The clear answer is yes, eco-friendly wines can and do taste great. In fact, organic and biodynamic farming methods are being used today to produce some of the best winegrapes in the world.

The increasing focus on sustainable farming methods underscores what French viticulturists have known and emphasized in winemaking for centuries—namely, the importance of terroir (pronounced terr-whar). Terroir refers to the unique growing environment of each vineyard, including especially the characteristics of the local soil.

Most clearly honored in France, terroir is what creates the subtle flavors and aromas of winegrapes from a given place. It’s what distinguishes grapes from one grower to another, from one vineyard to another, or even from one block in a vineyard to another block in the same vineyard.

Organically grown grapes tend to reflect terroir more strongly than other winegrapes because all the elements composing the character of the soil are either preserved or enhanced through sustainable farming methods. According to soil expert Claude Bourgignon, organic practices to promote living soil result in the formation of a symbiotic relationship between grape rootlets and fungi, which permits the uptake of many trace minerals. WineSmith winemaker and educator Clark Smith says, “It's easy to taste the difference between wine grown in living soil vs one where pesticides and herbicides are employed excessively—the latter have no finish, and the former have a lively energy on the back palate.”

The French are at the forefront of organic farming and organic viticulture. Some of the best wine producers on the planet—Romanée-Conti or La Coulée de Serrant, for instance—have long followed the principles of organic or biodynamic farming as an obvious quality choice. And recently the French government passed a requirement to cut the use of chemicals in all agricultural fields by 50% to combat the long-term issues created by chemical fertilizers, weed killers and pesticides in the food chain.

Veronique Raskin, founder of The Organic Wine Company, is an expert on organic wine growing. Her family has been making certified organically grown wine for more than thirty-five years on a fifty-acre family estate, Château Bousquette, in the Languedoc-Rousillon region of Southern France. Now importing organically grown wine to the United States from France, Italy, Spain, Portugal and New Zealand, her company specializes in finding the best earth-friendly wines. “All of our wines are made in partnership with Nature with certified organic grapes. They are free of pesticides, herbicides, chemical fertilizers and other synthetic chemicals. Essential preservatives (sulfur dioxide or sulfites) are kept to a minimum.” says Raskin. “These are excellent wines with excellent taste.”

“Many of our customers, especially those who, like me, are chemically sensitive, rave about the fact that they don’t have headaches or other unpleasant reactions after drinking our wine (sensibly!). They appreciate our great tasting wines without the side effects!” she states.

“With the continued expansion of the market for nutritionally sound foods, we stand proud of promoting and providing the best quality one can hope for when looking for a wine with body (its structure), heart (its maker's pulse) and spirit (its connection with Nature)”, says Raskin.

As she points out, structure is indeed critical in good wine and “organically grown wine” has plenty of it. In the past though wines made from organically grown grapes have often been confused with the official label “organic wine”, which suffers commercially from the poor reputation of often being “flabby” and lacking in structure.

The difference between “wine made from organically grown grapes” and “organic wine” is simple. It comes down to the presence of added sulfites in the wine. According to the USDA’s National Organic Program, an “organic wine” is defined as "a wine made from organically grown grapes and without any added sulfites".

Winemakers generally agree that it is extremely difficult to produce high quality wine without the benefit of at least minute quantities of added sulfites. “Sulfite-free” wines—that is, wines with no added sulfites—are far more susceptible to oxidation and highly sensitive to changes in the physical environment such as temperature, pressure, or vibration, making it difficult to guarantee quality beyond a fairly short time and distance from their place of production.

Wines made from organically grown grapes, by contrast, do contain minimal added sulfites to guard against bacterial spoilage, thereby stabilizing the wine structure and color. They do not contain residues of other chemical fertilizers, pesticide sprays or weed killers. As a result, the natural terroir shines through and the wine becomes a clear reflection of the unique vineyard environment which winemakers aspire to showcase in their wines.

If you are looking for a new wine tasting adventure, try a few of the new organically grown wines available now, including some from top California producers. You can enjoy them knowing your wine is contributing only good—to the earth, to your body and, most of all, to your palate.

Sources:

¹GrapeCrafter, The Wine Technology Blog, “Wine without sulfites, Roman-style”, Posted by Clark Smith on October 21, 2006.