Greener Grapes
Chris Blasser was skeptical as she sipped an organic wine from a small plastic cup at the Whole Foods grocery store in Alexandria, Va., on a recent Saturday. A health-conscious shopper, she likes buying organic fruits and vegetables, but when it comes to wine only one thing matters--taste. "I'd rather drink the good stuff and just have the insecticides," she says. But her first sip of a red from Domaine d'Eole, a vineyard in the Provence region in southern France, convinced her taste buds. "Very aromatic, fresh flavor," she says. "I think I'll buy it."
Once considered as tasty as vinegar, organic wines now compete with some of the best vintages in the world--and greener-than-thou customers are drinking up, figuring it's better for the environment and for their health. Bonterra Vineyards in Mendocino County, Calif., one of the largest producers of organically grown wine in the United States, turned out some 5,000 cases in 1993. Today, the company produces over 150,000 cases a year. In France's Loire Valley, renowned winemaker Nicholas Joly grows all his grapes without the aid of manufactured pesticides or fertilizers. "Almost every week, you read that someone is crossing into the organic-grape-growing practice," says Darryl Roberts, editor and publisher of Wine X, a California-based magazine for the 20s and 30s crowd. "Organic procedures have been making better and better wines."
Those "procedures" involve using everything from ladybugs to chickens to organic pesticides to fight off pests and disease--but no synthetic chemicals. One vineyard even uses sheep to mow the grasses that grow around the vines (which are protected by an electric fence--"organic" doesn't mean "luddite").
Still, all that's not enough to get the label "certified organic" on the bottle. Last October, the U.S. Department of Agriculture stated that a winemaker can earn the tag only if no sulfites are added beyond those that occur as a byproduct of fermentation. (Sulfites help preserve wine once it is bottled by preventing oxidation.) If a limited amount of sulfites are added to wine made from organically grown grapes, the bottle can qualify for the label "organically grown." Pure "organic" wines are in the minority. Without any added sulfites, wine can spoil even before it is opened. (Although these wines are clearly the best for those who are allergic to sulfites.)
The spoilage is one reason organic wines circa 1970 didn't catch on. Others were just poorly made. "We've learned a lot," says Bob Blue, head winemaker at the organic Bonterra Vineyards. "It's not just hippies making this wine anymore; we're scientists." Yet some high-quality, largely organic winemakers like Napa Valley's Frog's Leap don't mention the word on their labels. John Williams, founder of Frog's Leap, fears it might still carry a stigma. But he believes in the process: "Growing wine organically is all about growing better grapes."
Cheers and jeers. Some think that means a better product. "Organic wine makers want the grape to show though," says Steven Taormina, wine consultant at the Millennium Restaurant in San Francisco, one of the few restaurants with an all-organic wine list. The subtle, fruit-flavored taste complements dishes rather than overwhelms them, he says. As with any wine, not everyone agrees. A few U.S. News imbibers found organic wines a bit lacking. "They're bland," said one. But another oenophile didn't care for the strong grape flavor in a Riesling.
You'll pay a few dollars more than for a comparable bottle of conventional wine. Most organics start at about $10 a bottle and go up to $75. But that's actually a bargain. Marc Jonna, national wine buyer for Whole Foods Market, points out that pre-World War II wines--made in the days before widespread use of pesticides--can go for thousands at auction.
DRINK UP
Sober-minded U.S. News reporters sipped organic wines and shared their views.
SANFORD WINERY, PINOT NOIR, 2000. "Thick, complex. Thumbs up."
BONTERRA VINEYARDS, SYRAH, 1999. "Nice blackberry taste, a bit bland."
BADGER MOUNTAIN VINEYARDS, RIESLING, 2002. "Sparkles on your tongue," said one. Another said, "too much like fruit punch."
GUY BOSSARD, MUSCADET'S DE SEVRE ET MAINE, 2001. "Light, fresh, good summer wine." Tastes great with raw oysters.
This story appears in the June 23, 2003 print edition of U.S. News & World Report.