A recent conversation with a customer (not a regular), about Organic wines, highlighted the need for clarification on the whole, obviously confusing matter. She was rather adamant about a brand of wine that she had purchased at another retailer being Organic. I attempted to correct her in a nice way and explain that it really wasn't because I had sold that brand for several years. The difference between Organic Certified and Made with Organic Grapes was something she did not want to hear. Ignorance is bliss for some people.

   The organic movement is gaining momentum in the USA across all agricultural produce including wine. There are basically seven terms consumers, who are hard bent on advocating their need for only "Organic" wines, need to know. Knowing these will save you from embarrassing yourself in public, especially with very knowledgeable wine shop owners.

  The 7 terms in question are Organic Certified, Practicing Organic, Made with Organic Grapes, Biodynamic, Practicing Biodynamic, Sustainable in Practice (SIP Certified), and Practicing Sustainable.

   First off, "Practicing" anything simply means you lack certification from an Independent Certifying Entity like EcoCart for Organic Certification or Demeter for Biodynamic Certification. this also means that you are not bound to all the rules in any given year or harvest. If need be the winery, often a simple grape farmer that is also a winemaker, has the freedom to use otherwise banded agrochemicals and additional Sulphur (a very natural product by the way) as needed to save their crop. In most years, these days, very little, if any, has been needed in most wine growing areas. Weather, thanks to "global warming" has been utterly fantastic!. Advances in winemaking technology and the proliferation thereof in second and third World wine growing areas in Europe and elsewhere has made a dramatic impact and reduced the need for harmful chemical intervention. The Organic, Biodynamic and SIP movements have, despite all the criticism,contributed much to cleaning up the wine industry and our increasingly fragile environment. I am hardly a tree hugger but facts are facts and responsible farming, much like our ancient ancestors practiced before the appearance of companies like Monsanto, is beneficial not only to the environment but potentially the quality of the produce as well. While most "Organic" wines are overpriced and wanting on the quality scale, there are some, especially the non certified type, that have bridged the quality gap that has been so illusive for many wanting to adopt this regimen.

   Since my aim is to explain the facts surrounding this farming philosophy, I will not be making any assessments of any particular brands of wines. Lets look at the facts about Organic Viticulture first.

    Organic viticulture is simple the practice of regimens consistent with organic farming principles. This involves the use of natural methods for pest and disease management as well as soil nutrition and clean winemaking processes. Perhaps more importantly, the avoidance of synthetic chemicals including herbicides, pesticides, fungicides and fertilizers.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Music Property of & Copyright by Ed Cornett / Used with Permission

Thank You Ed!