To hear these sorts of complaints, you would think that “natural wine” is the only phrase in the English language that has ever described a fuzzy set or a gray area. A few months back, Steinberger used the words “traditionalist” and “classic” to describe the Barolos of Mauro Mascarello. These were apt descriptions because, as Steinberger wrote then, “although they have made some concessions to modernity—stainless steel, temperature-controlled fermentation vats, for instance—you will not find roto-fermenters or French oak barrels in their cellar.” And yet nobody complained that the word “traditionalist” was meaningless, or that it was illegitimate to call anyone a traditionalist so long as someone among them was willing to make an allowance for modern temperature-controlled fermentation vats. Had anybody done so, it probably would have provoked little more than eye-rolling, because if you compare what Mascarello does to what an unabashed modernist does and deny that there are material differences between the two, it will be understood either that you are fantastically ignorant or that you are playing cheap rhetorical games.

Read the full post at cellarbook.wordpress.com.

As usual, it was a pleasure to taste with Julien Guillot of Domaine Vigne du Maynes, France’s first certified organic farm in 1964. Each time I taste with Julien, I understand a little more about why his table is always a throng of people trying to sample his wines. To me, he and his wines represent the top 1% of the growers at Millésime Bio. Hardcore Burgundians may dismiss his more southern terroir located in the Mâconnaise but, make no mistake, these wines are serious.

Read the full post at formaggiokitchen.com.

New EU rules for “organic wine” have been agreed in the Standing Committee on Organic Farming (SCOF), and will be published in the Official Journal in the coming weeks. With the new regulation, which will apply from the 2012 harvest, organic wine growers will be allowed to use the term “organic wine” on their labels. The labels must also show the EU-organic-logo and the code number of their certifier, and must respect other wine labelling rules. Although there are already rules for “wine made from organic grapes”, these do not cover wine-making practices, i.e. the whole process from grape to wine. Wine is the one remaining sector not fully covered by the EU rules on organic farming standards under Regulation 834/2007.

After the vote in the SCOF, EU Commissioner for Agriculture & Rural development Dacian Ciolos stated: “I am delighted that we have finally reached agreement on this dossier, as it was important to establish harmonized rules guaranteeing a clear offer to consumers who are more and more interested in organic products. I am pleased that we emerge with rules which make a clear difference between conventional and organic wine – as is the case with other organic products. As a result, consumers can be sure that any “organic wine” will have been produced using stricter production rules.”

The new rules have the advantage of improved transparency and better consumer recognition. They will not only help to facilitate the internal market, but also to strengthen the position of EU organic wines at international level, since many other wine producing countries (USA, Chile, Australia, South Africa) have already established standards for organic wines. With this piece of legislation, the EU organic farming is now complete and covers all agricultural products.

The new regulation establishes a subset of oenological (wine-making) practices and substances for organic wines defined in the Wine Common Market Organisation (CMO) regulation 606/2009. For example, sorbic acid and desulfurication will not be allowed and the level of sulphites in organic wine must be at least 30-50 mg per litre lower than their conventional equivalent (depending on the residual sugar content). Other than this subset of specifications, the general wine-making rules defined in the Wine CMO regulation will also apply. As well as these wine-making practices, “organic wine” must of course also be produced using organic grapes – as defined under Regulation 834/2007.

Background

There are no EU rules or definition of “Organic wine”. Only grapes can be certified organic and only the mention “wine made from organic grapes” is currently allowed.

In the 2004 Organic Action Plan, the Commission pledged to establish specific organic rules for all agricultural production, including wine-making. In this context, the “OrWine” research project was financed under the 6th Framework Programme. Based on its findings, legal proposals for defining organic wine were first tabled in Standing Committee for Organic Farming (SCOF) in June 2009, but remained deadlocked and were withdrawn in June 2010. Work resumed in 2011 and the draft received a favourable opinion from the SCOF on 8 February 2012.

Key parts of the proposals

The new rules on organic wine-making rules introduces a technical definition of organic wine which is consistent with the organic objective and principles as laid down in Council Regulation (EC 834/2007) Organic production. The regulation identifies oenological techniques and substances to be authorized for organic wine.

These include: maximum sulphite content set at 100 mg per litre for red wine (150 mg/l for conventional) and 150mg/l for white/rosé (200 mg/l for conventional), with a 30mg/l differential where the residual sugar content is more than 2g per litre.

Thanks to Alice Feiring for finding it.

Looking for a salsa bowl made out of a Patron bottle? Bottle Crafters is a new site that sells unique glassware made from recycled products. Check them out at bottlecrafters.com.

Date: Friday & Saturday, March 9-10, 2012
Time: 1:00–7:00 pm
Place: Marriott Grand Ballroom – Convention Way – Anaheim, CA

Mountain Peoples Wine & Beer Distribution is one of the leading organic wine and beer distributors in the industry. Our goal is to provide our clients with the highest quality and largest selection of organic wines and beers available. Our mission is to promote and champion a more sustainable wine and beer industry through organically produced wines and beers. We carry USDA Organic Wines and Beers, Wines Made with Organically Grown Grapes and Demeter Certified Biodynamic Wines. Our products are distributed and available to a wide variety of consumers via supermarket chains, natural food stores, cooperatives, specialty wine shops and on-premise locations, and we are continually striving to broaden our reach. We currently distribute in California and Oregon.

We are pleased to announce that we will be partnering with New Hope 360 and Natural Products Expo West to bring you the 2012 Beer, Wine & Spirits Marketplace in Anaheim, CA in March. This year’s new format is a two-day event that allows ample time for quality tasting and education. This is a wonderful opportunity for all Retail Buyers, Wholesalers and Distributors to come together to meet the brewmasters and the winemakers, discover new products and place orders on site. Most importantly, there will be show specials and promotional offers available throughout the event.

Several of our wine and beer vendors will be there to speak to the benefits of organic wine and beer as well as pour samples of their products.

• South American Wine Importers
• CalNaturale
• Casa Barranca Winery
• Frey Winery
• Honeyrun Winery
• LaRocca Vineyards
• Natural Merchants
• New Planet Beer
• Chacewater
• Lammsbräu
• Girasole Vineyards

The best part is that admission is free for all retailers with registration completed on or before February 3rd online at: https://www.compusystems.com/servlet/ar?evt_uid=380.

Please call the Mountain Peoples Wine Dist. office for assistance with registration, if necessary. We can be reached at (530) 265-0300.

More Information about the expo can be found online at:

http://www.mpwwine.com/Events/

http://www.expowest.com/ew12/Public/Content.aspx?ID=1017177.

Cutting to the chase, you may or may not realize this, but we, the certified organic wine makers of old, are currently caught between the “N.S.A.” (No Sulfite Added) winemakers and the “sustainable” winemakers, which sit all the way on the other side of that pendulum, obeying no third party verified standards that I’m aware of. To simplify, on one hand we have the nothing-goes crowd and on the other we have the anything-goes crowd. It’s sort of like being caught between the Baptist Church and the Flower Children- you know what I mean, no insult meant to either of these groups.
 
I like to think of myself and my company as someone who tries to follow the Golden Rule, I do my homework and I weigh my decisions carefully for collateral benefits and damages. The golden path is precisely where the wines that we have chosen to import since 1980 and the movement that we have pioneered lies: right in the middle on that Golden Path. This is not a matter of political or financial convenience, but a matter of deliberate conscious choice. Currently however, our style of organic wines manages the extraordinary feat to be at once “not pure” enough (by NSA standards) to deserve to be called organic and get the USDA Seal of approval and “too pure” by sustainable standards. This is a pretty remarkable accomplishment.
 
To add or not to add sulfites into a wine that’s then called “organic” is indeed the question. Commercial and noncommercial entities have taken positions on this (non) issue, largely based on misinformation not facts. Based on the results, it is hard to feel respect for these entities. Indeed, after five decades of dedicated organic farming and of obeying the rules, we, makers of wine made with third party certified organic grapes, we are being squeezed out of the game. On very arguable grounds our wines are only allowed the lesser label ” made with organic grapes.” We the elders, are being treated like useless, aging parents. We are the have-beens of the movement while never really having “been” in the first place! It is quite a tour de force, as we say in French, I didn’t realize that something or someone could be at once ignored, opposed and diluted… I thought that this happened sequentially to trailblazers…. But no, I found out that this can also happen simultaneously, it sure has with us.
 
I find this situation offensive, harmful to everyone and disrespectful to the pillars of organic viticulture, the mensches on whose shoulders we now all stand, incredibly courageous people who, as far back as 1965, decided to convert their small 20 acre family property to organic farming practices. Keep in mind that at that time, going organic wasn’t sexy, cool or lucrative. To the contrary, it was very risky: financially, socially and otherwise. These guys are real pioneers, the unsung heroes of our industry and they are currently being disregarded and disrespected by the labeling practices and by the new crowd which includes the Holier-Than-Thous, corporate hypocrites, well meaning but misinformed bureaucrats and nuevo-greens…. that evident disrespect is annoying and plain wrong. Honor Thy Parents, It says, and there are many good reasons for that. One of them being that it’s hard to honor yourself, if you do not honor where you come from.
 
Rather than merely expecting divine justice, I decided to take matters into my own hands and went searching for writers who would be interested in exploring the truth behind the hype, the sulfite hysteria and all manners of myth alive and well in our industry. “The Truth shall make us free.”

Stay tuned! I ended up connecting with a substantial number of wine journalists and I feel incredibly rewarded by their support and interest in our story.

The Well Daily, a site that aims to be “your ultimate guide for creating health and happiness,” has listed Organic Wine Journal as one of their favorite sites. Be sure to check them out as well.

His struggle is a fanatic one; he is going much further than organic (bio) or biodynamic wines, he insists on the essential use of indigenous yeasts for real, terroir driven wines.

During his time as waiter/sommelier assistant, he was wondering why all white Burgundy wines were always so similar. He found the answer to his question much later, thanks to a meeting with the famous French wine grower Claude Courtois:

“White Bourgogne wines are so similar because they are all made with industrial yeasts selected in labs”.

This changed JCB’s life; he realized that all the wines he really likes are all made from well managed vineyards with low yields and using natural, indigenous, wild ferments.

Full story at christiancallec.com.