Bring on the funk

Savvy wine drinkers know that “noble rot” (describing the botrytis fungus that can destroy crops or produce coveted dessert wines) or “barnyard” (animal or vegetal wine aromas, courtesy of the Brettanomyces yeast that can be a virtue or a fault) can actually be desirable qualities. Likewise, unfiltered or slightly oxidized wines—once worthy of being returned— today might be just what the winemaker intended.

Though so-called low-intervention or natural wines can be wildly unpredictable from year to year or batch to batch, these authentic and rustic-tasting wines are growing in popularity. Experiment with reliably consistent Cabernet Sauvignon

(VINTAGES ESSENTIALS 342428, $21.95) and Chardonnay (VINTAGES ESSENTIALS 342436, $19.95) from organic California winery Bonterra. The Mendocino County vineyard eschews pesticides for natural solutions, from using birds and sheep to control weeds and insects to planting diverse cover crops like crimson clover and lavender to attract bees and nourish the soil. Can you taste any traces of that care in the bottle?