Organic Wines Uncorked: Oregon Wine Board Founders Award for Dr Robert Gross; Second Major Award Win for a Biodynamic Producer in Oregon

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Oregon Wine Board Founders Award for Dr Robert Gross; Second Major Award Win for a Biodynamic Producer in Oregon

So happy to see Bob Gross getting his due with the announcement this week that he has received Oregon's highest award. Well deserved.

See the announcement here: https://www.coopermountainwine.com/oregon-wine-board-founders-award-robert-gross/

And don't think of this as simply history! The winery's wines are still among the best and more affordably priced in the U.S. I started collecting wine in 2010 with several cases of their Pinot and their LIFE Pinot (no added sulfites) still ranks among my favorites on the basis of flavor alone. And the LIFE Pinot is only $40. [Absolutely compares to wines that cost two to three to four times more.]

Congrats to the Gross family on maintaining vineyard and wine quality for so many decades. And for expanding their vineyard holdings with their newly acquired Arborbrook. May it continue.

NOTE

In 2019, Rudy Marchesi of Montinore Estate was voted Wine Person of the Year by the Oregon Wine Press. Kudos to Oregonians for recognizing these industry leaders.

No comments:

Post a Comment

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

Pages

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Oregon Wine Board Founders Award for Dr Robert Gross; Second Major Award Win for a Biodynamic Producer in Oregon

No comments:

Post a Comment

Organic Resources