Organic Wines Uncorked: Star Lots of the Sonoma Wine Country Auction

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

Star Lots of the Sonoma Wine Country Auction - The Organic Among Them

The 2014 Sonoma Wine Country Auction raised $4 million for local charities over the holiday weekend - more than double that of last year's auction.

Vintners with organic estate vines - including Hamel Family Estate, Stone Edge, and Kamen Estate Wines - participated in two very exciting lots.

LOT 11 - HAMEL FAMILY ESTATE - Raised $250,000

The Hamel family made headlines for its lavish, high roller 6 course dinner for 25 couples featuring a culinary dream team of 6 James Beard Award winning chefs.

The chefs include Gary Danko, Craig Stoll of Delfina, Nancy Oakes of Boulevard, Tory Miller of L’Etoile, Barbara Lynch of No. 9 Park; and Belinda Leong of Manresa and b. patisserie.

LOT 27 - THE STARS OF MOON MOUNTAIN DISTRICT AVA - Raised $140,000

Vintners in the newly designated appellation of Moon Mountain District AVA (on the Sonoma side of Mt. Veeder) put together a luxe weekend long tour for four complete with gourmet meals, wine tasting and accommodations.

The winners will enjoy a guided tour of the area, including a helicopter ride, and a private tasting and dinner at Kamen Estate with vintner Robert Kamen, vineyard manager Phil Coturri and winemaker Mark Herold. A catered brunch on Sunday at Stone Edge's beautiful Silver Cloud estate caps off the weekend.

Enjoy these photos from the official FB page for the auction:

Mike Benziger of Benziger Family Wines - on the left - with friends

Jean Charles Boisset with his Biodynamically grown estate Pinot

The auction proceeds support local charities, including reading programs

On the left - John Lasseter of Lasseter Family Vineyards - with a friend

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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, September 2, 2014

Star Lots of the Sonoma Wine Country Auction - The Organic Among Them

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