Vino, vidi, vici - organic wine

Vegetarian Times, May, 2000 by Philip Bernstein

Raise a glass to the growing bunch of top-quality organic wines

Organic wines will account for half the wine market within 20 years.

It's been a long time coming, but organic wines are finally receiving the respect they deserve. Critics and consumers alike are now taking these wines seriously and, as a result, the industry is expanding in all directions--in quality, variety and countries represented.

Organic wine, also known as naturally or traditionally produced wine, has suffered for some time from an image of being lower in quality than conventionally made wines, partly because the few brands available were lacking in character. This negative perception prompted many exceptional winemakers to downplay their organic winemaking practices; several even opted to omit the fact that they use organic grapes from their labels. But as natural winemaking techniques continue to improve and buyers become more informed, that old stereotype is slowly fading.

One way to overcome the stigma, of course, is for organic vintners to produce better-tasting wine. The quality of organic wines gets better every day, and most growers agree that organic grapes offer superior aromas, better fruit intensity and purer flavor than their chemically grown counterparts. Although organic wine makes up only 1 percent of the total wine market, the industry has been experiencing a steady growth of production (about 20 percent per year domestically). Natural winemakers and enthusiasts alike relate the growing interest in naturally produced wine to the recent growth spurt of environmentally conscious consumers.

There is still some debate, however, over what makes a wine "organic." National standards for organic foods--including wines--are currently nonexistent, though they are imminent. In the meantime, some states, such as California, have established their own organic certifying boards. It's generally agreed that organic wines are, at the least, made from organically grown grapes without the help of synthetic fertilizers or insecticides. One stumbling block for the anticipated federal guidelines, however, is whether to allow minimal amounts of added sulfites, a preservative that's a compound of sulphurous acid.

The sulfite controversy is both important and confusing, even to the wine-wise. Conventional winemakers have been adding sulfites to wine for centuries to prolong shelf life by preventing oxidation and bacterial spoilage. Sulfites are problematic for the estimated 5 percent of the population who are allergic to them. Unfortunately, a totally sulfite-free wine does not exist because sulfites are a natural byproduct of fermentation and are present in wines without having been added. That said, organic wineries strive to limit the concentration of sulfites (40 parts per million or less, compared with 100 to 150 ppm for conventional wines), making them a safer alternative for people with allergies.

Although most wines made with organic grapes have no added sulfites, you still must watch out for the exceptions. Some organic wines actually add sulfites in amounts comparable to conventional wines. So how can one tell? Check the label: Low-sulfite wines typically state "sulfites are naturally occurring" or "no sulfites were added." If the label simply states "contains sulfites," then they were probably added.

Winemaking--from the growing of the grapes to the fermentation process--encompasses a broad range of practices. At one end of the spectrum, strict attention to the principles of organic winemaking dominate; at the other, they play no role at all. In the middle lays a rapidly growing number of winemakers who try to adhere to basic organic procedures as much as possible while still acknowledging that their ultimate objective is to produce an exceptional wine. It's this middle group that is providing the momentum for the re-evaluation of organic wines. While their wine technically (and legally) cannot be called organic, these "minimalist" winemakers nevertheless produce wines that consumers can, in practical terms, regard as such.

Premium winemakers are also leading the way in the organic industry. Their wines are produced in small quantities, from several hundred to several thousand cases, and are most compatible with the use of organic or minimal intervention methods because growers can utilize the more labor-intensive production techniques associated with organic winemaking.

Approximately one-third of imported premium organic wine comes from France and Italy, primarily because quite a few of their wine estates are small. And Spain, one of the largest wine producers in the world, has recently been "discovered" as a source of fine organic wines. Exceptional bottles also come from Germany and Austria, as well as from South Africa, Chile, Argentina and Australia. Quality natural wine-producing estates are emerging in Bulgaria and Hungary as well. These wines are not yet available in the United States and therefore still unknown to many outsiders, but the passionate search for new fine wines practically guarantees this will change in the near future.