Chef Ryan Hardy Just (Figuratively) Spilled His Favorite Healthier Wines

When it comes to the world of wine, we're always welcoming expert opinions. So when we sat down with Chef Ryan Hardy for the mindbodygreen podcast, we were sure to get Hardy's two cents on the best ones out there.

The Mediterranean-inspired chef knows good wine, touching on the value a nice bottle can add to an already great meal. "I really look at the power of a meal as the conversation that happens between people when they sit down," he says. "And the wine is the lubricant, right? And the food is the nourishment, and the conversation is the digestion."

He touches on how we're beginning to see more young people getting involved in winemaking—something he's taken note of in his restaurants.

"You're really starting to see young winemakers getting back into the industry that was usually dominated by mostly older men that were primarily in nutrient-rich countries—you know, the United States, France, Italy, Spain, Australia, kind of the more dominant wine-producing countries," Hardy says. "[Now] you're starting to see a little bit more of the youth taking stock in that, and producing wines in interesting areas of the world."

And as interest in wine grows, so do the places you drink the wine.

When it comes to his go-to's, Hardy was happy to offer his favorite options.

As far as "natural" wine is concerned, he says there are producers that don't get the natural label but are putting out natural wine: "That's just the way that wine is made in that particular region—particularly in places like Burgundy or in [other] parts of France—[who] do biodynamic farming."