Organic Wines Uncorked: Wine and Mushroom Festival in Mendocino Nov. 5-13

Friday, November 4, 2011

Wine and Mushroom Festival in Mendocino Nov. 5-13

Lovely chantrelles I picked last week - and made into
mushroom tartlets and cream of mushroom soup

Last week was my first fruitful mushroom picking in many a year, guided by a couple of my friends who are expert.

But you don't have to be an expert or have friends who are in order to enjoy the glories of the mushroom season.

Enjoy the Mendocino Wine and Mushroom Festival which starts today and runs through next weekend. You can explore all the events on the festival web site here. Lots is happening - wine and food events, kayaking specials, mushroom hunting (some with horseback rides) and more.

My Top Pick of the Events

The foray with renowned mushroom expert and author David Aurora which takes place Saturday, Nov. 12. Click here for info.

Events that feature wineries with organic viticulture include:

-Anderson Valley

Handley Cellars
Nov. 5-6 and Nov 12-13: In Anderson Valley, Handley will be featuring food and wine pairings featuring mushroom dishes. They are of course famous for their estate grown Chardonnay and Pinot Noir wine.

Yorkville Cellars
Nov. 5: Yorkville Cellars will be featuring Mushrooms and Malbec.

-Ukiah/Hopland/Redwood Valley

SIP Mendocino
Nov. 10 (Thursday): The SIP Mendocino tasting room in Hopland will be serving local Pinots paired with mushroom appetizers. They usually carry a wide selection of organically grown wines including Barra, McFadden, and smaller labels.

Jeriko Winery
Nov. 5: Special food pairing with sausage-stuffed and rice-stuffed mushrooms. Details here.

Frey Wines
Nov. 10, 5 pm: Special dinner - details here.

-On the Coast

Fort Bragg/Willits
Nov. 5: The Skunk Train will be offering a special trip which includes a catered meal accompanied by the top 20 gold medal winning wines from the Mendocino Wine Competition.

Many of these are organically grown: Patianna's Sauvignon Blanc, Paul Dolan's Cabernet, Yorkville Cellars' Sweet Malbec, Barra's Cabernet, Testa's Black, Saracina's Old Soul Red, Terra Savia's Sparkling Wine and Masut's Pinot Noir.

See the video below for more details:

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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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Friday, November 4, 2011

Wine and Mushroom Festival in Mendocino Nov. 5-13

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