Organic wine, welcome to my personal hell
Welcome to my own little slice of hell: organic wine. I am writing an article about eco-conscious wines for Style Magazine for the May/April issue. It has been suprisingly difficult to write. First of all, there is the whole problem of the organic wine movement to be a farce. Wine hasn’t been organic for 500 years, and the idea that wine can be made organically is about as convincing as making an organic automobile. If you plant a vine in the ground, its gonna die in a few months–its that simple. We rely on technology & agricultural science to grow grapes and make wine. A truly organic wine, made without any manipulation by man, is impossible except in one place: Chile.
Another issue, and the one that most of the folks who buy organic wine focus one, is the use of preservatives in wine, namely sulfur compounds. Why so many people think that sulfites are a health issue is beyond me, since a simple search on Google shows otherwise. Not only is the issue of sulfur compounds a red herring, wines claiming to be organic still have sulfites, just below the threshold they have to report to the Fed. Plus, you can claim to add no sulfites, as long the ones you add are some of the simpler types.
So, instead of focusing on Organic and no-sulfite wines, I am writing about two other agricultural movements that actually do environmental good: sustainable & biodynamic viticulture. The only problem with these is that there are no accepted regulatory bodies that certify that wineries are sustainable or biodynamic, except in New Zealand. That means I have to do alot of research to find wineries that actually work in this fashion. Plus, I need to make sure the wines will actually be available in wine shops come next April. Oh well.
Oh, the picture is of Carston Hell, a German sommelier. I thought it was funny…
Keith Wallace
Keith is the founder of the Wine School of Philadelphia. He has written for many publications, including the Daily Beast, and the Huffington Post. He is the the author of Corked & Forked, available at all fine bookstores. A former executive chef and professional winemaker, Keith enjoys living in Center City, Philadelphia with his wife and two dogs. He is also the National Sommelier for Bacchus Selections, and a founding member of the National Wine School.
