Welcome!
Welcome to Organic 101!
By way of introduction, we are Anne Bousquet and Labid al Ameri, partners in life and in business, and passionate advocates for all things organic.
Our first encounter with organic farming dates back to the mid-nineties and the early days of our involvement in Domaine Bousquet, a certified organic wine estate in Argentina’s Uco Valley, founded by my father. With backgrounds in economics (me) and finance (Labid) and no experience in agriculture, we were ill-prepared, and the learning curve was steep — as you might imagine. Let’s start with the terminology: sustainable, organic, certified organic, biodynamic, natural. Information back then was scarce, scattered, confusing and contradictory. It still is. Our goal with this site is to help resolve that.
Interest in earth-friendly wines has exploded over the past decade, bringing with it a lot of questions. And we’ve learned a great deal in that time. Whether you are in the wine business or a wine lover looking to know more, we hope that you will find this a useful resource.
A final thought. Is this site self-serving? Of course! The more people we can convert to drinking organic, the better! We firmly believe that earth-friendly wines are good for the planet and here to stay. Spreading the gospel about these “green” wines is a good thing for all.
Anne & Labid
RGANIC Defined
Made with Organic Grapes: Means entirely made from certified organic grapes. Additional ingredients used in the winemaking process need not be organic, but they cannot be produced with the use of pesticides or synthetic fertilizers. Wines must be produced and bottled in an organic facility, and sulfites must be limited to 100 parts per million or less.
USDA Organic: The grapes are grown without the use of synthetic fertilizers, and all ingredients going into these wines, which includes yeast, must be certified organic. No sulfites may be added to these wines, naturally occurring sulfites are permitted. Only these wines may display the USDA organic seal.
A BRIEF HISTORY OF BIODYNAMICS
Agrochemicals emerged in the 19th century and began to gain acceptance.
During the first half of the twentieth century, their use became widespread when the few grape growers to have overcome phylloxera, World War I, the Great Depression, and World War II massively turned to agrochemicals to lessen their workload. In the process, vines became less and less able to survive without the chemicals.
By the 1960s, the poor state of soils gave impetus to the theory of biodynamics created in 1924 by Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner. He proposed that chemicals be replaced by one of nine herb and mineral-based preparations and that all tasks be done at their most effective time, based on lunar, solar, planetary rhythms.
The history of “green” farming is roughly divided into three waves.
Rudolf Steiner, occultist philosopher and founder of "anthroposophic agriculture", later known as "biodynamics".
1 1960s–early 1980s
Young idealists embrace organic and biodynamic principles.
Usually small, artisanal operations, they found the first organic-certified wineries.
2 Late 1980s–2000s
Two trends take hold. Led by marquee estates in
Burgundy, Alsace and the Loire, France becomes the epicenter of biodynamic winemaking.
Blending eco-idealism and business savvy, wineries around the world adopt organic farming methods. Selling good organic wines becomes a business model.
3 2010 to today
Again, two major trends.
Earth-friendly practices in some form or another start to become an industry norm – from artisanal, tiny production estates to huge operations managed by global companies.
The “less is more” movement in winemaking goes even more minimalist as categories such as “natural wines,” “vegan wines,” and “zero-zero” wines are introduced in the marketplace
GREEN
CERTIFICATIONS
DEFINED
Third party certifiers are used to prevent “greenwashing.” Producers must prove they are doing what they say they are doing. Certifying agencies not only require annual reports, but regular on-site inspections.
Aims to reduce environmental degradation by reducing use of chemicals, encouraging biodiversity and a healthy soil.
Sustainability means acting as a steward for future generations, seeing the land as a resource that must be replenished rather than overused.
More flexible in the vineyard and winery than organics or biodynamics, it denotes a less stringent approach. Chemicals can be used in a pinch. Because it takes economic sustainability into account.
More recently, the term has expanded in meaning to include social and economic impact – a holistic view that also looks at working conditions, community involvement, packaging, transportation and consumer education such as moderation campaigns.
No man-made chemicals vs. just minimizing use as with sustainability. All additives are organic, in the vineyard and at the winery (fining products, yeast, etc.). Grapes are grown organically and there are no-GMOs.
Because of differing regulations in the U.S. and EU concerning sulfites, EU wines labeled “organic” in the EU may have to state “made with organic grapes” when sold in the U.S.
In the U.S., no sulfites can be added during winemaking and the total cannot exceed 100 parts per million. In the EU, it’s 120 ppm for reds and 150 ppm for whites and rosés.
Combines the methods of organic agriculture (no man-made chemicals, no pesticides) with a philosophy where the land is part of the cosmos, influenced by tides, the moon, and stars.
Activities are planned according to the phases of the moon and time of day – there are root, leaf, flower and fruit days and hours.
The emphasis is on prevention of “illness” by making vines naturally more resistant to disease. Homeopathic infusions from plants and dung compost are the “foods” used to nurture the plants. Though quite spiritual in basis, winegrowers around the world see this agricultural method as producing not only healthier soil, but fruit with thicker skins, plants with stronger wood, and earlier ripening.
Kosher wine is a grape wine that is produced according to Judaism’s religious and dietary laws. In order for a wine to be kosher, it must be created under a rabbi’s immediate supervision, with only Sabbath-observant Jewish males touching the grapes from the crushing phase through the bottling.
Kosher-for-Passover wines must be made in a cellar that’s free of bread, dough, or grain products, or, perhaps most importantly, leavening agents (such as any non-kosher non-indigenous yeasts, which are often added in wineries to kickstart fermentation
Kosher wine is a grape wine that is produced according to Judaism’s religious and dietary laws. In order for a wine to be kosher, it must be created under a rabbi’s immediate supervision, with only Sabbath-observant Jewish males touching the grapes from the crushing phase through the bottling.
Kosher-for-Passover wines must be made in a cellar that’s free of bread, dough, or grain products, or, perhaps most importantly, leavening agents (such as any non-kosher non-indigenous yeasts, which are often added in wineries to kickstart fermentation
This label guarantees the wine is vegan; the wine has not come into contact with any animal products during production or bottling.
In practice, that means that fining – the act of removing proteins called “colloids” that later cause a wine to be hazy – is done not with egg whites, casein (found in milk) or isinglass, a product derived from fish bladders, but with bentonite clay carbon, limestone, kaolin clay, plant casein or silica gel.
In bottling, the bottle is not sealed with beeswax or with compound corks made using milk-based glues.
Vegan certification, in general, does not cover what happens in the vineyard – so guano, for example, can be used to fertilize.
Vegan certifies the product.
Are organic wines more expensive?
Does organic wine taste better?
Taste aside, are organic wines different?
Surprisingly, unlike most organic products, there is currently no upcharge for organic wine, even though it can cost more to produce as yields are around 15% to 20% less than conventional wines. It also takes around 30% more man-hours to cultivate organically than conventionally, and then there are the costs of certification. However, until now, consumers of lower to mid-priced wines buy on price, grape variety, region, and scores. High-end, collectable wines sell on prestige and scores. To date, the fact that a wine is organic is an added benefit, not the key feature that will move a wine from shelf or list to the home or glass at a restaurant. However, with interest in organic wines growing, especially among sommeliers and people in the trade and a more educated public, that is likely to change.
The jury is out. There is no conclusive evidence that organics and biodynamics result in better tasting wines, although it’s hard to argue against leaving behind a healthy environment or that a producer going through the work of certifying organic shows a care and concern likely means a better product. One study, entitled “Sustainable practices and product quality: Is there value in eco-label certification?, and conducted in 2020 by Magali Delmas of UCLA and Olivier Gergaud of Kedge Business in France, concluded organic and biodynamic wines garner better scores. Bottom line: Though some influential people in the wine business, such as importer Kermit Lynch and famed wine critics Robert Parker and Jancis Robinson, assert biodynamic wines taste better, most of us likely can’t taste the difference.
Producers, however, probably wouldn’t go through the extra work and cost if the organic/biodynamic wines weren’t better. They argue that to make a wine that has a real personality and reflects the character of the local terroir, it must be grown on a healthy soil … and a healthy soil, teeming with millions of microorganisms, comes from organic and biodynamic farming. They also point to thicker grape skins resulting in more flavors and color. Some biodynamic producers also feel their wines are less prone to oxidation, meaning an opened bottle will stay fresh longer. Now that’s a winner!