Wine is a norm in the American lifestyle--and good wine is also a mainstream. But for those who want organic production and wine prepared organically, are there good options?
A documentary, Wine from Here, a Natural Wine in Californiia, is featured in the online edition of the Organic Wine Journal. The trailer is available now at winefromhere.com and the full documentary will be released in July.
The documentary producers interview 14 California winemakers-all of whom talk about organic and sustainable processes. The note that the California wine industry relies heavily on intense technology--and implicit in the movie is the idea that the traditional French idea of terroir--wine that reflects the minerality of the ground and its surroundings--is lost in a heavily technical process that can be as one winemaker said in the trailer, a kind of "makeup" or cosmetic, for wine. Another noted the two page single spaced list of additivies that can be added to wines without any requirement of being listed on the label.
Part of the movement has been addressed--and the film makers also include this--in the book The Battle for Wine and Love by Alice Feiring, who talked about "Big Wine" in the same way some discuss "Big Ag."
Published in 2009, Feiring points out that, similar to "Big ag," wine production has become heavily technical and that much of the tradition of artisanal quality becomes lost in a heavily technical system. The book is not positve about Robert Parker's contribution, focusing on "points" or a numerical evaluation, which doesn't capture essential qualities and differences.
Usually, one can rely on the USDA Organic label, but in wine production there is conflict. Many winemakers use sulfites but that is a point of contention under certain labelling. The other "catchword" is biodynamics, meaning that the winemaker uses sustainable processes but may not be able to call the wine USDA organic which requires 100 percent organically grown grapes and organic processes. USDA organic wine can have only naturally occuring sulfites, not additives. (A good explanation on this is available from the Organic Consumer Association.)
Currently a change is proposed to the USDA Organic wine standards that would allow the addition of sulfites.
Organic wine production has come a long way from the time about 15-20 years ago when Frey Vineyards were the only ones venturing out on a larger production scale. But, just as there is a movement and growing consumer demand for sustainable/organic food, there is a growing interest in organic wine and producers are responding.
Today Frey bills itself as America's first organic/biodynamic winery, and they do have the USDA Organic label. All of Frey's vineyards, first planted in the 1960s, are organically managed. Frey started organic/biodynamic production in the 1980s, experimenting with what now is called biodynamic management.
Frey opposes the change in USDA organic wine standards but the issue is not well known outside of the wine industry.
One source of organic wines is found online: the Organic Wine Company, offering organic, biodynamic and vegan wines (who knew there were vegan wines?) The Organic Wine Journal is another resource for information and events related to organic/biodynamic wines.
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