Organic Wines Uncorked: Heat: Rose On My Mind

Friday, June 1, 2012

Heat: Rose On My Mind

Hot weather this week has put me in a rose state of mind and I've been sampling my way through the Pink section of my cellar.

That's led me to Horse and Plow's rare rose (the 2010 won high praise from the Chronicle) which is a whisper of a rose, and to Beckmen's 2010 Grenache rose, which is at the other end of the flavor intensity spectrum - i.e. a more rounded out rose. There's definitely a there there. It's got a backbone, for a rose, and would stand up perhaps to some BBQ even...

But I think my current favorite is the one in the middle - the brand new rose (of Pinot Noir) from up north in Oregon - Cooper Mountain's first ever rose. AND, it's nice to like the one with the lowest price (for once).

Cooper Mountain's biodynamically grown rose sells for $15 a bottle but there's a 20% discount when you buy it by the case - getting the price per bottle down to $12 per bottle. Plus they seem to have an insanely low shipping and handling.

Total for a case shipped to California is $158.44.

But don't take my word for it - try the Beckmen ($18 list/online for $16) as well. (The Horse and Plow is sold out for this year) and see what you think.

Here are a few others I would check out as well:

• Atrea - Skid Rose (mostly Malbec) (not widely distributed)
• Naughty Boy - Rose ($14) (From Pinot Noir) (not widely distributed)
• Verdad Rose ($18/ list/$164/case online retailers) (from Grenache) - one of my all time favorites - order a case online

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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, June 1, 2012

Heat: Rose On My Mind

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