Organic Wines Uncorked: Wine Lands Beckons Aug. 8-10 at Outside Lands: Check Out the Organically Grown Options

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Wine Lands Beckons Aug. 8-10 at Outside Lands: Check Out the Organically Grown Options

Heading to Outside Lands this weekend for music and more? This hip gathering in San Francisco's Golden Gate Park promises to be a star-studded event once again with bands on five stages, sketch comedy and a new track called "Gastromagic."

More than 36 wineries will be pouring at the event. Check out the organic among them:

100% Organic Brands
(Make only organically grown wines; you don't have to wonder which wine is or isn't)

• Long Meadow Ranch, Napa

Famous for their Sauvignon Blanc...

• Preston Farm and Winery

If they're pouring their Organic Syrah (unlikely since it's a very limited production wine), do not miss it. But whatever they have, enjoy…this winery is one of the organic rock stars when it comes to land, farming and wine.

• Robert Sinskey Vineyards, Napa

Famous for their Pinot…and they make a coveted Rosé…(you should be so lucky as to find it at this event)...

Wineries with Some Organically Grown Wines
(Ask the winemakers what's what - some wines are and some wines aren't)

• Calder Wine Company

Rory Williams makes a limited production Riesling from a historic, organic vineyard in Napa…and he'll be pouring it at the event…the vines are 60+ years old and still going strong…and they're dry farmed, to boot...

• Qupé

Known as the Masters of Syrah…but their Biodynamic stuff is the expensive stuff they're best known for, but they make a 5+ organically grown wines as well…

• Verdad

Their prized Albarino and Rosé will be poured. Both are lovely and worth seeking out…and both are from Central Coast Biodynamic vines...

Other Brands
(Wineries that sometimes make 1-2 wines from organic or Biodynamic vines)

• Bonny Doon (makes a white Rhone blend)
• Broc Cellars (variable; may have one)

1 comment:

Organic WineAugust 20, 2014 at 5:56 AM
It was a wonderful event. Congrats for having the chance to be there!
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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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Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Wine Lands Beckons Aug. 8-10 at Outside Lands: Check Out the Organically Grown Options

1 comment:

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