Organic Wines Uncorked: Napa Organic Vintners Represent 30% of 2 of 3 Top 10 Lots at Auction Napa Valley

Friday, July 6, 2018

Napa Organic Vintners Represent 30% of 2 of 3 Top 10 Lots at Auction Napa Valley

Auction Napa Valley 2018

Michael Franti performing

Top tier Napa wineries with certified organic estate vineyards were among the leading wineries raising funds for charities in Napa at the 2018 Auction Napa Valley, the Napa Valley Vintners' big philanthropic fundraising event.

The auction has expanded to three different platforms - the E-Auction (only online), the Barrel Auction (the day before the main live auction) and the Live Auction.

In the Barrel Auction and the E-Auction, wineries with organic vines comprised 30% of the winning lots (while Napa's organic vines represent just 8% of the county's vineyards) - punching more than three times their weight.

LIVE AUCTION

JCB and Raymond Vineyards sponsored a joint offering at the live event

Raymond Vineyards had the 4th highest lot, coming in at $640,000 for its Buy A Spot offering. The winery has 92 acres of organic and Biodynamic vines (with 47 more on the way).

Raymond's first three Biodynamic wine releases were featured in the Grand Tasting at the Biodynamic Wine Conference and included a Merlot, a Cabernet and a Bordeaux Blend field blend (1.5 Acres).

Raymond Vineyards at the Barrel Auction

BARREL AUCTION

Barrel Auction

• Staglin Family Vineyard - (3rd out of top 10) $54,150

• Spottswoode Estate Vineyard & Winery - (5th out of top 10) $45,450

• Chappellet Vineyard - (9th out of top 10) $38,550

E-AUCTION

Kathryn Hall congratulating a buyer

• HALL - (6th out of top 10) $12,550
• ZD Wines - (8th out of top 10) $12,050
• Acumen - (10th out of top 10) $8,600

All photos courtesy of Napa Valley Vintners.

For more photos, visit NVV's smug mug page here.

Note: None of these wineries is 100% organic, so if you're interested in buying their wines and are looking for organically farmed wines in particular, be sure to ask the wineries which of their wines come from their organic estate vines.

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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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Friday, July 6, 2018

Napa Organic Vintners Represent 30% of 2 of 3 Top 10 Lots at Auction Napa Valley

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