Organic Wines Uncorked: Historic Vineyard Society Tasting Set for May 10 at SF's Seaside Fort Mason

Monday, February 17, 2025

Historic Vineyard Society Tasting Set for May 10 at SF's Seaside Fort Mason

It's time to taste history!

One of California's greatest treasures is its old vine vineyards, some dating back more than a century. To qualify for this epic tasting, where many of the California's other great treasure–its dedicated winemakers–pour wines from vines more than 50 years old.

There is nothing like it in all the world. I wrote about this event last year for WineBusiness.com. (See story here.)

Selling these wines keeps these old vines in the ground. Otherwise they would be ripped out, as they produce only tiny amounts of grapes.

And, because they are so proud of their old vines, often the most famous winemakers appear at this tasting. Last year that included Joel Peterson, Carol Shelton, Tegan Passalaqua, and Cathy Corison with her two daughters.

The 2025 tasting is happening May 10.

• Mark your calendars
• Buy your tickets.

More info here.

Listed below are the participants who grow or source from certified organic vines (although not all the vineyards they farm are certified organic).

(Many uncertified participants do not use chemicals as these are a) mostly head trained vines and b) well established.)

VINEYARDS

• Bedrock
• Chalone
• Kronos Vineyard (Corison)
• Monte Rosso Vineyard (Louis M. Martini)

WINERIES

• Amevive
• Bedrock
• Corison
• Ian Brand
• Louis M. Martini (Monte Rosso)
• Martha Stoumen
• Once & Future
• Ridge Vineyards
• Sandlands
• Turley

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

Monday, February 17, 2025

Historic Vineyard Society Tasting Set for May 10 at SF's Seaside Fort Mason

No comments:

Post a Comment

Organic Resources