What is Organic Wine?

What is Organic Wine?

Organic wines are produced with organically grown grapes. In order to have organically grown grapes, a vineyard manager must implement an entirely different set of practices to maintain their vines.

By the way, organic doesn’t imply that the wine doesn’t have additives. There is, in fact, a list of additives, including things like yeast, egg whites, and animal enzymes (like rennet in cheese) that are allowed in organic wines. Being organic doesn’t necessarily mean a wine is vegan.

Organic Wine Dilemma

The dilemma with organic wines (and what sets them apart from other organic foods) is the importance of sulphur-dioxide (SO2) in the winemaking process. Perhaps you’ve seen a lot more European organic (called ‘bio’) wines and this is because Europe has a different definition of organic:

• USA: “a wine made from organically grown grapes without added sulfites”
• EUROPE & CANADA: “a wine made from organically grown grapes that may contain added sulfites”

Organic wines from the US must not add sulfites, which in most scenarios greatly reduces a wine’s shelf life and, in some cases, can substantially change the flavor. Wineries find themselves in a quandary because spending the time to make organically grown grapes is immediately lost because they use SO2 in the bottling line. 

What are Non-Organic Wines?

Non-Organic wines can use chemicals like herbicides and fungicides in the vineyards and other additives (like sulfur or Mega Purple) in a wine. You’ll find most of the bizarre chemicals in non-organic wines are used in the vineyard. It is common to see pesticides and fungicides used in areas that are calm (low wind) and have more moisture in the air to cause fungal infections (perhaps close to a river, pond or lake). You’ll find many fungicides and pesticides being employed to kill invasive species. For instance, in Napa, a foreign bug called the glassy winged sharpshooter is a carrier of Pierce’s Disease. This particular disease basically turns vines into lepers with rotting leaves and eventually kills them.

How To Drink More Green?

Fortunately there is a solution that drinkers of American wines should know about and it’s called ‘Made with Organically Grown Grapes’. Why only America wines? Because i Europe they mark wine with "BIO" on the label. These little words on a US wine bottle are your ticket to drinking more green for two reasons:

• Wines is made with grapes from Certified Organic vineyards
• Wines must contain less than 100 ppm sulfites (good!)

Other Cool Sustainability Programs You Can Trust

A certification of sustainability for California wines that restricts the use of bad chemicals in vineyards. sipcertified.org

A certification program created in the Northwest that focuses on bolstering riparian areas and reducing farm run off into streams and rivers. salmonsafe.net

Demeter offers organic and biodynamic certifications internationally. demeter-usa.org

The USDA National Organic Program. Also look for wines labeled “Made with Organically Grown Grapes”. USDA NOP

Source: http://winefolly.com/update/organic-wine-vs-non-organic-wine/