Organic Wines
In honor of Earth Day, we thought we'd re-run our article on Organic Wines, which originally ran in the November 12 issue of the Weekly Vine...

At its most basic level, an organic wine is made from grapes that have been grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides.

In addition to how the grapes are grown, organic wines should be made using organic techniques, meaning little or no manipulation of the wines by reverse osmosis, excessive filtration, or flavor additives. Many organic winemakers also prefer wild yeasts for fermentation.

For a wine to be labeled "organic," it must meet that country's government standards. Because each nation has its own certification criteria, what's organic in one country may not be so in another. For example, U.S. wines labeled "organic" cannot contain added sulfites, an issue that is under much debate in winemaking circles.

For more information on organic wines and organic wine-making techniques, visit the Organic Wine Journal.