthetic products.
• Hand harvesting, always. This is a requirement with no exceptions.
• We do not require certification, although we accept it as proof. Verifiable practice is enough.

In the winery

• Manual work and minimal intervention.
• Fermentation only with native yeasts.
• No oenological additives.
• Filtering and fining: see “Deviations we disclose”.

Sulphites

Our reference is the standards of France and Italy, not the European legal limit, which we consider too high for this kind of wine. Each wine from a new winery is placed in one of these levels, measured on total SO₂:

• No added sulphites. No SO₂ is added at any point.
• Minimal sulphites. Up to 30 mg/l of total SO₂.
• Minimal intervention. Less than 50 mg/l of total SO₂.

A wine with 50 mg/l or more is not brought in.

Deviations we disclose

A minor deviation does not make us rule out a wine if the producer declares it and we state it on the wine's page. For example, a wine that has been fined or lightly filtered, or a correction in an exceptional vintage. Some things we do not accept: mechanical harvesting, commercial yeasts and 50 mg/l of total SO₂ or more.

How we check

• Analysis for what can be measured: sulphites. We ask new wineries for an SO₂ analysis (free and total) of the vintage.
• For everything else (hand harvesting, vineyard and winery practices): direct contact with the producer, technical sheets and, when possible, a visit.
• If a figure changes or turns out to be inaccurate, it is corrected.

Appellations

Belonging to a DO does not exclude anyone: we care about what the producer does, not the label. If a producer is registered in one, the wine's page says so neutrally.

Independence

We run an online shop and distribute wine to the hospitality trade, so we tell you what kind of wine each one is and we do not mix advertising with recommendation. We do not charge to appear in any selection of ours or to rank higher. If that ever changed, we would announce it here in advance and any paid content would always be clearly marked.

Review

This charter is a starting version and may change as the project gains experience. Each change is dated on this page.

Version 0.4 · October 2026