17 Wines, Beers, and Ciders That (Deliciously) Blur the Lines of Categorization

There’s something new going around our office—and no, I’m not talking about that gross spring cold (though there’s been a bit of that too). It’s an all out viral obsession with a whole crop of new wineries, breweries, and cideries that are bucking the old rules of their categories to produce bottles that surprise and delight us. A still beer that tastes like a cider and drinks like a wine? A wine-beer hybrid that incorporates blueberry juice in its base? Softly carbonated pink pét-nats that taste like unfiltered ciders? Sign us up.

See, the thing is, what these makers all have in common is the nerve to throw out controlled fermentation. Instead of adding a specific industrial yeast to produce a predictable product, they’re adding wild or natural yeast, or letting the whole process happen spontaneously, with whatever bacteria is already on the fruit or floating in the air. It’s what makes these drinks feel so anarchic and so delicious—and, in many ways, a lot alike. We take a deeper dive into this new trend here, but for the 17 of the bottles we’re most excited to be drinking right now, read on below.