My thoughts on Organic Wines

I have been reading a lot about organic food lately, and I get asked about organic wine quite a bit.   Everyone is trying to eat as healthy as they can, and we are reading about how organic is not only healthy for us, it’s healthy for the environment and it’s just all around good.  So it just makes sense, as a Sommelier in training, that we get asked about organic wine quite frequently.   Organic wine is made according to organic farming principles  which typically is grown without the use of artificial pesticides, herbicides or fertilizers.   Legal definitions can vary from country to country.   And because grape growing is the farming of grapes, it makes sense to have guidelines in place.  There is a lot of information out there, and here is a website that I found to be very informative.   http://www.organicconsumers.org/Organic/OrganicWine.cfm  Here is a link to an article called ‘Clearing up the Confusion on Organic Wine’ and it’s very good.

   

And many of you may not know that many wines from Chile and Argentina are grown without pesticides.   The vineyard pests like Phyloxxera never survived in Chile and was caught so quick in Argentina, that many vineyards do not have to use pesticides.  And although they are not labeled organic, many of your favorite wines could be grown with less pesticides, and that’s becoming a very important issue in the food world as well.

Here’s a delicious wine from Oregon that is certified organic.  Sokol Blosser Pinot Gris.  I should tell you that all of Sokol Blosser’s wines are organic because the entire vineyard has certified organic status.   This gorgeous wine has apple, fig, and spicy notes that would go hand in hand with your favorite Vegetarian dishes.  I also like this with salads and Asian cuisine.

   

Santa Julia is the largest family owned vineyard in Argentina and half of the vineyard is certified.  The Chardonnay on the left is certified organic and is a delightful medium-bodied dry white wine with apple and pear flavors.  The Malbec on the right is not certified organic to the best of my knowledge, but is a very tasty red and you know the vineyard practices are top notch.  Spicy romantic flavors in this Malbec make it a great red wine that goes with just about everything.

And from right here in Nova Scotia, here’s a local favorite.  L’Acadie Vineyards L’Acadie Blanc.  For those of you not familiar with L’Acadie Blanc, it is a Canadian wine grape variety that is a hybrid of Cascade and Seyve-Villard 14-287 and is often referred to as ‘Nova Scotia’s Chardonnay’.  This crisp light version with citrus flavors is a local favorite for lobster, seafood, and oysters.

Would love to hear what your favorite organic wine is!

Till next week, Cheers

Darlene