Should you choose organic wine?

Hi—thank you so much for your feedback on my article. After extensive research, as well as travel through wine country, I wanted to present a balanced and realistic guide for natural products consumers shopping for organic wine. I spoke with multiple experts—some winemakers, some distributors dealing with wines that are both “made with organic grapes” and USDA Organic. I of course also spoke with multiple consumers and wine enthusiasts. My intent was not at all to malign USDA Organic wines, as there are certainly great options out there! However, the topic of wines “made with organic grapes” (made with USDA Organic grapes but with a small amount of added sulfites) came up in multiple conversations with various sources. My research showed that these wines can satisfy many environmental and health goals, such as reduced pesticides exposure, despite not bearing the USDA seal. Plus, they are more readily available—and present more options—to our consumers. Yes, there are wonderful USDA Organic wines; however, they are more difficult to find. If you are not allergic to sulfites, it’s not as urgent that you seek them out. With that said, I think it’s great if consumers branch out, trying both USDA Organic wines and wines “made with organic grapes” to find new favorites.

Many sources that I spoke with still maintain wines “made with organic grapes” are more consistent than USDA Organic wines, since sulfites do act as a stabilizer and preservative. For me, it was a lot about availability and accessibility. My first paragraph merely addresses the issues with early organic wines. I do note that organic wines have improved vastly, an assertion that was unanimous in my interviews. When I say “usually due to a lack of added sulfite preservatives, which are prohibited by USDA organic regulations,” this is in reference to organic wines specifically (as in, that’s the reason why an organic wine might oxidize or spoil, NOT to say that oxidation or spoiling in general is exclusive to the organic category). You are right: A lot of wine shops don’t carry organic wines, so when a bottle spoils one couldn’t possibly always blame it on no sulfites. However, Delicious Living reaches natural products consumers, who are specifically shopping for organic and natural products.

If Paolo Bonetti’s wish came true and there was a shift in USDA organic regulations allowing wines made from 100 percent organic grapes to be marketed as USDA Organic, we wouldn’t even be having this conversation!