Organic Wines Uncorked: Seize the Weekend

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Seize the Weekend - Carpe Chocolate!

Wine and chocolate for Valentine's Day - yeah baby.

Two wine regions in the hinterlands are celebrating with festivities.

Up in Mendo, Barra of Mendocino, in Ukiah, is offering delicious treats this Saturday. Tickets are $25 and include assorted goodies. See details here.

Port, muscat and homemade truffles are on the agenda.

"Please join the wine and spirit-makers of Redwood Valley for their third annual chocolate and wine extravaganza. Professional chocolatiers will present tastings of exquisite dark and milk chocolates, truffles, dipped strawberries, heart-shaped cakes and more, paired with Redwood Valley's dark, rich ports, cabernet sauvignon, petite sirah, muscat canelli and world-class liquers and brandies. Via Magazine has called this an "Esteemed Wine and Chocolate Event". Admission is $25.00 and includes an embossed wine glass as well as entry to all listed wineries and distillery. Designated drivers admitted free."

Out in Lodi, 45 wineries are participating in the Lodi Wine and Chocolate weekend. Among them is the sole certified organic Lodi grower/winemaker, Lucas. I look forward to touring it sometime soon.

The Lucas Winery
18196 N. Davis Road, Lodi 95242
(209) 368-2006
"Turn your tasting glass into a very personal memento with help from our expert tole painter, Ester Torrens, who was a huge hit during our First Sip activities. Truffle Gateaux will be here to provide samples of their fine chocolates for pairing with our wine and purchasing for your sweetie. Artist Mike Tate will be creating very affordable art for our guests."

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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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Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Seize the Weekend - Carpe Chocolate!

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