Organic Wines Uncorked: Holiday Wine Discount Deals

Monday, November 14, 2011

Holiday Wine Discount Deals

The emails are flying fast and furious - with some good deals in them thar digital doodoo!

Don't miss out on chances to buy organically grown wines at great discounts:

1. DASHE CELLARS, OAKLAND

On these dates only - Nov. 14-21: 25% off on cases (mixed or singles)

code DCPF25

The organic offerings include:

Dashe - McFadden Rieslings (organic) (2010 and 2011)
http://www.dashecellars.com/shop/Riesling

Dashe - Heart Arrow Zinfandel (biodynamic)
http://www.dashecellars.com/shop/Zinfandel/2010-Zinfandel-Heart-Arrow-Ranch

(I don't advise getting Dashe's Thanksgiving bundle as it includes mostly non-organically grown wines).

One of the great plusses about Dashe - they are right here in Oakland so you can drop by and pick up the wines yourself - no shipping charges.

2. BONNY DOON, SANTA CRUZ

Bonny Doon is running three special deals - choose from different bundles - or packs, as they call them.

Pack 1 - 4 wines for $80

The sparkling Moscato is a great aperitif or goes well with the meal or dessert.

The Clos de Gilroy is a grenache, a red on the lighter side (and one of my personal favorite varietals) that pairs well with turkey, ham, or other fare. But it is not whole-ly organic (partially).

The Muscat is not your usual muscat and is definitely on the dry, dry side (not sweet). It comes from the Italian moscato giallo grapes, a yellow muscat found in northeast Italy.

Vinferno is clearly a sweet wine and great for dessert.

Pack 2 - 4 wines for $90

I am not sure if the following are organically grown (pending winery response): This pack includes a new sparkling Riesling (again, a great aperif or accompaniment to the meal), a viognier (light white), a carignane/mourvedre blend (medium bodied red) (might not be fully organic - to be confirmed pending winery notification), and a light port (viognier with added eau de vie and raw grape spirit (also unknown if this is certified organic).

There's also a Holiday Brunch pack - 5 wines for $78

This one includes:

• a nonalcoholic grenache, which can be drunk as it or mixed with sparkling water.

• a hard sparkling cider, which is a blend of apples (51%), pears (40%) and quince (9%)

• a rose (70% grenache and 30% cinsault)

and the aforementioned dry (yellow) muscat and grenache blend.

In addition, Bonny Doon is offering free shipping on orders over $125.

3. AMAPOLA CREEK, SONOMA

Amapola Creek is offering free shipping on any order of 6 or more bottles - offer good until 11.23.11.

All of their estate grown wines are certified organic. (They offer a Monteo Rosso Zinfandel which is not estate grown).

Their estate grown wines include a new Rhone blend of grenache and syrah (Cuvee Alis), Syrahs, Cabernet, and Zinfandels.

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Wines We Cover

We publish information about wines grown from certified organic or Biodynamic vineyards that are generally made with sulfites (which are usually added in small amounts to preserve the wine).

That includes these certification types:

ORGANIC WINE CERTIFICATIONS

• Made with Organic Grapes

Vineyards: certified organic

Vinification: less than 100 ppm of sulfites (i.e. a normal range)

Winery: certified organic facility

Labeling: front or back label

• Ingredients: Organic Grapes

Vineyards: certified organic

Vinification: up to 350 ppm of sulfites (same as for any non organic wine)

Labeling: back label only

BIODYNAMIC® CERTIFICATIONS

• Biodynamic Wine

Vineyards: certified biodynamic

Yeasts: native

Vinification: less than 100 ppm of sulfites; no additives of any kind

Winery: certified biodynamic facility

Labeling: front or back label; Demeter logo may appear

• Made with Biodynamic Grapes

Vineyards: certified biodynamic

Yeasts: native or organic

Vinification: less than 100 ppm of sulfites; limited number of additives permitted

Winery: certified biodynamic facility

Labeling: front or back

Note: unlike organically grown wines, for which there is a category called "Ingredients: Organic Grapes," wines sourced from biodynamic grapes may not make any biodynamic claim on the bottle label. Bottle labeling is reserved for Demeter certified wines only.

SULFITES IN CONTEXT

According to U.C. Davis, the average among all wines in the U.S. (as well as globally) is 80 ppm.

WHAT THE USDA CALLS ORGANIC WINES

Unlike any other nation, the U.S. oddly imposes a no sulfite restriction on wines in order for them to be called Organic Wine. These wines are also called NSA or NAS wines (which stands for "No Sulfites Added" or "No Added Sulfites.")

From the above description, one can see that there are in fact three types of organically grown wines:

1. Organic Wine (less than 15% of all organically grown wine)

2. Made with Organic Grapes

3. Ingredients: Organic Grapes

The vast majority of wines from organic grapes are labeled Made with Organic Grapes, Ingredients: Organic Grapes or are blended with nonorganic grapes and unlabeled.

Fine winemakers do not generally make wine without sulfites and a number of large wine retailers like BevMo do not sell wine in the category of "USDA Organic Wine."

With rare exceptions, this blog does not cover what the USDA calls "Organic Wine."

We are hopeful that the USDA will revise the categorization of organically grown wines and make NSA or NAS wines a category of their own.

This would put the U.S. in accord with the rest of the world, where "Organic Wine" means a wine from certified grapes made within limits on sulfites (generally under 100-150 ppm).

Organic Wines Uncorked

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Monday, November 14, 2011

Holiday Wine Discount Deals

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