A prominent wine buyer, Curtis Mann, MW, group vice president of alcohol for Albertsons Cos.–he buys wine for Safeway, among others, as well as for its online Vine & Ccllar store–is telling the industry it needs to help consumers better understand when their wine grapes are certified organic or biodynamic.
Many in the industry do not seem to understand that it is illegal under federal law to use the word organic unless you are legally certified. Distributors and producers commonly say their vines are "practicing organic" or just "organic."
In an article in WineBusiness.com, Mann is quoted as saying:
Producers...need to do a better job of clarifying terms such as organic and biodynamic, rather than leaving them up to interpretation.
Much like with nutritional information, if it’s not clarified on the label, consumers will assume or be confused.
Mann encouraged producers to be more aggressive with these labels and regulations, or to come up with a new way to designate organic wines, so that it’s clear to the customer what they are buying. (Italics mine).
I couldn't agree more, except with the bit about coming up with a new way. (Note: organic and biodynamic are legal certifications and not officially open to interpretation.)
Too many times people have repeated the misinformation that sulfite caps are required for organic labeling. Or that the organic wine can't have added sulfites. Not true.
THE "NEW" OLD WAY TO LABEL WINE: USING THE "INGREDIENTS: ORGANIC GRAPES" LABEL
There is a great way to label wine that contain only organic grapes–it's called "Ingredients: Organic Grapes"–but most wineries do not use it.
Many do not understand that they have the option to put the words "Ingredients: organic grapes" on the back label without having to change anything about their winemaking processes.
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Let's dive in.
There are two issues here–one is certification, and the other, for those who have certified vines, is labeling.
CERTIFICATION COSTS FOR VINES: $11 An Acre in Monterey County; $40 An Acre in Napa
The industry has a long history of describing wines as "practicing organic" when grapes are not certified. The usual excuse is that it costs too much to be certified. However, most people who say that have no idea what certifying wine grapes actually costs.
In fact, certification of vineyards alone costs about $11 an acre in Monterey County and $40 an acre in Napa, according to this 2015 article from Wines and Vines (which I wrote way back when). The rate is based on the value of the grapes. In addition the government pays up to $750 in rebates for certification fees.
So let's say wine grape prices have gone up since 2015, but by how much? If these were the costs in 2015, it shows that organic wine grape certification is not costly.
The record-keeping that goes along with certification may be more time consuming, but veteran growers say once you have done it the first time, it is not hard to keep up. They also say the information asked for is what a good grower should be keeping track of anyway.
Natural winemakers are often quick to say the grapes they use are organic but few use certified grapes. Some are committed to changing that, but their numbers are few and far between.
FOR THOSE WHO HAVE CERTIFIED VINES: IS GOVERNMENT MISINFORMATION THE PROBLEM?
Could wineries be confused because the USDA itself obscures this "ingredients: Organic Grapes" information in its handouts?
Google "ingredients: organic grapes" wine and you find this misleading pdf from the USDA
It mentions only TWO of the THREE ways organically grown wines can be labeled according to the USDA.
Their overview speaks only to the two types of certified organically grown wines that require winery certification. These are "Organic Wine" and "Made with Organic Grapes" wines.
Those two categories also require higher fees and stiffer regulations, requiring both the winery and any additives to meet certification rules.
Here is another top search result (from albeit from 2013), also from the USDA.
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| More misleading information from USDA Organic Program |
On the Organic 101 page (which explains little about the specifics) there's a link to another page and that linked to page has no content.
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| TTB Labeling for Organic Wine Categories Example shown for "Ingredients: Organic Grapes" displays full ingredient labeling (which is not a USDA NOP requirement for "Ingredients: Organic Grapes") |
The TTB website fares only marginally better, but is very confusing in the way it provides too many illustrations of label minutiae and not enough on farming or winemaking requirements. It is also misleading in that the one example label shows a full list of ingredients, which is not a USDA NOP guideline.
But it's really not the TTB's job to define the requirements–that is the USDA's NOP's job–and the USDA's online site does not provide sufficient details.
WHERE TO FIND ACCURATE INFORMATION? FROM CCOF
At least one certifier, CCOF does the job well, explaining "Ingredients: Organic Grapes" wine, providing a pithy, bulleted lists overview of the USDA NOP regulations. It does so accurately, alongside the farming and wine requirements for the two certified wine categories ("Made with Organic Grapes" and "Organic Wine")as well as the "Ingredients: Organic Grapes" category. It's easy to compare the various standards on this one page handout.
But even the CCOF document is is slightly confusing because the "Ingredients: Organic Grapes" label can only be displayed if the contents are 100 percent from certified grapes. (If it's less than 100 percent, the percent must be displayed. However I have never encountered this on a label. I can only assume it might be more common for a food product.)
All certifiers are licensed by the NOP and must follow the same USDA NOP regulations on wine labeling. Since CCOF certifies more wine grape vineyards organic than any other certifier in the U.S., it makes sense that they would do a good job of describing the standards. (But why doesn't the federal government?)
The key difference between the two certified wine categories and the third category of "Ingredients: Organic Grapes" is whether or not the winery is certified organic (not required under the "Ingredients: Organic Grapes") and what additives are permitted. Sulfite caps are also required for certified wines, but not for the "Ingredients: Organic Grapes" which must simply follow the same winemaking regulations as other wines.
(The "Ingredients: Organic Grapes" wines are not "certified wines" because they do not require the winery to be certified and do not require higher payments but they still allow wineries to say the word "organic"–but only on the back label.)
Certified wines must pay certification fees on the value of the wine. Ingredients: Organic Grape labelers pay fees only on the value of the grapes. Big difference.
FYI: "Made with Organic Grapes" is very close to what the EU definition of Organic Wine.
And this is it:
ONLY 71 OUT OF 1,654 WINES BOTTLE LABEL "INGREDIENTS: ORGANIC GRAPES" IN USA
A few years ago, Vivino, the world's largest wine app, licensed my database of estate wines grown from certified organic and biodynamic grapes, with the intent of publishing it in their app. Their plans changed under new management, despite their initial desire to publish it after consumer focus groups showed it was a top ask.
In my database of 1,654 wines:
• 71 were labeled "Ingredients: Organic Grapes"
• 298 were labeled "Made with Organic Grapes"
• 109 were labeled "Organic Wine"
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• 127 were labeled "Made with Biodynamic Grapes"
• 108 were labeled "Biodynamic Wine"
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That means 1,176 wines (out of 1.654) vinified only with certified organic grapes could have used the word organic on the label–but did not. That is 71 percent of wines in my U.S., organic certified vine wines database.
(For wine uber geeks only: I did not include single vineyard wines from wineries who purchased organic or biodynamic grapes from a named certified organic or biodynamic vineyard–only wines from wineries with certified organic estates were included.)
Note: In using the "Ingredients: Organic Grapes" category, under a USDA NOP regulation, it is not then necessary to list all the ingredients.
Wineries with certified organic vineyards who do use "Ingredients: Organic Grapes" language and labeling on the back of the bottle are:
NAPA
• Beaucanon Estate (which also lists ingredients)
• Elizabeth Rose (Napa Wine Co.)
• Ghost Block (Napa Wine Co.)
• Oakville Winery (Napa Wine Co.)
• Volker Eisele (on applicable bottles)
SONOMA
• Canihan
• Crazy Flower in Napa and Sonoma
SANTA CRUZ MOUNTAINS
• Silver Mountain (on applicable bottles) in Santa Cruz Mountains
OREGON
• Croft
CALIFORNIA
• Ridge (on applicable bottles) (also lists ingredients)
A THIRD HURDLE: TTB LABELING APPROVAL
I have heard it countless times: "Our grapes are certified but the TTB won't let us label "Ingredients: Organic Grapes" on the back label even though our certifier says we should be able to."
Amigo Bob, the great organic leader who founded CCOF and EcoFarm, said he heard from many wine producers over the years that it really depended on who at TTB was handling your label approval.
Speaking at the TTB hearing online last week, consultant Jemma Jorel Lester, of San Francisco based Proper Pour Co., voiced similar complaints about inconsistencies regarding label approvals. "I get varied responses back even on a very consistent set of labels,” she said, adding that getting a label approved for an orange wine (not made from oranges) was denied.
Colleen Willams (Seps) from Storybook Mountain Vineyards in Napa has been labeling her wines with "Ingredients: Organic Grapes" on the back label (where regulations permit it) for years but says each year she has to educate the TTB person reviewing her labels about the category, showing them the regulations.
How does this get corrected? Is it time to contact the TTB? (Maybe try the Organic Trade Association? https://www.ota.com/contact-ota)
THE FOURTH HURDLE: WINE EDUCATORS, WSET PROGRAMS, MASTERS OF WINE AND MASTER SOMMELIERS
How many wine professionals are taught organic and biodynamic wine certifications?
Course after course, teachers present the labels, which detail so many attributes of the wine's origins, but I have never seen one dive into organic and biodynamic labeling and certification or at least not accurately.
Let's hope it's just a curious circumstance that has only happened to me, but I would say it is pretty much the norm. The amount of misinformation I see–even printed in 2023 books from world famous authors (I'm not naming names)–is common. One new mega volume even said organic wine could not contain added sulfites. (Very old trope–and inaccurate).
If this information is not in your wine professional certification program or curriculum, please update your curriculum. These are facts that every wine professional should know.
Wouldn't it be nice to give consumers the information they're looking for?
And producers, if you're not certified but say you farm organically, please reconsider. Your public is waiting. You could win brownie points for certification. Especially with Millenials, Gen Z, etc. as well as most medical professionals (who often do care about pesticide free farming). Stand out for all the good reasons. Proclaim your virtue.
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