Organic Wines Uncorked: Taste Coturri Wines in SF: Jan. 25 Dinner at Millenium

Monday, January 16, 2012

Taste Coturri Wines in SF: Jan. 25 Dinner at Millenium

Tony Coturri

Taste a rare breed - Coturri may be the only "natural" winery in California with certified organic grapes. They will be visiting Millenium restaurant in SF Wednesday, Jan. 25 when chef Eric Tucker plans a vegetarian feast in praise of mushrooms.

The five course meal is a prix fixe event. Including wine pairing, the meal will be $90.

Learn more about the Mushroom Food and Natural Wine event here.

And, it should be mentioned, one can dine at Millenium anytime and find organically grown wines on the wine list. As usual, alas, many wines listed as organic are not certified - but some are.

If you're drinking local (i.e. U.S.), the wines grown with certified organically grown grapes ones are:

By the Glass

Sparkling
• Jeriko Sparkling Rose (one of the very few - if not currently the only - certified organically grown sparkling rose in California; Rack and Riddle should be coming out with one this summer)

Whites
• Montinore Riesling
• Alma Rosa Chardonnay

By the Bottle

Whites
• Pinot Blanc, Robert Sinskey, Los Carneros
• Chardonnay, Horse & Plow, McFadden Farm

Reds
• Cabernet Franc, Ceago, Lake County, California 08

If you feel moved to do so, you might ask why the other wines marked "organic" on their wine list are not certified and ask the restaurant to make a distinction on the wine list between certified and not certified.

1 comment:

John CesanoJanuary 17, 2012 at 2:59 PM
McFadden will release our first ever Sparkling Brut Rose - only 100 cases - on Saturday, July 14, 2012 at our annual Wine Club Appreciation BBQ Dinner.

Of course it will be made from 100% certified organically grown grapes.

Tickets are $45 per person, Wine Club members save $10 on two tickets. Children 12 and under are $20.

This is the one time each year we open our organic farm and vineyard to the public.

For tickets or info, call John in the McFadden Tasting Room at (707) 744-8463.
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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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Monday, January 16, 2012

Taste Coturri Wines in SF: Jan. 25 Dinner at Millenium

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