Your Guide to Organic, Biodynamic and Natural Wine
Jenny & Francois have posted a video interview with Joe Campanale. Learn why he loves natural wines.
Interview with Joe Campanale at Anfora from Jenny & Francois Selections on Vimeo.
Telling a kid to eat something because it’s good for them is usually a good way to make sure it never passes their lips.
At the same time, if you suggest trying something that is good for an adult and/or the environment many will assume it must be tasteless or an inferior product.
A January trip to Southern France to the Millesime Bio organic wine trade show proved nothing could be further from the truth. Organic wine is a growing movement stifled by regulation, misunderstanding, and greed.
The story begins in the 1980s when wine labeling laws were enacted in 1987 requiring “sulfites added” be printed on wine labels. The organic wine movement started largely in the early 1980s. The two have been linked ever since. Simply put, there is no relationship.
Sulfites are used in wine to fight bacteria or fungi which can occur in the winery or winemaking process. There are all sorts of old housewife tales and stories about the ills of sulfites in food. But the facts are there are hundreds of packaged foods in your kitchen right now which probably contain sulfites. Wineries have to put a label on the bottle that proclaims sulfites, most products do not.
The profiteering and greed started in the U.S. when some wineries, which had previously worked toward organic standards in the late 1980s and early 90s, realized there was a profit to be made if they insisted organic wine contain no added sulfites. The argument goes that would keep big wineries out of the business.
Wines without added sulfties have a very short shelf life and are often very thin wines. European standards allow mimimum sulfites which makes for better wine that can be aged. By comparison, the U.S. law allows no more than 10 parts per million in sulfites. EU regulations permit 100 ppm. Wines that aren’t organically produce may have up to 350 ppm. So European Union wines must be labeled “made from organic grapes” to be sold in the U.S.
AIVB President Thierry Julien chatting about organic wines
French winemakers claim opponents of changing the U.S. standards are merely protecting market. Most aren’t afraid to name specific wineries and individuals. But they have become frustrated and even dismissive in recent years while suggesting consumers should focus on the benefits of wines made organically. Essentially, the definition of organic wines should be wines that have no chemicals added – no pesticides, fertilizers, herbicides, or other chemicals in the winemaking process.
Such practices are better for the farmer, consumers, and for Mother Earth. The concept enjoys more widespread acceptance in Europe than the U.S.
Theirry Julien, president of Southern France’s organic wine growing association, outlines a progression that happens with organic products.
“You start with baby food then you do bread and pasta,” Julien suggested. “The wine comes toward the end. I’m not at all waging war against other wine growers who produce wine traditionally. The truth is organic wine growers have had trouble supplying organic wine to meet demand.”
He also makes an interesting comparison. European consumers think about what is good for their health while U.S. consumers seem more motivated by what’s good for the environment.
The Millesime Bio featured 587 wineries from 13 different countries. I probably tasted close to 300 wines in a five-day period. I don’t think any average consumer would know they were tasting “organic wines.” While there were a few sub-par bottles, I’d say more than 90 percent of the wines were good to outstanding.
Southern France’s Languedoc-Roussillon region is France’s biggest organic region. The red wines are most often blends of Syrah, Grenache, and Carignan. They are tremendous table wines and great values at prices usually at $10-$20 a bottle.
I wrote a more detailed story for Palate Press – The National Online Wine Magazine on organic wines and the fight over the details. Go to palatepress.com and search organic wine or my name to find that story.
Read more of Howard’s writing at redforme.blogspot.com.
I was at a wonderful dinner last night celebrating the U.S. release of the Eccoci line of wines from Blau Nou, a winery in northeast Spain that has been certified Carbon Zero by ZeroCO2. One of the diners asked me how carbon neutral and organic wines were related – a question I’m hearing quite a bit as many types of businesses are becoming ‘carbon neutral‘ or buying carbon credits to offset their footprint.
There are two main reason for growing grapes organically. The first, and the thing people tend to focus on, is the farming methods are more beneficial to the planet. The second is the resulting fruit should be better than if they were farmed conventionally. I’ve spoken with winemakers who became organic specifically after growing a portion of a vineyard organically and tasting those grapes against their less-green neighbors.
This is one of the reasons many organic winemakers keep their practices off the label. ‘Organic’ becomes the focus rather than the quality of the final product. They believe growing organic is the way to achieve that quality, but they don’t want the method to outshine the wine.
Being carbon nuetral is a great practice, but it’s not one that will show up in the wine glass – the quality is not directly affected by it. Manuel Lardeux, the vineyard manager for Blau Nos who joined us for the dinner, has to account for the carbon impact his plane trip to New York had on the environment. Great for the earth as a whole, and for all of us who enjoyed his company, but the grapes are unaware of this.
Does that mean carbon neutral isn’t really important for a winery? Not at all. There are a lot of people who think biodynamics has no affect, but still love the wines. They might argue that a winemaker who is paying that much attention to a system is focussing on a lot of other important details as well, and making stronger choices along the way.
The same would hold true for thinking about your environmental impact, carbon or otherwise. Looking at how your farming affects your land and then taking the trouble to get certified are both important steps and lead down a path of greater care and stewardship.
Blau Nou’s vineyards, for example, are hand-harvested and farmed sustainably. ‘Sustainable’ has no set definition, so a lot of wineries may toss the word around, but it’s easier to believe it’s being taken more seriously by a winery that is documenting their other greener choices. The Blau Nou winery is surrounded by Les Gavarres, a natural park reserve, so it’s good to know they are thinking about their impact on their surroundings.
We posted the other week about Chateau Margaux’s organic future. The Wine Sleuth attended a tasting where they presented three wines all made the same way except the grapes from one were organic, the second biodynamic and the third from conventional farming. Guess which one the tasters preferred:
So how did they come out in the blind taste test? I found the biodynamic wine the most exiting of the three. Rich, deep and broody blackcurrant are what I have scrawled on my notes. A little bit green but nothing off putting with an earthy finish. There was a very enticing quality about this wine, as soon as I tasted it, I immediately liked it.
The room was divided as to their favourite, being almost tied between the biodynamic and organic, the conventional one not winning many adherents.
See The Wine Sleuth for the full post.
Join Richard Alfaro on Wednesday April 4, 6PM for a three course wine dinner. $45 plus tax & tip.
The menu:
Amuse Bouche:
Salmon Rillette- Salmon mousse, toast points
2010 Estate Chardonnay
Appetizer:
Lamb Lollipops- Cherry gastrique, arugula salad
2009 Estate Syrah
Entree:
Steak Au Poivre: Potato pancakes, charred asparagus
2009 Lindsay Paige Vineyard Estate Pinot Noir
Dessert:
Chocolate Mousse Torte
2008 Billy K Estate Merlot
Reservations:
Hoffman’s Bistro
1102 Pacific Avenue
Santa Cruz, CA 95060
831-420-0135
A perceptive winegrower takes notice of subtle cycles in the vines: the cracking of the soil in the winter, the spongy flex underfoot during a thaw, the first germination of undergrowth in spring, and the swarming hatch of beneficial insects as summer approaches. Knowing the importance of this daily evolution towards ripening, a respectful winegrower allows nature to create herself, surrendering to the life and death cycle, and letting the vineyard’s wisdom define good and bad on its own as a living individual.
I have dwelt on these thoughts all winter as I remember past vintages. Why are some years plagued with death and rot and some years blessed with rivers of ripe juice fermenting into luscious wine? Is there good and evil in the vineyard? Do I intervene too much or too little? What should be allowed to grow and what should be stopped from growing? Why does my gut instinct tell me to let the weed seeds germinate and to find beauty in them? Is there importance in the pure primordial spark of energy in a germinating seed, a weed that will not produce anything harvestable for my wine? Could those sparks of energy migrate into the vine, and the fruit and the wine?
Science says no, but my vineyard says yes.
Centuries ago every culture believed pure dynamic energy was the origin of all matter. The warmth and light of our Sun was adored and honored in art, worship and everyday life. All life, all matter and all wisdom came from the creative and elemental forces at work within the astral Sun and became manifest on earth in everything physical. Good and evil forces, astral clarity, earth, air, fire and water elements commingled and sacrificed greatly to endow pure energy with matter. The ancients understood this and did not need any further proof. The Mysteries spoke for themselves.
It is remarkable our modern science has come to the same conclusion as the ancients have. Einstein’s prediction E=mc2 shows on a mathematical level that all life and matter does indeed originate from energy, and that time, weight and mass are not constant, an equation that physicists now believe to be true. Unfortunately wisdom, creativity, and elemental forces had to be omitted from the formula. It seems those entities can’t be assigned a mathematical symbol and fit into a string of numbers yet Einstein knew something more was there. Even when he constructed the elemental table he had to leave blanks, predicting that they would eventually be filled in, which they have been. If we peer closely enough into his formula for the origins of matter we see the crevasse of Mystery.
As spring approaches and the dandelions open their golden heads and the filigree of chickweed covers the vineyard floor, I see the season’s first sparks of energy feeding the fire of fall ripening and the intrinsic inherent nature of energy. Thank you Einstein and thank you Ancient Peoples.
“The most beautiful thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and all science. He to whom this emotion is a stranger, who can no longer pause to wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead: his eyes are closed.” – Albert Einstein
He who seeks knowledge of living things
First tries to drive out spirits wings;
In his hands the separate parts lie dead-
Unjoined, alas, by spirit’s living thread. – Goethe – Faust – Mephistopheles, 1
Barbara Shinn co-owner, with her husband David Page, of Shinn Estate Vineyards is the vineyard manager on the estate. Shinn Estate Vineyards is located in Mattituck, N.Y. on the North Fork of Long Island.
Amali Restaurant is continuing its series of organic wine dinners with the people from Lebanon’s Massaya Winery. This will be a great five course meal designed by chef Devon Gilroy and accompanied by a wide range of selections from Massaya. The dinner starts at 7:30 and is $75 per person (not including tax and tip). Go to the Amali website for more info and to make reservations.
The majority of fine wines in New York City are handled by small wholesalers. They put a lot of heart and soul into finding wines they love, getting to know their winemakers, and making them available for us at restaurants and wine stores. People who drink organic, biodynamic and natural wines are especially dependent on these players. The larger companies are interested in volume producers, and if there isn’t 100,000 cases to go around, and no cute Kangaroo on the label, it’s not worth the bother for them.
For economic and practical reasons, the smaller companies that serve NYC happen to store their wines in New Jersey. It’s cheaper, and right across the river. But now two of the largest liquor distributors, who also have storage facilities in New York, are trying to push through a bill in the state senate that would force everyone to have their wines housed in-state for at least 48 hours (“At Rest”) before they could be delivered to any wine store or restaurant. The economic impact of this would be disastrous for the smaller companies; many might be forced out of business.
If you are a New York State resident, please take time to read our latest article on Huffington Post about this, and consider signing this petition to help stop this.
