Grgich Celebrates Organic and Biodynamic Pioneer Miljenko Grgich's 100th Birthday in Grand Style Plus VIDEO EXTRA

It was a pleasure to attend two days of festivities celebrating Mike Grgich's 100th birthday, which was part epic wine tasting and part party. It was also a pleasure to write about the events for WineBusiness.com. 

Read the story here.

You can also enjoy the video I shot at the event here: 

Slow Wine Guide 2023 Book Review on YouTube: 98 Points! Thank You, James the Wine Guy

It's thrilling to see our first video book review of Slow Wine Guide 2023 from James the Wine Guy posted on YouTube.

James had so many nice things to say about the guide. Hear some of what he said. (But click above to see for yourself!)

"The Slow Food manifesto really anchors on many things that are important...which is the pillars of producing Slow Wine. and those would be say biodynamic wines, organic, as well as sustainable wine production.

"It's not just a wine guide of Slow Wine, Slow Food principles, but it's also one where wines of excellence are highlighted. It's not just a guide to find passable producers that meet a certain criteria, but it's also to look at these producers in terms of the wine excellence that they do produce on a year over year basis. 

"The icons are fantastic to help to make this a very succinct and easy to digest easy to understand...The Bottle represents above average quality, the Coin represents value, and the Snail represents Slow Food, Slow Wine principles. 

"... if you want to just quickly understand what wines are going to be reviewed, or perhaps you're looking for white wines or sparkling wines, you can see that very, very quickly and type of aging as well. So I think that's nice... 

"And then you can look at the top wine awards by state...You're going to see many producers you know, and perhaps producers you don't know. 

"I know a lot of these pretty personally, and I've been reviewing these wines for years, but  I don't have every...single data point in terms of what they are and how they produce their wines, and meeting certain criteria of say the Slow Wine manifesto. 

"So I liked that each call out each producer you're showing the region Napa... in this example...the people involved the vineyards as well as the wines being produced. 

"I also love this data point on the very bottom...each producer is highlighting what they have on planted acres, cases produced, fertilizers, plant protection, weed control, yeasts that are implemented, grapes that are purchased. 

"So you might find this surprising that some are producing all 100% estate fruit and some are doing purchasing other fruit as well...what certifications do they have as well....I think these are things that are important to call out. 

"So think of this book as a gift to yourself. And a gift to other people. So a $25 investment anything is intrinsically inexpensive. 

"It is completely concise...easy to engage with. So they're trusted reviewers, trusted editors, people that I've known for a good number of years and very much appreciate their integrity. It's lively and well written copy. It would take hundreds of hours to do this research if you were to do this on your own - relevant information of biodynamic, organic and sustainable practices, as well as a great and gentle use of icons that are meaningful to the reader. 

"So you do not have to spend a lot of time to go through this and to pull out those things that are really important to you. This is 98 points. I think it's absolutely on point and it just is so relevant and needed today."

HOW TO BUY

Visit https://slowfoodusa.org/product/slow-wine-guide-usa-2023/

Catena To Launch Its First Organic Wine Brand in U.S.

Interesting choice of words
Typically a wine would say "Made with 
Organic Grapes" in the U.S.

I was perusing the Tilia website recently (searching for brand visuals for an upcoming talk) and my ears perked up when I came across a graphic on the site that said the wine was made from a blend of organic grapes. 

Not knowing specifically what that meant (it sounded like some of the grapes were not organic?), I reached out for more details.

I've been a big fan of leading Argentinan organic and now biodynamic brands like Domaine Bousquet, for its incredible scores and quality as well as amazing price points, but I had not been aware of Tilia's new direction or that it was owned by Catena.

Victoria Capelli, Creative Office Exports Director. was kind enough to answer a few questions I sent in an email:

Is this Catena’s first organic brand? 

We don’t usually refer to Tilia as a Catena brand as it stands on its own, but to answer your question Catena has been farming the family’s vineyards organic (in part, no certification) for decades. 

We have some Catena brand certified organic wines that we sell in Europe and the Adrianna Vineyard wines have been certified organic for several years.

How many acres will be certified organic? 

The vineyards for Tilia in Mendoza have been farmed organic since 2020, and that is why the first year with an official certification will be the 2023 vintage. The 2021 and 2022 vintages do not yet have the organic certification, but 600 hectares (1,500 acres approximately) are in the process of being certified.

What is the case production of “Made with Organic Grapes” wines expected to be? 

For the US, approximately 50,000 cases.

[In comparison, Bousquet currently sells about 300,000 cases of organically grown wine in US.]

And what are the primary places it will be exported to? 

United States, Brazil, Holland, and United Kingdom.

Facing Extinction? EPA Analysis Says Imidacloprid And Other Popular Neonic Insecticides Widely Used in Wine Grapes Put Bees, Birds and Endangered Species At Risk

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) issued an in-depth analysis May 1 showing that three leading insecticides–all of which are neonics–negatively impact endangered species, including bees and birds. 

That means the EPA is not complying with the Endangered Species Act.

This map, from California's Tracking California app, shows where neonics were used in 2018 on wine grape vineyards alone: 

Neonic use on wine grapes, 2018 PUR data (DPR)
Map source: https://trackingcalifornia.org/pesticides/pesticide-mapping-tool

The most popular neonic, imidacloprid, was banned in the EU in 2018, but is still permitted for use in the U.S. It's also at the top of bee lovers "ban this" list, as hundreds of studies show it is quite toxic to bees and birds. It's still legal in the U.S., due to pressure from the U.S.'s corn industry lobby. Corn seeds are commonly coated with imidacloprid.

Imidacloprid use on wine grapes, 2018 PUR data (DPR)
Map source: https://trackingcalifornia.org/pesticides/pesticide-mapping-tool

IMIDACLOPRID

In California, imidacloprid is quite popular with wine grape growers who use it primarily to protect against vine mealybug. 

The data from California's Dept. of Pesticide Regulation (DPR) from 2021 shows that wine grape growers reported using 62,104 pounds of it on 161,744 acres. That's more than a quarter of the state's vineyards.

Organic growers are prohibited from neonics and do not use them, but neonic insecticides are widely used by both conventional and sustainable growers across the state, including in the high priced wine regions like Sonoma, where growers applied 2,027 pounds of it on 7,742 acres. In Napa, growers applied 253 pounds on 5,141 acres (about 1/8th of the vines).

Elsewhere, in cheap wine grape growing regions, the state reports that Madera County growers used 7,489 pounds on 18,882 acres, and in San Joaquin County (which includes Lodi), growers used 8,795 pounds on 21,176 acres.

The newly issued 2023 EPA assessment says that the three neonics are putting 200 species at risk. 

The report "predicted there is a likelihood of jeopardy for 158 [endangered] species," resulting from imidacloprid use alone. 

A May 5, 2023 CBD press release stated that the EPA's May 1 analysis:

 "...found that 166, or 9% of all endangered species, are likely to be jeopardized by clothianidin.

For imidacloprid, 199 species, or 11% of all endangered plants and animals, are likely to be jeopardized.

Thiamethoxam was found to likely jeopardize the continued existence of 204, or 11% of all endangered species."

The CBD said neonics' effectiveness stems from the fact that "these insecticides are systemic, meaning they are absorbed by plants, making the entire plant deadly toxic, including its nectar, pollen and fruit. Neonicotinoids are also highly persistent and can linger in soil for years, causing long-term harm." 

The EPA analysis says:

"..imidacloprid is characterized as highly toxic to bees, highly toxic to birds and moderately toxic to mammals on an acute exposure basis. Available data suggest potential effects to honeybee and bumble bee colonies that manifest as impacts to numbers of adults and decreases in brood. Chronic exposures to birds and mammals lead to decreases in body weight and egg production in birds.

In a press released issued a year ago, the Center for Biological Diversity (CBD) wrote, "The EPA’s assessments of clothianidin, imidacloprid and thiamethoxam marked the first time the agency has completed biological evaluations of any neonicotinoids’ harms to the nation’s most imperiled plants and animals. Species found to be harmed by all three of the neonicotinoids include rusty patched bumblebees, whooping cranes, chinook salmon, northern long-eared bats and orcas."

The nonprofit advocacy group went on to say:

“These deeply troubling findings leave no doubt that these dangerous pesticides are silencing the songs of frogs, the flutter of butterfly wings and the buzz of bees,” said Lori Ann Burd, environmental health director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Many of the species harmed by neonicotinoids are experiencing precipitous declines, and this EPA’s choices may well determine whether or not they go extinct.”

“The EPA’s analysis shows we’ve got a five-alarm fire on our hands, and there’s now no question that neonicotinoids play an outsized role in our heartbreaking extinction crisis,” said Burd. "The EPA has to use the authority it has to take fast action to ban these pesticides so future generations don’t live in a world without bees and butterflies and the plants that depend on them.”

CLOTHIANIDIN MAP

Map source: https://trackingcalifornia.org/pesticides/pesticide-mapping-tool

THIAMETHOXAM MAP

Map source: https://trackingcalifornia.org/pesticides/pesticide-mapping-tool

Note: California is not the only state that uses these fungicides on wine grapes. It IS the only state in which it is mandatory for growers to report their use and the only state that provides these records.

Learn more about neonics in this documentary from DW, German public television.

Wood Chips, Mushroom Extracts, and Vintner Coalitions: How the Pioneering Dry Creek Rancheria Band of Pomo Indians Are Restoring Burned Forests and Russian River Waters

Governments are flush with funds to handout for ecosystem restoration and resilience, environmental leader Chris Ott tells vintners at Napa Green's climate summit Rise Green.

Building community coalitions is key to success, he said. 

Read article (by yours truly) here.

Can the Wine Industry Woo Millennials and Gen Z with Better Green Messaging? Esther Mobley Says Yes

As senior wine critic at the San Francisco Chronicle. Esther Mobley is arguably California's most important wine writer, so when she speaks, the industry takes note.

Hear what she had to say to producers on how to appeal to younger generations. 

It's in my latest for Wine Business.