Organic Wines Uncorked: San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition: Organic Winners

Friday, January 13, 2017

San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition: Organic Winners - Part 1, Whites and Sparkling Wines

It's big, it's mammoth, it's the jumbo sized San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition, the country's largest wine competition. The results from this year's contest were announced today.

Congratulations to the wines taking Best of Class, including Bokisch's Albarino, King Estate's Pinot Gris (Domaine), Yorkville Cellar's Semillon, and Blue Quail's Sauvignon Blanc.

Here are all the white and sparkling wines from organic vines that won prizes in the competition.

ALBARINO

BEST OF CLASS

Bokisch Vineyards ($18)

CHARDONNAY

GOLD

Barra of Mendocino ($18)

Terra Savia ($13.50)

SILVER

Blue Quail ($16)

Bonterra ($16)

Canihan ($35)

Castoro Cellars ($16)

Chacewater Cellars - Bartolucci ($33)

Grgich Hills Estate ($43)

Handley Cellars ($25)

Lemelson Vineyards ($30)

Lucinda & Millie ($16)

Martorana Vineyards

Philo Ridge - Haiku Vineyard ($19)

BRONZE

Petroni Cellars ($36)

Sunstone ($45)

DESSERT

GOLD

McFadden - Riesling (sweet) ($18)

GEWURZTRAMINER

SILVER

Handley Cellars

PINOT GRIS

BEST OF CLASS

King Estate - Domaine ($29)

BRONZE

Blue Quail ($16)

RIESLING

DOUBLE GOLD

Blue Quail ($18)

SILVER

Dashe Cellars - Potter Valley ($22)

SAUVIGNON BLANC

BEST OF CLASS

Blue Quail $16)

DOUBLE GOLD

GOLD

Bonterra ($14)

SILVER

Retzlaff Cellars ($25)
Yorkville Cellars ($19)

BRONZE

Grgich Hills Estate ($31)

Petroni Vineyard ($28)

Viluko Vineyard ($26)

SEMILLON

BEST OF CLASS

Yorkville Cellars ($25)

VIOGNIER

DOUBLE GOLD

Bonterra ($14)

BRONZE

Hawley ($29)

WHITE BLEND

SILVER

Campovida - Campo di Stelle ($34)

BRONZE

Campovida - Campo di Blanca ($32)

SPARKLING WINE

GOLD

McFadden Brut $25

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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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Friday, January 13, 2017

San Francisco Chronicle Wine Competition: Organic Winners - Part 1, Whites and Sparkling Wines

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