Organic Wine - Is It Worth It?

With the rise of thoughtful consumption and mindfulness burgeoning throughout the mainstream culture, it should come as no surprise that more sustainable farming practices are being utilized within the wine industry too. Yet, some of these practices are not new - in fact, since the advent of agricultural chemicals in the nineteenth century, a variety of people have warned of risks to public health and the environment, but these people largely struggled to attract an audience until the late 1960s, when organic farming and natural food stores started to gain traction

What is Organic Wine?

It didn’t take too long for the organic wine industry to join the bandwagon too, motivated by the prospect of creating a product that was environmentally-friendly and possessed clear terroir. So what exactly is organic wine?

Put simply, organic wine is made with organically grown grapes, grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or other artificial chemicals (the opposite of a standard, non-organic wine). In order to have organically grown grapes, a vineyard manager must implement an entirely different set of practices to maintain their vines. It’s a way of farming that views the vineyard as a living ecological system, rejecting the use of anything chemically-based in the vineyard, except for the use of preservatives such as sulfur dioxide. Importantly, organic wine does not mean the wine is vegan or biodynamic. Each category has its own stipulations, and an organic wine can have additives such as yeast, egg whites, and animal enzymes if needed. 

Since the rise of organic wines in the 1960s, organic-certified wineries have sprung up around the US within the last decade, including names such as Hahn Winery, A to Z, Frog’s Leap and Bonterra Wines. It is also valuable to note that many boutique wineries can not afford the expense it takes to become organic -certified, and so adopt a new-age practice the French refer to as ‘la lutte raisonnée’ meaning ‘the reasoned struggle'. Growers who practice this kind of viticulture claim to use chemicals less often and less aggressively than conventional growers but that the only thing to stop a seasoned grower from farming conventionally is their conscience. In this era of mindfulness and self-awareness, the concept is really about being organic-mindful more than anything else.

Of course, the inevitable question of quality is always raised. Does organic wine taste better - or different? Our advice is that when it comes to supporting organic wineries, accept that it’s not so much about the taste of the wine, as the taste will be similar to other, non-organic wines. You drink organic, biodynamic, or vegan wine because it’s a philosophy or movement you support. Drinking organic, much like eating organic, comes down to the inherent belief of wanting to do less harm to the world, and your body. And that can only be a great thing!