The RAW WINE Fair (the world's most influential natural wine fair) is making its China debut right here in Shanghai, on May 17, with over 100 international natural wine vendors, including some exceptional Chinese winemakers. A huge step forward for China’s wine scene on a global scale, the renowned RAW WINE Fair will spotlight the natural, low-intervention organic, and biodynamic wine movement.

RAW WINE is the world’s largest network of natural wines, the people who make them, and those who love drinking them. Starting as a small community in 2012, RAW WINE was founded by multi-award-winning taster, France’s first female Master of Wine, and author of Natural Wine: An Introduction to Organic and Biodynamic Wines Made Naturally, Isabelle Legeron, who will attend the Shanghai RAW WINE Fair in person. Since its inception, the event has expanded to fairs across the globe, from New York, Los Angeles, Montréal, and Toronto to London, Berlin, Copenhagen, Paris, Verona and Tokyo.

Isabelle Legeron, founder of RAW WINE

We sat down with the RAW WINE team to learn more about why Shanghai was selected to host such a prestigious wine event, how this festival is different from other wine festivals, and what to expect at the event.

This is the first time that RAW WINE will make its debut in China. Why now? And why Shanghai?
It feels like the right time for RAW WINE’s Chinese debut because the country’s natural wine scene is at a really exciting point of development. Our growers have been asking us to do something in China for a long time and, likewise, some of China’s key industry players have been saying that it would be great for us to show our support and help build momentum and a greater appreciation of natural wine.

Shanghai seems like the natural choice given it has the highest concentration of bars and restaurants that stock natural wine in China. We’re a sizable crew turning up, including 73 growers and makers from 14 countries, and we’re very excited to be joining forces with local Shanghai aficionados to help tasters (novices, amateurs and professionals alike) really get under the skin of what fine, natural wine is all about. Ticketholders will get to taste nearly 500 wines, all free with their ticket, and all of which are, by their very nature, better for their health, better for the health of the planet and, best of all, totally delicious to boot. What’s not to love?

What does hosting RAW WINE in Shanghai mean for the greater China wine industry?
There’s a rising interest in low-intervention organic, biodynamic and natural wine amongst Chinese consumers, particularly younger and environmentally conscious drinkers. Shanghai, in particular, is a global hub, so it’s an ideal gateway to bring a greater awareness of natural wine into Asia. 

Our hope is that RAW WINE Shanghai can do just this and help to elevate the consumer understanding of natural wine and its benefits for both individuals and the environment. It’s also a great opportunity to bridge the gap between international producers and Chinese buyers and sommeliers.

What can guests expect when attending RAW WINE Shanghai in terms of regions the producers are from, wine varietals, and overall experience?
RAW WINE fairs always have a very welcoming, relaxed, and informal atmosphere. There’s a misconception about wine tasting that it has to be a formal activity with white tablecloths and people wearing suits, but RAW WINE is fundamentally a community made up of farmers – people who work closely with the land and who don’t make wine on spreadsheets from a desk, but rather with their bare hands. They’re real, down-to-earth, approachable people who have a deep love of what they do and an extraordinary know-how and talent for doing it, which is a priceless combination especially since they’re happy to share what they know with others. So, while RAW WINE fairs are brilliant opportunities to taste wine, they’re also wonderful places to make connections on all sorts of levels, and to learn an enormous amount about what great wine is and how it's made.

In terms of regions and grape varieties that will be present, RAW WINE Shanghai’s offering will be hugely diverse. In fact, RAW WINE Shanghai will host the highest concentration of low-intervention organic, biodynamic and natural wine producers ever to come together under one roof in Shanghai – most visiting China for the very first time. In short, there will be lots on offer.

We’ll have a large contingent of French producers pouring their drinks from classic regions like Bordeaux, Burgundy, and Champagne, but also dynamic, new wave, natural wine hotbeds like Alsace and the Loire.

We’ve also got quite a cohort from Italy and Spain, and hidden gems from Australia, Austria, Belgium, Chile, Germany, Japan, New Zealand, Serbia and the United States. We even have a corner dedicated to homegrown Chinese producers who have started making low-intervention wines which is an exciting beginning!

As such, the grape varieties and styles available to taste will also be incredibly varied. There are dozens of varieties to explore, including household names like Chardonnay, Pinot Noir, or Cabernet Sauvignon, but also local, autochthonous varieties that you might never have come across before, like the Serbian Vranac.

As far as colors and styles are concerned, the sky’s the limit. There will be whites, rosés, reds, and even oranges (including producers from Georgia, where they have been making skin contact whites for some 8,000 years, as well as the world renowned Radikon, one of orange wines’ most celebrated makers). And you can even try sparkling versions of each wine color too. In fact, there will be literally dozens of “pet nats” (or pétillants naturels) to try, so you could actually spend the entire tasting just exploring sparkling wine in all its shapes and forms if that is what rocks your boat.

Beyond wine, what can visitors expect in terms of food and entertainment at the event?
Fairgoers will be able to enjoy food from some really great local restaurants to stay fueled throughout their visit. Yaya’s will serve their renowned pasta dishes with a unique Chinese flair, while wine bar and restaurant Bastard will dish up a selection of their signature dishes.

Wine enthusiasts who want a keepsake to take home can also choose from our brand-new collection of RAW WINE merchandise, including t-shirts, sweatshirts, corkscrews and wine tote bags.

In addition to food and merch, there will also be a selection of other drinks, including Cognac and rare spirits, made with the same care and environmental focus.

The RAW Wine Charter of Quality states that, “Every drink poured at the fair must comply with the RAW WINE Charter of Quality, ensuring high standards of authenticity, sustainability and taste.” Can you please elaborate on how quality is defined and how you maintain the most premium natural wine selection?
RAW WINE has an incredibly strict Charter of Quality for producers wanting to join the community and pour at our fairs. They must cultivate their grapes using 100% organic farming methods at the very minimum, and vinify their wines with minimal intervention. They must complete a questionnaire about their farming and winemaking practices, provide proof of certification for their farming method, and submit their wine analysis data. Their sulfite levels must be significantly lower than EU standards.

Once they meet these criteria, producers then must obtain a recommendation from an existing RAW WINE community member, and send wine samples so we can taste them before making a final decision. It may sound like a lot, but it’s important that, as we grow, our work continues to draw attention to artisans who are working naturally, and with a sincere respect for and commitment to the environment.

Having said this, we have made a concession for the Chinese wine producers taking part in Shanghai as not all their cuvées are made from organic grapes. They will only be pouring their organically farmed, low-intervention wines at the fair itself, but we do not normally allow producers in our community to use any conventionally farmed grapes at all in any of their wines. We decided to make an exception in this case as we know this is just the beginning for many of the producers in China, and we understand that the conditions aren’t easy since the natural wine scene is still very nascent compared to most other countries represented at the fair.

We want to support their endeavors and hopefully see the burgeoning of an exciting new chapter in Chinese wine growing! For full transparency, as always, the information on their production will be made available on their profile online for visitors and our global web users (of which we have nearly 50,000 a month!) to see.

How are RAW WINE Fairs different from other wine festivals?
RAW WINE is the world’s largest network of low-intervention organic, biodynamic and natural wines, with annual fairs in a plethora of countries around the world, so you’re likely to find wines or producers at one of our fairs that you may never have heard of, particularly since we’re often described by producers as a brilliant launchpad into the world of natural wine.

We’re also much more transparent than other fairs, and are the only ones to collect and publish extremely detailed information on each of the drinks being poured. We have a color code system to give visitors a quick and easy understanding of the level of sulfites being used by each winemaker, which allows them to make choices accordingly.

In terms of RAW WINE Shanghai itself, this will be the largest gathering of low-intervention organic, biodynamic and natural wine producers to ever take place in Shanghai, which is in itself very exciting as there will be lots to try, including the wines of some of the natural wine world’s most revered producers and many growers seeking distribution in China for the very first time. RAW WINE Shanghai really will be a unique opportunity to taste wines that have never been tasted anywhere in China before.

Will there be other wine varieties on offer aside from natural wine?
As well as wine, there will be a selection of other drinks for visitors to discover, including spirits from France by Alcools Vivant, beer from Belgium by Brouwerij 3 Fonteinen, cider from YanTai, Shandong by The Gingi Project, and sparkling tea from Sichuan by TazaTe Brewery Co – all made with the same respect for the environment.

How can readers book tickets to RAW WINE?
To purchase your ticket today, scan the QR below.

Ticket Prices:
* Please note that there are two types of tickets – one for the public and one for trade (those working in the restaurant, bar, hotel, and wine industry, as well as full-time wine students).

Public Tickets: RMB258/person
Trade Tickets: RMB138/person
*All tickets include unlimited tastings. All tickets exclude food sold on-site.

Tickets are divided into two sessions:
Morning Session: 11:00 AM - 2:30 PM
Afternoon Session: 3:00 PM - 6:30 PM 

RAW WINE Fair, Bridge 8 Art Space (1908 Granary), 1247 Nan Suzhou Lu, Huangpu District