Organic Wines Uncorked: Slow Food's Terra Madre of the Americas May 18-19 (and Trade Tasting on 20th) Launches in Sacramento with Slow Wine USA Masterclasses!

Monday, April 15, 2024

Slow Food's Terra Madre of the Americas May 18-19 (and Trade Tasting on 20th) Launches in Sacramento with Slow Wine USA Masterclasses!

You may have heard of the granddaddy of all food events, the Slow Food movement's Terra Madre Salone del Gusto, which takes place every other year in Turin, Italy, bringing together the global food and wine movement. But it's a long way to go.

This year, the same Italian team, along with local coordinators, is launching the inaugural Terra Madre of the Americas in conjunction with Visit Sacramento during the weekend of May 18-19. The mammoth event will feature food marketplaces, networking, music and flavors and foods from North and South America.

SlowWine USA editors and co-directors Deborah Parker Wong and Pam Strayer (yours truly) will be presenting three wine masterclasses, open to the public.

A grand tasting with Slow Wine wineries pouring takes place on Sunday, as well ($75, 12-5 pm).

(A special trade event is also scheduled for Monday.)

Get your masterclass and/or Sunday tasting tickets here!

You can also buy copies of the Slow Wine Guide 2024 to find more Slow Wine wineries and award-winning wines.

MASTERCLASSES

Here are the details on each masterclass:

Saturday, May 18

• 1-2 pm: Everyday Wines (priced $30 and under)

Focuses on affordable wines of the Sierra Foothills and Lodi ($30 and under) from artisan, boutique producers including Avivo, Andis, Donkey and Goat, Terah, and others. Tasting includes a sparkling Mourvèdre from El Dorado County, two Sangiovese wines from the same certified biodynamic Lodi site (made in different styles), and more wines. Discover your next favorite wine.

Price: $50

Sunday, May 19

• 1-2 pm: Slow Wine Goes Local

Taste top wines from the Sierra Foothills, Lodi and surrounding areas.

Price: $50

• 3-4 pm: The Wines of Shake Ridge Ranch with Anne Kraemer and Friends

California’s best winemakers and emerging vintners alike come to Sutter Creek to get great grapes. Since 2005, winemakers–from Napa’s top tiers to fledgling natural vintners–have coveted the 14 varieties legendary vineyardist Anne Kraemer meticulously grows in Amador County in the Sierra foothills from Barbera, Grenache and Syrah to Tempranillo and Zinfandel. See why in this sampling of terroir-driven wines with Kraemer and selected winemakers.

Price: $50

Get your masterclass and/or Sunday tasting tickets 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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Monday, April 15, 2024

Slow Food's Terra Madre of the Americas May 18-19 (and Trade Tasting on 20th) Launches in Sacramento with Slow Wine USA Masterclasses!

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