Organic Wines Uncorked: Over the Top and Under the Radar - Cassata Vineyards in Sonoma Valley Gets Amazing Scores

Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Over the Top and Under the Radar - Cassata Vineyards in Sonoma Valley Gets Amazing Scores

I am updating the Biodynamic wine apps and just noticed - and want to acknowledge with a quick shoutout - the folks at Cassata Vineyards must be doing something amazing.

This 23 acre Biodynamic vineyard in Sonoma Valley has racked up two impressive achievements:

• A 2014 Sonoma Harvest Fair win for Muscardini Cellars' 2012 Cabernet from Cassata vines

• A 95 Point score from Robert Parker, Jr. for the Jeff Cohn Cellars Zinfandel from Cassata vines, saying the Zin was "as good as this varietal can be."

A random search on YouTube brought up this video review from Wine Weirdos...who comment on the freshness of the fruit.

I am planning a visit to see the vineyards and meet the Cassata family (who are starting to release their own wines under their Utopium label).

Partly one has to wonder what Biodynamic farming does for wine. I have been preparing for the upcoming Demeter Short Course on Biodynamics, which will be held March 23 at Maysara Winery in McMinnville, Oregon and where I will be moderating two panels (one with growers and one with winemakers) during the day long event. In doing some research about Pinot Noirs, I found that 82% of the 60 Pinots made from Biodynamic vines in the U.S. were rated 90+ pts.

(And I'm not even counting Wine Enthusiast scores - just Connoisseurs' Guide to California Wine, Parker, Vinous, Bonné, Asimov and a few others). 82%.

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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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Tuesday, February 10, 2015

Over the Top and Under the Radar - Cassata Vineyards in Sonoma Valley Gets Amazing Scores

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