Organic Wines Uncorked: Great Cabs of Napa

Monday, March 18, 2013

Great Cabs of Napa - Organics Among Them

I've been going to a lot of Napa's swankiest Cab producers for research for my new guidebook on Napa's organic vintners and how to buy organically grown wines there.

Sometimes I get so sick and tired of people thinking "organic" wine is not good. So let's review the high end.

Here's a brief list of the 95+ Parker points 2010 Cabs that are (certified) organically grown:

100 Points
Dana Estates (only 300 cases made; don't count on getting any - limited to mailing list members only)

98 Points
Araujo (limited to mailing list members)

96 Points
Staglin $185

95 Points
Chappellet Pritchard Hill $135
Kelly Fleming $98
Spottswoode $145

Other great organically grown Cabs (and more affordably priced) from Napa Valley include:

93 Points
Favia (sold out)

92 Points
Ghost Block $60 (sold out)

Not Listed in Parker (But Should Be Included)
These are among my favoritest Cabs and come from great viticulturists who know a thing or two about great winemaking as well:

Neal Family $75
Volker $75

I'm also offering a tour of these great spots - see http://www.vayable.com/experiences/4613-organically-cabernet-lovers-napa-tourernet-lovers-napa-tour

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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, March 18, 2013

Great Cabs of Napa - Organics Among Them

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