Organic Wines Uncorked: So Long Ceago

Saturday, August 23, 2014

So Long Ceago

Jim Fetzer

Sadly Ceago has announced its closing. Proprietor Jim Fetzer has decided to retire. His son Barney Fetzer will continue to farm the vineyards. But no more Ceago wine will be released after mid Sept.

You can read more about it in the Press Democrat article here or in the Lake County News here.

Fetzer, formerly president of Fetzer Winery, when he and his siblings ran the Mendocino wine giant in the 1980's and early 90's, started Ceago and moved it to its current Lake County location, hoping to pioneer a resort and development on the lake shores. It was the only boat-in winery in California.

In addition to his wine industry contributions to organic farming, in particular, and his commitment to putting Lake County on the map, he was known at Bonterra/Fetzer - as well as at Ceago - for the beauty and beautiful places he created. At Bonterra today, one can still enjoy the legacy of gardens, garden structures and the winery barn he and his collaborators (including biodynamic consultant Alan York) leave behind. While the public can't visit these areas, trade and press visitors can, as well as those who work on the sites.

You can, however, still see the beauty at Ceago - at least for a few more weeks.

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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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Saturday, August 23, 2014

So Long Ceago

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