Organic Wines Uncorked: $5 Biodynamic Cab and Syrah! Shopping the Bargain Bins - 2007 Mendocino Farms Cab at Grocery Outlet

Wednesday, February 6, 2013

$5 Biodynamic Cab and Syrah! Shopping the Bargain Bins - 2007 Mendocino Farms Cab at Grocery Outlet

A rich friend who's good at stretching his funds told me the secrets of his wine cellar last night - Grocery Outlet's wine department. This super budget grocery chain has stores in both Berkeley and Oakland (and elsewhere), so today I was anxious to check it out, based on my friend's advice, and see if there could possibly be any organically grown wine for sale.

Boy oh boy - what a doozey. Right there - with a giant endcap display - was all the 2007 Mendocino Farms Cabernet you could imagine - for $5 a bottle. $5. This is at least a $25 bottle of wine...and it still sells on the internet for as much as $40 a bottle.

This wine, dear readers, was lovingly grown at several of Mendocino's most beautiful, precious, Biodynamic vineyards - Heart Arrow Ranch and Fairbairn.

The famous Morry's wine store in Los Angeles, waxed enthusiastically about these wines, just a short while ago.

And they sell online at 1000corks.com for $488 a case.

But you can get it for $60 for 12 bottles at Grocery Outlet. Hurry!

The selection includes the 2005 and 2007 Cabernet and a 2007 Syrah. Unbelievable. I can't wait to open my three bottles to sample and then head back for more.

Grocery Outlet is open throughout California and a few nearby states. See the map here for store locations.

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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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Wednesday, February 6, 2013

$5 Biodynamic Cab and Syrah! Shopping the Bargain Bins - 2007 Mendocino Farms Cab at Grocery Outlet

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