By using our “Eco-Wine” icon, we hope to highlight wineries who are leading the charge in developing sustainable practices to improve the quality of their wines while increasing the health of their vineyards...
It is our intent to highlight those known wine-makers who fit under any of the defined categories below. Though we recognize that certification is a highly regarded goal, we have discovered, from many conversations with winemakers and through our own research that there are a vast number (and rapidly growing community) of winemakers who value the overall goal of environmental sustainability, but have not obtained legal certification.
Despite significant efforts to produce an eco-friendly product, many wineries find that seeking the official "organic" certification is more trouble than it's worth. These wines are far more likely to have "off" flavors, under-ripe fruit, premature oxidation and spoilage. Most often it is the winemaker's use of sulfur dioxide that is the sticking point. Organic wines cannot have sulfites added.
Therefore, by using our “Eco-Wine” icon, we hope to highlight as well wineries who are leading the charge in developing sustainable practices to improve the quality of their wines while increasing the health of their vineyards.
Organic Defined: Quite simply, organic cultivation does not rely upon the use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides to influence the output of the vineyard.
Biodynamic defined: According to the Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association of America: "Biodynamics is a method of agriculture which seeks to actively work with the health-giving forces of nature." Key to biodynamics is considering the farm in its entirety as a living system. To this end, biodynamic farms are supposed to be closed, self-sustaining systems.
The use of synthetic fertilizers or pesticides is therefore not practiced by biodynamic practitioners. Instead, they use a series of special preparations to enhance the life of the soil, which are applied at appropriate times in keeping with the rhythms of nature. (It is this approach that largely separates the Biodynamic approach from the Organic approach).
Look For These Indicators on the Wine Label:
Certified Organic: By American standards, the wine contains juice that is ‘certified organic’ and contains less than 100 parts per million of sulfites (By European standards, the wine may contain higher levels of naturally occurring sulfites.)
Made from Organically Grown Grapes: Vineyards are certified organic by a governmental oversight committee… therefore the grapes themselves are organically grown, but the final product may not be (again, the use of sulfur as an additive undermines a winemakers ability to call their wine ceritifed organic).
Certified Biodynamic: Certified by an internationally recognized oversite organization such as Demeter.
Regardless of whether they are organic or biodynamic or simply adhere to a few tenets of either, an increasing number of winemakers are moving towards these methods of cultivation, not because of a serious commitment to the environment, but because they think it simply makes the grapes taste better.
Alternatives to certified status:
NSA: This allows a winery to legally indicate that the wine does not contain additional sulfites (while not claiming ‘organic’ status.) Look for this indicator on the wine label.
Biodynamic Practices: As it can take up to 5 years to reach certification, wineries labeled as such are in the process of obtaining certification or simply adhere to the practice (and choose not to gain the certification for operational and monetary reasons).
‘Viticulture Raisonee:’ The French promote a practice known as ‘viticulture raisonee,’ which involves a concern for the environment and a more restrained use of chemicals based upon long term observation of the vineyard and close assessment of the weather seasons of each vintage. Large geographical locations (or bands of winemakers) come together to adhere to these standards. In France, the Champagne & Rhone producers are largely known for this sustainable approach. In California, a group of winemakers calling themselves the ‘Napa Sustainable Wine Growing Group’ and Oregon’s LIVE organization adhere to this philosophy.
Certfied & Organic Wineries
Wineries listed below may appear in a variety of categories. Also, it is important to note that it is generally the wine or the grapes which retain a certified status, therefore wineries listed in the ‘certified’ sections may produce some wines which are ‘organic’ and some which are not.
If the certification is important to you, be sure to check the label.
Certified Organic OR Made from Organically Grown Grapes:
Bonterra Vineyards (a Fetzer propertiy), Badger Mountain, Napa Valley Wine Company, Lolonis, Frey, Patianna, Shenandoah Vineyards, Brick House, Organic Wine Works, Atrea, Saracina, Aetna Springs, Coturri Vineyards, Domaine de Cedres, Mas de Gourgonnier, Mottoura, Paoni, Maculan, Mason Cellars, Topolos Vineyards, Our Daily Red, Casa Barranca, Pavi, King Estate, Robert Sinskey, Sanford (3 vineyards), Au bon Climat (le bon vineyard), Morgan (Double L Vineyard),
Known to use organic farming practices:
David Bynum, Frog’s Leap, La Rocca, Turley Wine Cellars, Chapoutier, Callaway, King Estate, Amity, Shafer, Grgich, Didier Dageuneau, Goisot, Michet Tete, Domaine de la Janasse, Domaine du Closel, Varner, Littorai, Palacios, Morgan, Sanford, Au bon Climat
It is difficult to get an accurate picture of just how many wine producers are employing biodynamics. For a start, it's a method of cultivation that is rapidly catching on among wine producers—in particular in Burgundy and Alsace—so the list is growing rapidly. And besides those who are certified biodynamic, there are also those who dabble in it, or who are experimenting with part of their production. It is a rapidly changing picture.
Listed below are those Practicing Biodynamics:
Zind-Humbrecht, Ostertag, Huet, Domaine Bott-Geyl, Domaine de Romanée-Conti, LeFlaive, Chapoutier, Domaine Saint Anne, Jean Pierre Fleury, Frey, Patianna, Benziger (estate), Bonny Doon Vineyards (estate), Brick House, Cullen
‘Viticulture Raisonee’
All wineries listed above adhere to this philosophy in that they have already obtained certified organic or biodynamic status for some of their wines… Here are some additional producers to watch for:
Code of Sustainable Wine Growing Practices:DeLoach, Dry Creek Vineyards, Groth, Honig, Louis Martini, Pedroncelli, Steele, Sobon Estate, Wente
Central Coast Vineyard Team (promotes sustainable practices on California’s Central Coast): Alban Vineyards,Fetzer, Beringer, Cambria, J Lohr, Bien Nacido Vineyards, Byron, Cass, Jekel, Laetitia, Morgan, Paragon, Sanford, Treana, Wild Horse, Wolff Vineyards
Oregon’s LIVE (Low Input Viticulture & Enology) Certified Sustainable Wines & Vines: Amity, Benton Lane, Bethel Heights, Eola Hills, King Estate, Ponzi, Sokol Blosser, Tualitin, Van Duzer, Witness Tree, Willakenzie, Willamette Valley Vineyards
Sustainable wine practices take root in California
The trend in sustainable winegrowing and winemaking practices is growing quickly in California. Vintners and growers who represent 40 percent of the annual wine case production and one quarter (125,000 acres) of the state’s wine acreage currently participate in the Code of Sustainable Wine Growing Practices program. http://www.wineinstitute.org - Wine Institute News Release: 9/26/05
