2008

There are no organic wines

There are no organic wines. There is organic farming, there are sulfites and there are natural wines.

Organic growing

The growing of grapes can conform to organic farming. Organic farming is defined by regulation (country-specific) or independent certification. Here are some certification organisations. They are roughly ordered from loose specification to stringent requirement:

• 
  AB is a logo owned by the French state. It stands for 'Agriculture Biologique'. Products can be labelled with this mark when they contain more than 95 percent organic components, were produced or processed within the EU, and were certified by one of the inspection bodies accredited by the State agency.
• In the US, certification is handled by state, non-profit and private agencies that have been approved by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA).
• ECOCERT is a company which delivers organics or biodynamics certificates in France.
• Nature&Progrès, a French association.
• 
  Demeter, a global independent organisation for biodynamics.

Organic farming is better for the local biosphere. This includes people: organic viticulture harms vineyard workers less -- much less than conventional viticulture which buys lots of pesticides.

In itself organic growing does little for the taste of the wine to be consumed.

Your wine is not organic

Once the grapes are farmed organically, the wine is made. If it is made in a 'natural' fashion, the label usually does not say 'organic' or 'natural'.

The organic grapes can also be turned to wine with the conventional means. This includes:

Harvest machine in Michigan
© 2007, by jwinfred, (license)

  mechanical harvesting

  addition of commercial yeasts

  rape pummeling

  addition of sulfites.

Many wines labeled 'organic' are actually made with conventional methods: only the grapes are organic.

Contains sulfites

Sulphur dioxide (SO2) is the most widely used and controversial additive in winemaking. Its main functions are to inhibit or kill unwanted yeasts and bacteria, and to protect wine from oxidation.

Oxidation is the reaction of wine with oxygen. It can alter its colour and odour (tending to make wines darker and dryer) and is often dismissed as a fault. Moreover any wine authorities will tell you that it is impossible to make a wine which ages well without using sulphur dioxide. This is just not true. The SO2 drastically inhibits the process of oxidation. The alterrnative is to control oxidation.

There are four points at which sulphur dioxide is commonly used in conventional winemaking, although the winemaker may choose to make further additions if he is feeling nervous.

• Picking

  Sulfur is applied in the form of metabisulfite to inhibit the action of wild yeasts and prevent oxidation. It means the grapes don't have to be rushed to the winery.

• 

  Grape crushing
  © 2006, by Fuzzychops

  Crushing

  Sulfur is added to prevent fermentation from beginning with ambient yeasts before cultured yeasts can be added. Commercial yeasts are bred to be more resistant to SO2.

• Fermentation

  Sulfur is applied at any point during fermentation, but most commonly at the end to stop or prevent malolactic fermentation. A natural winemaker has to wait for the malo to finish naturally.

• Bottling

  Sulfur is added to prevent oxidation or any microbial action in the bottled wine. In sweet wines there is the danger that fermentation will restart.

A natural winemaker would only ever use sulphur dioxide at bottling, only in white wines, and only in very small quantities. Using none at all is risky.

According to the Guidelines for Labeling: Wine with Organic References from the U.S. Dept. of Treasury - Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms:

SULFITE STATEMENT
"100% Organic" products cannot use added sulfites in production. Therefore, since no added sulfites
are present in the finished product, the label may not require a sulfite statement. In these cases, a lab analysis is necessary to verify that the wine contains less than 10 ppm of sulfites.

The legislation of the European Union imposes a similar indication since 2005. Food ingredients that must be labelled include:

Sulphur dioxide and sulphites at concentrations of more than 10 mg/kg or 10 mg/litre expressed as SO2.

Natural wines

The idea with natural wines is to stop considering that a person is making the wine. The vintner is rather accompanying the winemaking. A natural wine is one with:

1. 

   Grapes are hand picked at Telford Farm, MI
   © 2005, by corremadrid

   organically-grown grapes
2. harvested by hand
3. rushed to the winery
4. fermented on native yeasts
5. no rape pummeling
6. low levels of sulfites (or none at all)

You'll find more information on natural wines vs. conventional winemaking at More Than Organic.

Differences in taste

A wine made for organic grapes can taste conventional : the palette includes some standard aromas.

A natural wine has an emphasis on fruit (but not impact). It is one of the alternatives to taste standardization. Please read more on such considerations in my wine tasting manifesto.

You can discover different tastes if you buy recommended wines near you. They can be found via the search tool below.