Organic wine match of the day: Ceago Sauvignon Blanc & nothings

June 8, 8:14 PMDenver Wine ExaminerRandy Caparoso

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  A perfect California spring day at Ceago Vinegarden

So now we that we have choices between organic and non-organic foods, eco-friendly and non-eco stiletto heels, hybrid and non-hybrid cars, etc., why aren’t most of us making the choice to drink green as well? 

I suspect that, on an intellectual level, many of us figure that since wine is an alcoholic drink made from grapes, the organic-ness of a bottle is neither here nor there.  The truth is far from that. 

If you’ve visited vineyards in California or France, for instance, and looked at an organic vineyard that happens to be next to a non-organic vineyard, the differences are quite visible.  Compared to organic vineyards, non-organic or “conventional” vineyards always look lifeless, practically dead:  all you see is dirt between the rows, since any growth apart from vines is usually zapped with herbicides.  In organic vineyards, you see not only wild grasses, brush and trees in and around the vines, and cover crops of herbs, beans and flowers planted between the rows, but also a landscape that is literally abuzz with activity – ladybugs, bees, wasps and spiders hopping between the leaves, birds all aflutter, and even squirrels and field mice (hence the owl huts and/or hawk perches often found around sustainable vineyards to help keep rodent populations in check) scuttling about.

If the vineyard happens to be cultivated in the even more biodiverse, holistic style called Biodynamic® – which requires at least 10% of a vineyard property to be devoted to forest, wetland, grassland, or as “insectories,” plus integration of active farm life – you’re also likely to see chickens scampering between the vines, sheep or goats munching on grass, and cattle (valued for their compost enriching manure) lowing nearby.

There is more than a little, but a world of difference between an organic and non-organic vineyard.  Between a vineyard cultivated with natural compost, balanced by beneficial insects and animals, and nourished with teas made from herbs; compared to a vineyard hooked intravaneously to liquid fertilizer drips, zapped with herbicides, and entire species of animals constantly wiped out by insecticides and poisons. 

I know you may not care that much, and that you may get your resveratrol, and anesthetizing alcohol, in wines grown with or without environmental sensitivity; but gee whiz:  where would you prefer the grapes going into your wine to come from?

Ceàgo Clear Lake Sauvignon Blanc with nothing at all

I’m recommending today’s Organic Wine Match of the Day – the 2007 Ceàgo Clear Lake Sauvignon Blanc (about $16) – not only because it is 100% Biodynamic® grown and produced, but also because it’s one of the most refreshing dry whites I’ve  had in a long time.  At home earlier this year, I was struck by its tropical fresh (flowers, pineapple and passionfruit) fragrance and silky smooth, lively, lemony, snappy qualities of citrus and minerals on the palate.  At the winery this past April, sitting down to lunch with Ceàgo’s refreshingly unpresupposing proprietor, Jim Fetzer, I found additional notes of white pepper and peach in the nose, with grapefruitiness in a mouth-watering finish… or maybe it was the perfect California spring day affecting my senses.

For those of you just getting a handle on biodynamics:  Demeter USA actually certifies vineyards and wineries in two separate categories:  “Wines Made with Biodynamic® Grapes,” and what they call “Biodynamic® Wine.”  Ceàgo’s wines not only qualify for the latter because they are grown biodynamically, but are also vinified by Demeter’s highest bio-standards:  primarily defined by use of natural (rather than cultured) yeasts, zero additives (like sugar, tannin and acid “adjustments,” and bacteria to start malolactic fermentation), and restricted use of sulfites at bottling (for dry wines, less than 100 parts per million).

The important thing, of course, is how it ends up in the bottle; which hopefully is with a sense of place.  For Ceàgo, it’s quintessential Lake County style wines:  fresh, breezy, light and lissome, with a sense of clarity and alacrity that just go with perfect California spring days.  If you’re seeking something unbendingly deep, studied or serious, don’t look here.  Ceàgo, and Lake County for that matter, is for wine lovers who like to take things easy.  For a visual pix: 

In respect to food, quite frankly the Ceàgo Sauvignon Blanc is also highly cocktail-appropriate:  you just don’t need anything on the table to enjoy it.  It’s genuinely refreshing on the rocks, on a beach, in a tub or in a canoe… why burn brain cells thinking up culinary contexts?  Then again, a bucket of clams in steamy, white wine laced jus, grilled fish with tomato/fruit salsa, slices of herb crusted chèvre, or a bufala mozzarella and baby arugula salad sure as hell wouldn’t ruin the moment either.   But good Sauvignon Blanc, especially when biodynamically composed, need not do anything but fulfill the most basic purpose of all good wine:  to please the senses, while tasting of the grape and circumstances, unfiltered, unnothinged…