Organic Wines Uncorked: Premiere Napa Valley: Quick Peek

Saturday, February 22, 2014

Premiere Napa Valley: Quick Peek - How Organic Vintners Fared

I'll be posting more coverage of Premiere Napa Valley here soon. In the meantime here's how Napa's organically grown wines fared at the 2014 luxury auction.

They're listed in order of price within each varietal.

CABERNET FRANC

1. Caspar Estate, 2012 Cabernet Franc, Rutherford, 60 bottles, $12,000

Julien Fayard, winemaker

Uniquely: the only Cab Franc from Caspar

2. Long Meadow Ranch, 2012 Cabernet Franc, 60 bottles, $10,000

Ashley Helsey, winemaker

Uniquely: the only Cab Franc from Long Meadow Ranch

3. Oakville Ranch Vineyard, 2012 Cabernet Franc, 60 bottles, $10,000

Ann Vawter, winemaker

Uniquely: best blocks

4. Lateral, 2012 Cabernet Franc, 60 bottles, $6,000

Chris Condos, winemaker

Uniquely: the only Cabernet Franc Lateral makes

CABERNET SAUVIGNON

$50-60,000

1. Ovid Napa Valley, 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, 60 bottles, $60,000

Austin Peterson, winemaker

Uniquely: barrel fermented

2. Spottswoode Estate, 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, 60 bottles, $55,000

Aron Weinkauf, winemaker

Uniquely: barrel selection

$20-50,000

1. Gallica, 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, 60 bottles, $28,000

Rosemary Cakebread, winemaker

Uniquely: Gallica's only single vineyard designate (sourced from Oakville Ranch Vineyard)

2. Chappellet Vineyard, 2012 Red Wine, 120 bottles, $26,000 ($216/bottle)

Phillip Corallo-Titus, winemaker

Uniquely: barrel selection

$10-20,000

1. Ehlers Estate, 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, St. Helena, 60 bottles, $16,000

Kevin Morrisey, winemaker

Uniquely: best block

2. Inglenook, 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, Rutherford, 60 bottles, $16,000

Philippe Bascaules, winemaker

Uniquely: barrel selection

3. Pavi Wines, 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon ($16,000)

Rob Lawson, winemaker

Uniquely: Blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (92%) and Montepulciano (8%)

4. Rocca Family Vineyards, 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, Row 57 Old Vines, 60 bottles, $16,000
Paul Colantuoni, winemaker
Uniquely: a best block bottling from vines planted in 1989

5. Volker Eisele Family Estate, 2012 Cabernet Sauvignon, 60 bottles, $12,000

Jordan McKay, winemaker

Uniquely: best block

CHARDONNAY

1. Grgich Hills Estate, 2012 Miljenko's Old Vine, Carneros, 120 bottles ($12,000)

Miljenko Grgich, winemaker

Uniquely: Old Wente clones

*Neal Family Vineyards, 2013 Chardonnay, Rutherford, 120 bottles (price pending)

Winemaker: Gove Celio

Uniquely: Neal Family's only Chardonnay

PINOT NOIR

1. Madonna Estate, 2013 Pinot Noir, 120 bottles, $8,000

Andrea, Brette and Taylor Bartolucci, partners

Uniquely: best block

COMING SOON: Photos and videos from the event.

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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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Saturday, February 22, 2014

Premiere Napa Valley: Quick Peek - How Organic Vintners Fared

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