Organic wine is considered that made with grapes grown organically. The benefits are similar to those of all organic foods - better tasting grapes and less environmental damage. A series of tests of conventional wine showed that some bottles can contain up to 10 different pesticides, the ingestion of which is not considered good for long term health. In terms of the environmental impact of conventional wine-making, 20% of pesticides purchased in France are sprayed on the 3% of agricultural lands used for growing wine grapes.

 

Apart from consumer demand for organic wine, there are reasons why producers would wish to grow grapes organically. For some it’s an ethical decision, for others a practical one. Many agricultural workers are made sick by the chemicals they use in conventional agriculture. Also soil is made barren by the use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, nothing grows there, so vines are less well nourished and a lack of humus means vines don’t cope well during drought.
 

Moreover, wine, especially in Europe, is closely associated with the soil. In France quality wine is classified according to the grapes used and the type of soil. Therefore, if you choose, say, an appellation d’origine contrôlée (AOC) Graves, you know that  it will contain the Cabernet Sauvignon grape variety, with smaller amounts of Merlot and Cabernet Franc. In addition to the type of grape, the Graves soil is particularly gravelly which imparts a certain flavour to the wine that an AOC Côtes de Rhone won’t have. Therefore, treating the soil with utmost respect is important to gain the best of it in the wine. Organic agriculture aids this process.

 

In North America, the USDA recognizes three different categories of organic wine:

• 100% Organic - all ingredients are organic and there are no added sulfites in the wine.

• Organic - 95% organic ingredients and there are no added sulfites in the wine.

• Made with organic grapes - 70% organic ingredients and some sulfites permitted.

 

While most grapes contain some sulfites, most sulfites are added to wines as a preservative, to enable them to age and develop character. A sulfites-free wine in the US is one with less than 10 parts per million, whilst organic wines can have up to 100 parts per million of naturally occurring sulfites.

 

One of the many producers to have moved from a conventional to organic agriculture is La Vignoble Les Pervenches, in Québec, Canada run by Véronique Hupin & Michael Marler.  Their wine  is sold in restaurants throughout the province and is gaining a following. They are a small producer selling principally to local and regional consumers and in many ways they typify the approach of local producers selling direct to local consumers a high quality product.

 

 

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