AND MUCH AS WINE HAS PLAYED THE INFIDEL,
AND ROBB’D ME OF MY ROBE OF HONOR—WELL,
I WONDER OFTEN WHAT THE VINTNERS BUY
ONE HALF SO PRECIOUS AS THE STUFF THEY SELL.
The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam
Wine completes a meal. It is the finishing touch for everyday dinners and essential for special occasions. If the wine is particularly good and properly aged, it can steal the show.
But must it be organic?
Behind that question lies a story. Years ago, some producers who were more focused on the political implications of organic wines than the sensuous aspects of the beverage itself made some pretty poor wines with the word “organic” loudly displayed on the label. Organic wine became synonymous with mediocrity. Meanwhile, many fine wineries wanted their grapes grown organically because they knew that a biologically active soil would produce better tasting grapes; they didn’t want themselves and their vineyard workers exposed to harmful chemicals; and they wanted to preserve the purity of the beautiful country where fine wine grapes flourished. But they didn’t want to put “organic” on their label, because that would hurt sales.
Do you like Frog’s Leap Zinfandel? It’s organically grown. Kenwood Cabernet? Organically grown. Phelps, Lolonis, Fetzer, Bonterra, Coturri, Niebaum-Coppola, ZD wines, Morgan—all organically grown. And the list goes on and on. But you wouldn’t necessarily know it from their labels.
That reluctance to use the word “organic” may finally be changing. The demand for organic wine has resulted in a boom in organic viticulture in California, where total organic acreage has zoomed from 178 acres in 1989 to approximately 15,000 fifteen years later. It’s becoming easier and easier to find organic and organically grown wines in supermarkets.
One of the world’s largest wineries is Boisset of France, with sales of $330 million in 2003 and exports to eighty countries. Bill Arbios, one of Boisset’s winemakers, says, “Around the world, Boisset has numerous ventures and they are taking all of their projects biodynamic or organic. It is all predicated on maximizing quality in the vineyard rather than in the winery, when it’s too late” to do much to improve the quality of the grapes.
Biodynamic agriculture follows theories laid down by Rudolf Steiner, founder of the Waldorf School system, in the 1920s. His metaphysical approach involves connecting agriculture to a higher, spiritual wisdom through the preparation of certain soil- and plant-enhancing natural sprays, the use of auspicious and inauspicious days for farm activities, and the degree of understanding of life processes exhibited by the farmer. Although it sounds fetishistic to some, biodynamics can show good results, and satisfy a longing in many individuals for a deeper connection to the earth. All biodynamic farms are organic.
Many top wineries worldwide are increasingly using organic or biodynamic techniques in the vineyards.
THE ORGANIC FACTOR
Grapevines are sturdy plants that don’t need to be drenched in chemicals to perform their task. With wine grapes, soils shouldn’t be too rich or too moist or the plant will respond with big berries. Since almost all the flavor components of wine are in the skins, small berries mean a higher ratio of skin to juice—and consequently more flavor in the wine. Small berries result when vines are forced to struggle for water and nutrients. A little compost, a meager sip of water from irrigation lines—that’s about all they get.
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