The 2026 Record Setting Guide is now available! Out of 409 fine wine wineries, 256 have certified organic vines or are in transition to organic, biodynamic or regenerative organic certification.
SEE PHOTO ON ORGANICWINEUNCORKED ON SUBSTACK
Slow Wine Guide party for 2026 guide field contributors (writers), editors and wineries held at Robert Hall Winery in Paso Robles in 2025.
As the 2026 Slow Wine Guide USA launches this week, the creation of a dedicated team of wine writers, wine judges and other wine professionals, the book has reached its biggest numbers ever with a record 409 wineries, up from 380 in 2025.
As its managing editor (working closely with my work bestie, national editor Deborah Parker Wong), I can say it’s a pleasure to have seen our illustrious team grow to 21 field contributors who help us fulfill our mission of in person, on site visits for each winery.
We’ve been buoyed by past praise…SF Chronicle’s beloved wine writer Esther Mobley said we were the best place to find out if a wine was farmed with Roundup, while US born, Catalunya based wine expert Miguel Hudin said we had created “An Ethos of Sanity in What is an Insane World.” That latter phrase rings truer than ever in this current moment when so many lies abound and misinformation floods the zone.
The Most Transparent Wine Guide on the Planet
Slow Wine USA has been a force for transparency indeed, and that, above all, makes me so proud to have contributed to the only wine guide–yes, in the U.S.–that follows the format of showing the fertilizer, the weed control, the plant protection and other wine farming facts that no other wine guide publishes. It is a brilliant format and I salute our Italian sponsors at Slow Wine Italy for coming up with it. In addition, it lists pertinent winemaking facts as well–what types of yeast (native, etc.) as well the type of aging vessel, case production and more for more than 1,200 wines (three per winery).
We also salute all the producers in the guide–who respond to our inquiries and share more of their farming and winemaking facts with us than other reviewers.
It is simply the best and most comprehensive guide to eco friendly wines, valuing both farming and wine quality in equal measure.
Many wineries who forgo herbicides still use fungicides, but that disqualifies them for Snail consideration.
Our USA guide was the first to say “we do not review wines farmed with Roundup or other synthetic herbicides.”
A winery can make other wines farmed with Roundup. They are just not the ones we review.
Aside from concerns about human health, Roundup is most definitely a soil killer, and one would be hard pressed to say a wine is a “wine of terroir” if the soil is treated with synthetic herbicide. (Although hundreds of wineries do say that, including fine wine wineries.)
This year, the Italian Slow Wine Guide followed suit on the herbicide prohibition, that we in the USA started first.
May it continue.
Many Things Are Left Unsaid
It can be awkward for some wineries to follow the Slow Wine guidelines, for there are wonderful and famous wineries in long term contracts with Roundup dousing old vine vineyards (even the head trained ones) who prefer not to be in the guide lest someone discover the brand reputation is not wholly defined by their certified organic estate (obscuring from view that they purchase grapes that are not as pure as the driven snow).
There are many instances of mistaken identity in other Green Wine designations (I think of the Robert Parker green award). Unless a winery is all estate, which is unique in the U.S., green is a wine by wine determination, not necessarily a winery category.
Call it the hybrid producer problem–wineries that have very green estates but buy from additional wine grapes from growers who do not. Some famous names would appear here if not for my discretion in shielding them from view.
The same hybrid producer problem goes for unnamed natural winemakers who just need to buy more grapes and don’t really want anyone to know they’re buying grapes sprayed with synthetic fungicide for instance. It’s not illegal, but many of those fungicides are bird and bee neurotoxins.
Or a winery can have sheep grazing in the fields and still use herbicide–i.e. have their rented sheep munching among recently sprayed, herbicided grasses. A agro-non-ecological nightmare.
When the founders of Sonoma Valley’s SORBET group observed this happening, much to their consternation, it spurred the organic folks to form a collective to combat that type of greenwashing deception.
Herbicide Free Wine
I think after all we have been through to create and adhere to this criteria at Slow Wine, a little bragging about the criteria of herbicide free wines is ok.
Asking marketing directors at hundreds of wineries if the wines they represent are farmed with Roundup, fungicides, conventional fertilizer, etc. has been an education for those we’ve crossed paths with in the course of writing this guide, year in and year out.
People are now more familiar with these attributes.
It goes far beyond “does it have sulfites” and natural winemakers saying “We did nothing” over and over.
Proud to Honor Our Snails | Wineries That Use No Synthetic Chemicals in the Vines
Napa - 25
Oregon - 21
Sonoma - 17
Williamette Valley - 15
Paso Robles - 9
Santa Barbara County - 8
Slow Wine USA also lists certifications where they are used, and also includes the uncertified, recognizing that good farming requires a clean Pesticide Use Report, not a certification certificate. Our Italian Slow Wine leaders created this criteria and it enables us to be much more inclusive than if we were an organic only guide.
An Educational Journey
We spotcheck the uncertified California wineries, using our state’s fantastic pesticide use reports, in the hopes that we can encourage and validate transparency. Of course, we are not omniscient so we do have rely on what wineries tell us, but cross referencing official spray reports gives us some degree of confidence. Would that every state had mandatory pesticide use reporting like California does.
We also require wineries to report the percentage of grapes they purchase–a very revealing and useful indicator, as most people have no idea wineries buy grapes or in what quantity. Often it is a surprise to consumers and even to wine professionals. Clearly more education is needed in the industry among wine educators, retailers and wine professionals.
The Love In These Wines
In the end, what matters most is being able to say to our readers, this guide encompasses 409 great wineries and more than 1,200 wines you might want to try. They range in price from $16 per bottle (Folk Machine’s White Light, also available in 3L boxes for $42) to the luxury tier stratosphere (Adamvs at $425, for instance).
Every one of the Snails, in order to be a Snail, cannot use synthetics, whether they are fungicides or herbicides, insecticides or conventional fertilizer.
This year we have a record number of Snails.
Price is, uniquely, one of the criteria, for a Snail should not be overly costly.
Bravo for the fine quality of our wineries who meet these high standards. And for all the shoe leather guide writers put in and the many hours the production staff in Italy devote to this endeavor.
2025-6 A Banner Year, A Turning Point
Aside from all this, the past year was a banner year, with the launch of the first full fledged Terra Madre USA in Sacramento. which included more than 100 of our wineries engaged in panels and tastings.
PHOTO: see on substack. Regenerative organic pioneer Caine Thompson, then general manager of O’Neill’s Robert Hall Winery in Paso Robles, giving a talk on agroforestry at the inaugural Terra Madre of the Americas held in Sacramento
Buying the Guide
Interested in buying a copy of the guide? It’s a fitting tribute during Earth Month and a show of support to our stellar team (and the wineries) who provide so much value in this amazingly thorough and comprehensive guide.
Get your 2026 guide on Amazon or from Bookshop here and get to know “all the best people”, and their wines” and wineries.
Makes a great gift, too, so buy a few copies for friends.
Thank you for supporting Slow Wine USA.
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