Can we double the number of organic vineyards in the U.S. in one year? We could easily achieve this if a few things happened. Like the list below, for instance.
And if you think this is too hard, look at these statistics from Europe where organic grape production (both table grapes and wine grapes) is up, up, up:
In France alone, organic vineyards grew 66% from 2007 to 2011. In 2012, organic grapes in France grew 15 percent. The FIBL stats include both table and wine grapes.
Today 9 percent of France's wine grape vineyards are certified organic.
The report says, "In a global context, Europe is by far the largest player when it comes to organic vineyards. European organic vineyards constitute 89 percent of the the global area under organic vines of 260,000 hectares (3.7 percent of all vineyards). "
Converting hectares to acres, 260,000 hectares is 642,473 acres. In comparison, the U.S. has only about 15,000+ acres of organic vineyards. That is out of 465,000 acres of wine grape vineyards in the California. Nationwide, the figure is closer to 600,000+. That means about 2.5% of (bearing) wine grape vineyards. (Most of the organic vineyards in the U.S. are in California.)
Based on this data, looking at the list of organic grape growers in Europe and the EU, the U.S. would rank just 6th, just above Greece.
So here are a few things we need to do to grow a market for organically grown wine in the U.S.:
1. Label ingredients in wine and support laws that do this. If you want us to think of wine as food - and we know you do because you market it that way - let the government pass laws for the wine industry to tell us what's in our wine so we can choose according to what we want. Ideally, you would have to label pesticides that are used in growing the grapes as well, or any pesticide residues. Studies in France have shown the pesticide residues in wine to be significant, which embarrassed a number of prestigious wineries.
In addition, we need to change the wine labeling laws in the U.S. to make our organic wine standards equivalent or closer to the European standard. As it stands now, only wines with no added sulfites can be called "organic wine" in the U.S. - a standard that is unfair and has created confusion and negative impressions in the U.S. for hundreds of organic vintners who make wine with the addition of sulfites. The European standard permits limited use of sulfites (and is close to the "Made with Organic Grapes" standard in the U.S.)
This law primarily functions today as a protection for the Frey and LaRocca families, who are the main beneficiaries of this confusing labeling standard. It's time for no added sulfite wine producers to get an additional type of certification and not to conflate organic with no added sulfites. Consumers who want no added sulfite products can understand that this is not synonymous with the use of organic grapes. Organic grapes are generally cultivated with the use of sulphur in the fields, making the issue even more ironic.
This labeling law is widely acknowledged by many experts around the world to be the number one reason why the U.S. lags behind in organic wine production.
2. Become certified. If all the "practicing organic" folks out there would make a commitment to get certified, we could perhaps double organic vineyard acreage that's on the books. And the U.S. wouldn't be the lamest country among world peers when it comes to the percentage of organically grown wine grapes. If you're not "practicing organic," learn more about organic wine grape growing from peers in your region or talk to a knowledgeable U.C. expert (like Glenn McGourty, the ag advisor in Mendocino and Lake Counties). We are also blessed in the U.S. with world class vineyard consultants who have vast experience in organic viticulture. (If you need specific references, email me.) You could also attend EcoFarm in January (held in Monterey) or go to one of the organic vineyard owner tours offered in Sonoma and Napa (and elsewhere). CCOF also puts on workshops around the state. Or just call a certifier and talk to them about educational resources.
3. Please don't say certification "is too expensive." And don't let a sales person in a wine store ever say that again - it's the lamest excuse on the planet. Certification is dirt cheap. See the (my) article in Wines & Vines for details. When 95-97% of the wine industry uses Roundup, they're not getting certified because certification is too expensive; they're not getting certified because they have chosen not to farm organically. (And some of that decision making is due to market forces - i.e. consumers haven't said this is what they want.)
4. If you are a winery and you are asked if you are organic, don't say, "we're certified sustainable," as a response. Also please do not call yourself a steward of the land, unless you are organic. There is no comparison about the farming practices involved in organic versus sustainable. Under "certified CCSW sustainable," you can use all the Roundup you want along with carcinogens, neurotoxins, endocrine disruptors and other toxic substances. How is that being a "steward of the land"? So, if someone asks you if you're organic, just say no, we're not - instead of pretending that the wine industry created "more inclusive standards" that have no real restrictions on pesticides, herbicides and fungicides.
If you're a consumer, and a winery gives you this answer, ask them if they wouldn't mind sharing their pesticide use report. As Lincoln said, "You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time." Wineries that are "certified sustainable" should be embarrassed - and they may be when people find out what CCSW really means. Sustainability is a great program for migrating an industry with a terrible track record of toxic chemical use towards better farming - and better energy and natural resource conservation practices (that improve the financial and ecological bottom line) - but let's not overreach in talking about how green you are.
If you're a consumer, and a winery gives you this answer, ask them if they wouldn't mind sharing their pesticide use report. As Lincoln said, "You can fool all of the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you can't fool all the people all the time." Wineries that are "certified sustainable" should be embarrassed - and they may be when people find out what CCSW really means. Sustainability is a great program for migrating an industry with a terrible track record of toxic chemical use towards better farming - and better energy and natural resource conservation practices (that improve the financial and ecological bottom line) - but let's not overreach in talking about how green you are.
5. Wineries: start planting the right grapes for California's climate. You won't be getting all that water to irrigate pretty soon, so why not make more grapes that do best in our Mediterranean climate, instead of pretending we're in Bordeaux or Burgundy where it rains in the summer? How about helping consumers understand that Syrah is every bit as wonderful as a Cabernet - and takes much less water. Let's see more Rhone blends and other grapes that have done well in the south of France and Spain and across the Mediterranean for millennia. Campovida's biodynamically grown Dark Horse Grenache makes my heart sing.
And let's hear it for some of those native Italian grapes grown in hot regions...we like them as imports - so give us some here. (Why is hardly anyone growing Nero D'Avola - except for John Chiaritto in the hot interior of Mendocino - whose vintage bottles of Nero D'Avola I treasure.)
And consumers - branch out. Cabernet and Chardonnay are the most widely grown varietals because of your choices. Try something new this year. You may be pleasantly surprised.
And let's hear it for some of those native Italian grapes grown in hot regions...we like them as imports - so give us some here. (Why is hardly anyone growing Nero D'Avola - except for John Chiaritto in the hot interior of Mendocino - whose vintage bottles of Nero D'Avola I treasure.)
And consumers - branch out. Cabernet and Chardonnay are the most widely grown varietals because of your choices. Try something new this year. You may be pleasantly surprised.
6. Get supermarkets to stock organically grown wine and put shelf stickers in front of these bottles so we can find them. The biggest chains - like Safeway here in California - often do not carry a single bottle of organically grown wine - not even the widely distributed Bonterra. The "in" foodie market Monterey Market in North Berkeley does not carry organically grown wine either. (The Asian family that runs the market does not see any need for change on its wine shelves).
Consumers: ask for change. Ask stores to please create sections for organically grown wines AND ask stores to double shelve them in the varietal sections, so we can find them no matter where they are. Or ask stores to try putting the organically grown wines in the organic produce section - so people could make the connection. See if that boosts sales. Stores: experiment with what works best to increase sales of organically grown wines to your organically inclined consumers. (Whole Foods - are you listening?)
Consumers: ask for change. Ask stores to please create sections for organically grown wines AND ask stores to double shelve them in the varietal sections, so we can find them no matter where they are. Or ask stores to try putting the organically grown wines in the organic produce section - so people could make the connection. See if that boosts sales. Stores: experiment with what works best to increase sales of organically grown wines to your organically inclined consumers. (Whole Foods - are you listening?)
7. Restauranteurs - support our organically grown wines as much as you support organically grown foods. Or more. If you're telling consumers that you're a farm to table outfit supporting locals and yet your wine list is all Italian imports, what does that say about your values? (I'm thinking of Charlie Hallowell and Pizzaiola here as a prime example, but there are hundreds of others like this.) And if you're not offering any organically grown wines, why not add some this year, train your staff, and feature organic selections on a card on the dining tables sometime to let your customers know how cool these wines (and you) are.
8. Consumers: put up a fuss. If a restaurant doesn't have organically grown selections on the wine list, ask why not? And could you suggest a few?
If you think your voice, doesn't count, see this survey finding from a study of U.S. restaurants on buying European organic wines. One third of restaurants did not serve organic wines; of those, 41 percent said there was no interest on the part of consumers. It may be that these restaurants, like most, do not serve any organic produce either - who knows.
The same probably goes for wine stores as well. Wine clerks: please don't tell consumers a wine is "practicing organic" - unless the wine store happens to have the vineyard pesticide use report in hand. There should be a law against this. (Actually there is but there is zero enforcement.) Using the word "organic" to market an uncertified product is a federal crime.
9. Vintners: if your wine grapes (vineyard) are certified organic, please label the back of the bottle "Ingredients: Organic Grapes." Many wineries seem timid about doing this, because they fear the negative consequences of being organic for some portion of wine consumers. (Who these people are is a mystery to me, but it's enough to put off many a vintner. There is a feeling that being organic is incompatible with being a Republican, for instance, and in the higher echelons of wine Republicans appear to be abundant. Political orientation should not be a reason to obfuscate labeling of agricultural products. Republican babies born next to toxic fields suffer the same number of birth defects and health issues as babies born to Democratic or nonvoting families).
Labeling the ingredients as organic is very, very inexpensive, since the grower was the one who paid the certification fees. The vintner does not pay a certification fee. It just has to get a label approved by the TTB.
Consumers would like to know what is organic. Please tell us. We don't care how tiny the type on the back of the bottle is. This can also apply to single vineyard designate wines - your winery doesn't need to have grown the grapes to get that label on the bottle.
So a single vineyard designate wine from Temperance Hill (made by at least 10 wineries in Oregon) could be labeled "Ingredients: Organic Grapes" on the back of the label. Now, this may make consumers ask why your other wines are not from organic grapes, and that would be a good question - a question most wineries don't want to be asked.
10. Learn about organic vineyard practices on a tour. Take a tour with someone who knows their stuff and let them tell you how they farm. (Use our trip planning services if you want to know where the best tours are.) Being organic isn't that complicated. It's a lot of common sense stuff. And it requires a learning curve - which, if you have the right help, is fun. Organic is certainly a lot better than "pray and spray." Farming well with organic practices involves becoming more aware of the complex interactions that nature thrives on and in understanding that, makes a grower a real "steward of the land." It also means better health for vineyard owners and workers and neighbors. As well as for Mother Earth, climate changes, microbes, biodiversity, bees, birds and more...
11. Make a commitment in 2016 to visit wineries with organically grown wines and to drink more organically grown wines. Whether it's table wine or fine wine you're interested in, there are hundreds from the U.S. to choose from. If you need advice, use our trip planning and wine buying services, but whatever it takes to get going, start on the path. We also will help you put together a tasting at your next party.
On the road, you'll meet a lot of wonderful wineries, who've chosen a better way of farming, and you will probably drink most of the greatest brands in table wine (Cooper Hill, Cooper Mountain, Bonterra, McFadden, Maysara, Montinore Estate) and fine wine in the U.S. (Tablas Creek, Ridge, Amapola Creek, Laurel Glen, Ehlers, Maysara, Qupé, Beckmen and more) . Whether you love Pinot Noir, Cabernet or Rhone blends, there are great organically grown wines out there for you to try this year. Cheers!
If you think your voice, doesn't count, see this survey finding from a study of U.S. restaurants on buying European organic wines. One third of restaurants did not serve organic wines; of those, 41 percent said there was no interest on the part of consumers. It may be that these restaurants, like most, do not serve any organic produce either - who knows.
The same probably goes for wine stores as well. Wine clerks: please don't tell consumers a wine is "practicing organic" - unless the wine store happens to have the vineyard pesticide use report in hand. There should be a law against this. (Actually there is but there is zero enforcement.) Using the word "organic" to market an uncertified product is a federal crime.
9. Vintners: if your wine grapes (vineyard) are certified organic, please label the back of the bottle "Ingredients: Organic Grapes." Many wineries seem timid about doing this, because they fear the negative consequences of being organic for some portion of wine consumers. (Who these people are is a mystery to me, but it's enough to put off many a vintner. There is a feeling that being organic is incompatible with being a Republican, for instance, and in the higher echelons of wine Republicans appear to be abundant. Political orientation should not be a reason to obfuscate labeling of agricultural products. Republican babies born next to toxic fields suffer the same number of birth defects and health issues as babies born to Democratic or nonvoting families).
Labeling the ingredients as organic is very, very inexpensive, since the grower was the one who paid the certification fees. The vintner does not pay a certification fee. It just has to get a label approved by the TTB.
Consumers would like to know what is organic. Please tell us. We don't care how tiny the type on the back of the bottle is. This can also apply to single vineyard designate wines - your winery doesn't need to have grown the grapes to get that label on the bottle.
So a single vineyard designate wine from Temperance Hill (made by at least 10 wineries in Oregon) could be labeled "Ingredients: Organic Grapes" on the back of the label. Now, this may make consumers ask why your other wines are not from organic grapes, and that would be a good question - a question most wineries don't want to be asked.
10. Learn about organic vineyard practices on a tour. Take a tour with someone who knows their stuff and let them tell you how they farm. (Use our trip planning services if you want to know where the best tours are.) Being organic isn't that complicated. It's a lot of common sense stuff. And it requires a learning curve - which, if you have the right help, is fun. Organic is certainly a lot better than "pray and spray." Farming well with organic practices involves becoming more aware of the complex interactions that nature thrives on and in understanding that, makes a grower a real "steward of the land." It also means better health for vineyard owners and workers and neighbors. As well as for Mother Earth, climate changes, microbes, biodiversity, bees, birds and more...
11. Make a commitment in 2016 to visit wineries with organically grown wines and to drink more organically grown wines. Whether it's table wine or fine wine you're interested in, there are hundreds from the U.S. to choose from. If you need advice, use our trip planning and wine buying services, but whatever it takes to get going, start on the path. We also will help you put together a tasting at your next party.
On the road, you'll meet a lot of wonderful wineries, who've chosen a better way of farming, and you will probably drink most of the greatest brands in table wine (Cooper Hill, Cooper Mountain, Bonterra, McFadden, Maysara, Montinore Estate) and fine wine in the U.S. (Tablas Creek, Ridge, Amapola Creek, Laurel Glen, Ehlers, Maysara, Qupé, Beckmen and more) . Whether you love Pinot Noir, Cabernet or Rhone blends, there are great organically grown wines out there for you to try this year. Cheers!
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