Organic Wines Uncorked: Catching up with IPCC

Tuesday, March 1, 2022

Catching up with IPCC

As climate becomes an ever increasingly important topic for life on earth, and in the wine world, it's time expand the conversation from eco-friendly wines to larger concerns for an eco-friendly world.

The release of the IPCC's latest report issued Feb. 28, 2022 is yet another turning point in the continuing catastrophe.

While one old white guy after another old white guy read their prepared statements before blue IPCC backdrops in the IPCC's videos on YouTube, even without the swirling TV graphics on regular TV channels, the message was clear.

It drove many of us into even deeper despair, with three huge pools of collective grief: our post Covid grief, our Russian invasion grief and our renewed climate change grief.

If you did not see the video, take a look at the remarks of the UN Sec. Gen. who's encouraging finance that supports climate change investments.

Before you watch (and I hope you will) the old white guys from the UN, have a look at this video from climate activist Bill McKibben, another old white guy from Vermont. The McKibben video is only 10 minutes, giving you the quick download, and includes a quick clip from the UN Sec. Gen.

All of these gray hairs have given significant portions of their life force to reducing the impacts of climate change and it's worth hearing what they have to say. The language they use is strong stuff. You may even do a double take. Now, roll video:

If you want to go whole hog on the IPCC download, go for it here:

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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, March 1, 2022

Catching up with IPCC

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