Organic Wines Uncorked: Four Organic Rockstar Wineries Join Newly Formed "Wine Atlas Collective", Enabling Free Visitation at Member Wineries

Thursday, July 3, 2025

Four Organic Rockstar Wineries Join Newly Formed "Wine Atlas Collective", Enabling Free Visitation at Member Wineries

Eight US wineries have banded together to offer an extra benefit to their wine club members–the ability to enjoy free or discounted wine tastings at any of the other wineries in their member collective. Four have organically grown estate vines.

Do not get overexcited, because the wineries are only one in each region, so you would have to do quite a bit of driving to capitalize on these offers, but they do set a precedent and are a benefit if you visit a lot of wine regions.

The eight members are all listed on the group's website here at WineAtlasCollective.com.

These are the members with organically grown wines:

California

• Frog's Leap (100% organic grapes)

• Ridge Vineyards (only the estate wines are organic)

• Tablas Creek (only the estate wines are organic)

Oregon

• Brooks Wine (20% organic/biodynamic - only the estate wines)

VARIETAL DIVERSITY

Promoters pointed out that the 8 wineries collectively have 43,000 wine club members and grow 43 varieties. Of course, Tablas Creek has a remarkably high number of them, since it grows many obscure Rhone varieties.

Here are the 43:

Albarino

Blaufrankisch

Bourboulenc

Cabernet Franc

Cabernet Sauvignon

Chardonnay

Chenin Blanc

Cinsaut

Coumoise

Dornfelder

Gamay Noir

Gewurztraminer

Grenache

Grenache Blanc

Gruner Veltliner

Lagrein

Malbec

Merlot

Mourvedre

Muscat

Petit Verdot

Petite Sirah

Picardan

Picpoul Blanc

Pinot Blanc

Pinot Gris

Pinot Noir

Riesling

Rousanne

Sangiovese

Sauvignon Blanc

Semillon

Syrah

Tannat

Tempranillo

Teroldego

Vaccarese

Vermentino

Viognier

Zinfandel

Zweigelt

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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

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Thursday, July 3, 2025

Four Organic Rockstar Wineries Join Newly Formed "Wine Atlas Collective", Enabling Free Visitation at Member Wineries

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