Drink Responsibly, Drink Organic

In the world we live in today, we are constantly inundated with new and improved ways to live a more responsible life with regard to how we treat our environment and what we can do to better it.

Over the past few years I have watched the natural food and organic produce sections in our local grocery stores grow larger, making it easier and increasingly more affordable to incorporate these options into our diets.

After living and working as a wine rep in Colorado for quite a few years and then moving back to Fargo, I noticed the progression of organic wine has taken a bit longer.

While a decent-sized liquor store in Denver may have an entire section devoted to organic wines, until recently you may find a couple in our FM liquor stores and perhaps only if you asked. Those days seem to be rapidly coming to an end. Not only are you now able to find quite a few “organically certified” wines, you can also purchase a number of “fair trade certified” and even one or two “biodynamic” wines!

The intricacy of the organic wine trade is sometimes overwhelming. Often times the grapes might be organically grown, but the winemaking process is not entirely organic. In the United States, a wine labeled “organic” cannot contain added sulfites, which is something highly debated within the winemaking community. This is why you will see labels proclaiming “made with organically grown grapes” much more often than you will see “organic sulfite free.”

In the first case, the grower has stuck to all of the FDA regulated principles, yet has chosen to add sulfites. Sulfites are an organic preservative and one that many wine producers feel is important in order to preserve the wine for an extended period of time. Bonterra produces some amazing wines of this type. As one of the first major vineyards to use organically grown grapes, they have some experience under their belt. Although not exactly cheap at around $15-$16 per bottle, in this case you are not merely paying more for an organic product because it says “organic;” you are also getting a varietally true, delicious, quality example of organic wine.

The second label, “organic sulfite free,” can be a little more misleading. Although the winemaker has not added any sulfites, this does not mean that sulfites have not occurred naturally as a byproduct of fermentation. It is often said that if you do purchase an “organic sulfite free” wine, it is best to drink it while still young. Frey Wines choose not to manipulate their wines in any way, believing that this preserves their wine’s true individuality. The Frey Wines donning this label are moderately priced at between $10 and $15. Although these wines are quite enjoyable when drank right away, you probably do not want to add them to your basement wine collection.

More often than you might think, you may be drinking an organically farmed wine without even knowing it. Many wineries, for a variety of reasons choose not to be certified organic even though they adhere to all of the practices that would label them as such. Reasons for this include added costs or the disapproval of certain government regulations. Sometimes it has to do with marketing or not wanting to put all of your eggs in one basket. Whatever the reason, it only takes a quick Google search to find out whether or not your favorite wines practice organic wine growing.

One such winery and a favorite of mine, which surprised and excited me to learn about, was Cline Cellars out of California. Although one of their brands actually labels a few of their varietals as “organic” it turns out that they have organically farmed all of their properties since the year 2000. These are some incredible wines in a variety of price ranges, starting from the very affordable Red Truck wines at around $8 to $10. These wines come in a number of different varietals, some of which do carry the “made with organic grapes” label. The actual Cline Winery selections, on the other hand, choose not to sport this label. Some of my favorites from this line include the Cline Cashmere, an easily approachable red blend at around $16.99 and my coveted Small Berry Mourvedre. Although a little steep at $33.99 and not always readily available, it is definitely worth the money and time spent finding it.

Wines that carry the “fair trade certified” label are becoming more common which provides us with yet another way to feel responsible, even when indulging in a sometimes less than responsible (speaking for myself of course) past time. These wines focus not only on environmentally sustainable growing practices, but also on the people and communities who are kind enough to provide us with the wine we like to drink. The brand Fair Hills comes in a number of varietals, including a Cabernet Sauvignon and Malbec from Argentina and a Merlot and Chardonnay from South Africa. These wines are not too shabby for the price, coming in at around $8 per bottle.

A much less common but rather interesting development in wine is the use of the principles of biodynamic agriculture. Without going into too much detail, biodynamics incorporates the ideas of the 1920s philosopher Rudolf Steiner. This philosophy treats the farm and the soil as a single living organism, using mysticism and the cycles of the moon to produce what some feel is a superior wine. Although still highly debated, there are more biodynamic wine producers worldwide than ever before. Frey Vineyards produces some wines of this type as well, with a little higher price tag of around $21 a bottle.

Wine drinkers sometimes get a bad rap due to the incredible amounts of time and money that can be spent on locating, researching and talking about this expensive habit. With the gaining popularity of these wines at least we can take a little bit of guilt out of the equation, allowing us to indulge in our passion while feeling a little better about ourselves at the same time.

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