Organic Wines Uncorked: May 2022

Monday, May 2, 2022

Sustainability Meets Finance: How Will This Impact the Wine Business? See My New Article in Wine Business Monthly

The worlds of finance and sustainability are separate no more, as Wall Street declares that climate risk is financial risk. My new story for Wine Business Monthly tracks this trend and other environmental, social and governance (ESG) drivers bringing these two worlds together. (If you can't access it there, there is a pdf here.)

As Erica Landin-Loving of Vintage Wine Estates says, "Sustainability is moving from storytelling to data."

See what drivers are already impacting winery finance–and what expert think is coming down the pike.

A big thank to all those who were interviewed for this extensive piece, including the ones whose quotes did not make it into the final article. I am so grateful for your time and that you so graciously shared your knowledge with me.

GREEN WINE FUTURE PANEL WITH INTERVIEWEES

I have the pleasure of presenting four of the distinguished experts in the article at an upcoming Green Wine Future panel.

Tune in May 23 to hear ESG expert Elisa Turner, Terry Wheatley (president of Vintage Wine Estates), Ela Askinazi of Bank of the West and Matt Young, CFO of Treasury Wine Estates.

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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Monday, May 2, 2022

Sustainability Meets Finance: How Will This Impact the Wine Business? See My New Article in Wine Business Monthly

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