Growing: Organic Vineyard Acreage in France Up 4%

While the latest statistics on organic wine grape vineyards in Napa and Sonoma may be depressing - acreage dropped 17% in Napa and 11% in Sonoma - things are looking up in France, where 9% of the nation's vineyards are certified organic.

The latest statistics from France's organic certifier, Agence Bio, show that the acres of certified wine vineyards is 150,85 acres, an increase of 4 percent.

Another 43,532 acres of vineyards are currently in the three year transition period to organic certification. When those vines are certified, it will bring the total in France to more than 194,000, putting it just behind Italy (which already has 200,000 acres of certified vineyards).

In Italy, Spain and France, certified organic vineyards are 10 percent of the total wine grape vineyard acreage.