SOMM Laguna

In this post, we are going to review the growing trend of organic wines. This post can’t explore the topic in any depth but hopefully it can provide some guidance in selecting wines and offers some consumer education.

Wine labeling can be confusing at the best of times but add to that, the terms Organic, Organic grapes, Natural wine, Additive free wines, Sustainably grown and Biodynamic, it can lead someone to drink.

Biodynamic wines are the oddest. It is touted as “more organic than organic”. Biodynamics is based on 1924 philosophical lectures of an Austrian scientist, Rudolf Steiner. Steiner believed nature was a spiritual place and vineyards could tap into a universal energy – alignment of the planets, phases of the moon, leaf days, root days, water days. There is also a ritual of filling cow horns with a special blend of manure and burying it various places in the vineyard. There are no inorganic chemicals allowed in the vineyard or the winery. There is no scientific rationale but the end result is people seem to prefer the wine. In a blind test of 2 identical wines (one farmed biodynamically and an adjacent plot farmed organically), 12 of 13 wine buyers liked the biodynamic wine better. Could lay people tell the difference, likely not but if you are concerned about what goes into your wine, Biodynamic wines could be a good choice.

Organic wines are controlled by the FDA in the US. There is a list of banned chemicals but there are exceptions if there are no acceptable substitutions. It takes 3 years of being pesticide and chemical free to become certified. This same strict protocol follows the grapes through the wine making process. If you see Organic Wine on the label, that means the grapes and the wine are organic. If the label says Made from Organic grapes, it means the grapes are organic but the wine making process doesn’t have the same organic protocols.

Natural and additive free wines are basically made without Sulfur Dioxide (SO₂). People who get headaches from red wine often attribute the SO₂ as the culprit. You need to check the label as there may still be some SO₂ in there but well below the conventional limits. Natural wines are typically not filtered or fined so there may be some cloudiness or sediment in the bottle. This is completely harmless but is might be a bit off-putting to some. Sustainable wines are based on sustainable farming practices but there are few rules and guidelines as to what qualifies as a sustainable wine. Lodi California and Napa have started to codify these guidelines so maybe in the coming years there will be more clarity.

I hope this is helpful and if you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to drop me a note. Until next time, Love the wine you are with.