Terraneo Merchants
Terraneo Merchants was launched in 2011 with the intention of sharing our passion, love, and knowledge for the vinous exotica that we call natural wines. After a decade in the food trade, we found ourselves committed to and most excited by natural aka low intervention wines. We fell in love with the history, traditions, and authentic flavors. We realized we were on an endless journey of discovering special winegrowers and exciting new flavors.
At Terraneo Merrchants our mission is to bring you authentic, artisanal wine from all around the world, with a focus on natural wine made from biodynamic, organic, and dry-farmed grapes. You will not find any mass-produced industrial wines here, check your local supermarket or big box store for that. We prefer to support the artisanal winegrowers.
We self distribute our wines into Illinois, Virginia and Washington DC markets. We also partner with distributors in many other markets. Please reach out to us regarding distribution opportunities in your state.
Natural Wine
Natural wine is crafted in small batches from hand-harvested, organic or biodynamic grapes, with minimal intervention in the vineyard and cellar. Natural wine is nothing new, if fact it’s a continuation of chemical-free farming and winemaking methods which have been done in some parts of the world for over 8000 years. Natural winemakers don’t use industrial chemicals in their vineyards or cellars. Instead, they employ natural solutions with a goal to create a bio-diverse ecosystem that’s sustainable and healthy for the environment, their families and their grapes.
Organic Wine
Organic wine is wine made with grapes farmed organically. Organic farming is similar to biodynamic farming and focuses on sustainability. Organic farming does don’t use chemical fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides, and other products widely used in conventional farming. Organic farming is more manual labor intensive and more dependent on the weather.
Biodynamic Wine
Biodynamic wine is wine made with grapes farmed according to biodynamic principles, a philosophy founded in the 1920s by the Austrian scientist Dr. Rudolf Steiner. Biodynamic farming is a holistic approach to farming, and considers the farm as a living organism. Biodiversity in the ecosystem is encouraged, moon phases are carefully followed, and only natural remedies such as tea and herbal tinctures are allowed. Demeter certifies biodynamic wines in the USA and the world.
Vegan Wine
Vegan wine is wine made without using animal products during the winemaking process. Before wine is bottled it is sometimes clarified and filtered in order to remove solids. One method to achieve this is via fining agents derived from animals, such as egg whites and casein. This results in Non-Vegan friendly wines.
Low Sulfite Wine
Sulfites are a natural phenomenon of winemaking. During fermentation a small quantity of sulfur dioxide is released into the wine as a form of natural preservative. Additional Sulfites is often as a preservative. The maximum legal limit of Sulfites in wine in the United States is 350 mg/l. Vinchase Natural wines contain far less sulfites at approximately 40 to 80 mg/l. maximum depending on the winemaker and wine.