"Ask Corina" Blog

I’ve noticed a new trend in organic wines, but I don’t know why they are better or where to get them. What do you suggest?

Most events aren’t complete without wine, and today organic wines are ripe for the picking and easy to find. With grapes at the top of the list of most chemically “sprayed” fruit (University of California reports over 2 million pounds of herbicides, pesticides, fungicides, and other chemicals used on Napa County grapes) it’s a good idea to treat you and your guests to something healthier.

So what exactly makes wine organic? Basically the farmers that grow organic grapes today practice old fashioned principals for organic production; using materials and practices that enhance the ecological balance of natural systems. Organic grapes are grown without artificial fertilizers or synthetic chemicals, encouraging the natural pest/predator balance, and according to the farmers, stimulates healthy plant growth and enhances the overall flavor and quality of the fruit.

Organic grape growing includes an approach developed in the 1920’s called biodynamic farming. This method encourages plant and animal diversity for the overall success of the product. Farms like Bonterra Vineyards in California take time to cultivate their animal diversity as much as the plants. They build birdhouses to attract diversity and to ward off harmful insects. They also leave native oak trees in place and plant cypress and helpful plants like lavender on the landscape. Organic farming embraces the natural checks and balances in nature that allows for full expression of the earth, giving rise to vines that truly thrive!

The success over the last six years of industry leaders like Bonterra has paved the way for a crop of new organic options for the modern wine consumer. Unfortunately a lot of these wineries aren’t promoting themselves as organic and biodynamic, mostly because of the hassle of becoming certified. Because the USDA does not allow the use of sulfides in a certified organic wine, some vintners are out of luck, but others like Coturri Winery who offer one of the purest organic wines on the market, don’t want the USDA stamp “because they simply want to be known as a traditional fine wine.” (SF Gate, 2006)

So here is a short list to help you with your next party wine selection. For a more comprehensive list, go check out The Organic Wine List:

• Coturri Winery (California)
• Snoqualmie Vineyards, Naked line (Washington)
• Grgich Hills (California)
• Bonterra Vineyards (California)
• Frog’s Leap (California)
• Frey Vineyards (California)
• The Organic Wine Company - Key importer of Organic French Wines
• Organic Vintners - Importers of internationally produced Organic Wines

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