Organic wine — What is it anyway?

Organic, biodynamic, and natural are three adjectives that are being applied to wine these days with increasing frequency. Many wine drinkers may not know what these terms mean or why some people seem to get so worked up over the issues surrounding them.

To try and shed some light on the subject, WineEnabler.com is offering a three part series exploring these compelling and sometimes controversial issues. The first of the three-part series starts with organic wine.

The start of the US organic movement

Farming practices prior to the 20th century are generally regarded as “organic”. While there are a few exceptions to this rule, such as the use of sulfur to control mold and fungus, farmers did not routinely rely on industrially produced fertilizers, pesticides, or herbicides. (This is not to say that these agricultural practices were sustainable or would produce sustainable wines. Organic processes are not inherently sustainable. Slash and burn agriculture is an excellent example.)

Following the end of World War II, the use of industrially produced fertilizers, pesticides, and herbicides took off. By the early ’60s, some people began to push back against this trend. In 1962, Rachel Carlson published the landmark book, Silent Spring. While the book focused on the effects of DDT on birds and their eggs, it served as a wake-up call to a small but growing number of environmentalists.

As people began to look for alternatives to commercial agricultural practices, they discovered J.I. Rodale. Rodale was a publisher who in 1942 began publishing Organic Farming and Gardening magazine (now called simply Organic Gardening). In 1972, Rodale Publishing produced the first standards for organic farming and established an organic farming certification program.

60 Minutes gets an “A”

The organic movement continued to make progress throughout the ’70s and the ’80s, but it was a 60 Minutes story called “A is for Apple” that got the commercial ball rolling. The 60 Minutes piece focused on Alar, a chemical used to keep apples hanging on the tree longer so all the apples could be harvested at one time. Tests showed that the chemical was ending up in baby formula and apple juice packaged for infants. Overnight, the demand for organic foods, in particular baby food, soared.

National organic standards

Increased demand for organic foods created the need for comprehensive standards and a certification program for organic farming and organic food products. Finally in 1990, the US Congress included the Organic Farm Production Act as part of the Farm Bill. Acting on the provisions of this bill, in 1992 the USDA created the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) and the National Organic Program (NOP). After 12 years, in October of 2002, the Organic Farm Production Act was implemented.

Organic wine and the legal framework

So what does all of this legal stuff have to do with drinking organic wine? Well, it turns out that the legislation contains guidelines for wine grape and wine production. While there are debates about some of the finer points of the regulations governing agricultural practices, in general they are accepted by the grape growers. The debate heats up, however, when it comes to guidelines surrounding bottled wine and how it is labeled.

For a wine to be labeled organic, current guidelines require the use of 100% organically grown grapes without the use of sulfur dioxide (SO₂). Wines that contain SO₂ may carry the designation “made from organic grapes”, if the SO₂ concentration is less than 100 ppm (CFR Title 7 Subpart D, § 205.301 (f), (5) (7)).

Further, NOP regulations prohibit the use of additional yeasts and fining agents in wine labeled as organic.

These restrictions greatly limit the amount of wine that can be labeled organic. The Organic Wine Company, a 25 year old firm attempting to specialize in organic wine sales, currently sells only 3 wines that meet current NOP guidelines.

So why do winemakers use additional yeast, fining agents, or SO₂?

Yeast occurs naturally and is found on all harvested grapes. Traditional wine making relies on the yeast found on the grapes to ferment the sugar in the must into wine. This approach works best in cool climates where the sugar content of the grapes produces a final alcohol concentration of approximately 12% or less. Many strains of yeast die around this alcohol concentration, stopping fermentation. If all of the sugar has not been consumed, the fermentation process can produce a sweet tasting wine.

Grapes that are grown in warm or hot climates such as the California or parts of Australia often produce grapes with sugar levels in excess of the concentration that would produce wines with a final alcohol concentration of about 12%. To ferment these grapes into wine, winemakers and microbiologist went looking for strains of yeast that survive at higher alcohol levels. It turns out that the yeast in some traditional breweries in Europe thrive at alcohol concentrations above 12%, and so winemakers began using these and other strains to make higher alcohol wines.

Alcohol tolerance is not the only trait that can be selected for when adding yeast. Microbiologists have devoted a lot of time to isolating and purifying specific strains of yeast. Using controlled studies, various characteristics in finished wine have been attributed to certain strains of yeast. Using commercially available yeast strains gives winemakers the ability to shape wines by selecting yeast that impart selected characteristics to a wine.

Fining agents are materials that are added to wine remove excess proteins and tannins. Excess proteins can turn white wines cloudy, and excess tannins can make red wines too astringent to drink. Fining agents do not remain in the wine but are removed when they settle out, taking some of the proteins and tannins with them. Other reasons for fining a wine include removing color or odors. Historically, some fining agents were derived from animal products, such egg whites and gelatin. Today, there are several fining agents in common use, but their use does not meet NOP rules.

Sulfur dioxide (SO₂) is a much more complicated issue. There are many people in the wine industry that think it is impossible to make good wine without its use. They feel this way because it is used throughout the winemaking process. SO₂ is often used to control bacteria and mold at harvest. Some winemakers use it to kill natural yeast so they can select the yeast strains for fermentation. Others use it to control bacteria during the barrel aging process.

But the most widespread use of SO₂ is an additive prior to bottling the wine. SO₂ is added to wine to prevent oxidation and act as an antimicrobial agent. SO₂ also binds with acetaldehyde formed in the wine. Acetaldehyde is a very strong smelling compound that is formed as a wine oxidizes. When SO₂ binds to the acetaldehyde, the acetaldehyde is prevented from vaporizing, and if a material does not vaporize you cannot smell it.

This means that omitting SO₂ can result in a wine that smells really bad, but then some people say that you make a bad smelling wine by adding SO₂. There are lots of issues here, not the least of which is that SO₂ can also be produced naturally during fermentation and under certain conditions in the bottled wine. If you are interested, you can find a detailed explanation of SO₂, how it is used, and how it protects wine in Jamie Goode’s book, The Science of Wine: From Vine to Glass.

So where does this leave a wine drinker who wants an organic wine?

It really depends on what organic means to you. Many people simply buy wine that is designated as “Made from Organic Grapes”, but for others this is not good enough.

Vegans still have legitimate concerns about the use of animal products as fining agents and may have to rely on resources other than the wine label to locate wine that meets their requirements.

If you are opposed to the use of SO₂ because you want a pure wine or SO₂ makes you sick, it might be awhile, if ever, before you have a large selection of wine available to you. There is hope, however, as recent developments such as airtight closures and improved grape handling may increase the shelf life of wines that are not treated with SO₂, generating a larger supply of sulfite-free wines in the market place.