What is Organic Wine?

Learn more about organic wine, a type of red wine that is created using organically grown grapes and wine making techniques. I’ve found quite a bit of mis-information about this topic, so I wanted to write about it to clear up any confusion about it when you read wine labels.

There are two classifications of wines that have an organic reference on their labels. The first category is what is known as organic wines. As I mentioned above, this category of wines uses both organically grown grapes and an organic wine making processes. The grapes are farmed without the use of chemicals or pesticides during the growing process. The confusion on this topic usually centers on the wine making process.

The definition of an organic wine making process is a process that does little or no manipulation of the wine during the wine making process. The process also limits the use of excess filtration or additives. Wineries go through an extensive review in order to receive a certification that they have followed all processes outlined above and only then can they add this to their label.

The interesting thing about it is that only the United States and Australia have this designation for their wines. The other classification that is widely used and accepted in all wine growing counties is wine produced using organic grapes. This classification refers only to how the grapes are grown and has nothing to do with the wine making process.

Even though there is a lot of talk about these wines, only about 1 to 2% of all of the vineyards are certified as having organically grown grapes. Italy has the largest with about 4% of their vineyards being certified. Spain, France, Germany and California also have certified vineyards.

You’ll notice that I keep referring to ‘certified as’. The reality is that there are many more wineries that are growing grapes organically; they just aren’t trying to get the certification. For both classifications, it takes some effort for the vineyards to go through the process to get this certification. Many wineries are using organic farming techniques as a way to preserve their land; they just don’t want to hassle with getting the certification. However, those that haven’t been certified are not allowed to refer to it on their labels.

Usually compost is used as the fertilizer on these wineries. The benefit of using compost is that it works to preserve the soil and creates a natural environment for the vines to grow in good quality soil. This is the reason that some wineries use the growing technique, but don’t seek out certification.

One tip for those of you that purchase it, even if it’s red wine, you’ll want to drink it soon after your purchase. This wine does not get better with age, as the ingredients that help it stay good while aging are usually removed.

Find out more about the other popular types of red wine including:

Also, learn more about these regional red wine types:

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