All over the world, people have become more conscious of what they are putting into their bodies. It only stands to reason that alcohol would be part of the natural progression of this organic eating movement.
Just as within the organic food movement, there are a variety of ways to classify how wine has been produced. As wine goes, the four most prevalent classifications are; organic wine, sustainable wine, biodynamic wine and sulphite free wine. All four practices involve different techniques, guidelines and certifications – these can be a little confusing, so let us explain.
Organic Wine
Organic wine is made from grapes that have been grown organically. These grapes will have been grown on an organic farm and that farm will have received the same organic farming certification as an organic pear or apple farm. Organic wine is the only wine that can carry any type of legal certification. The approval from legal bodies signifies that the wine in the bottle has been made with 100% organically grown ingredients and has been monitored throughout the whole winemaking process, from vine to bottle.
Sustainable Wine
Sustainable practices to grow wine are based on ideas that farming is not only good for the environment, but it also makes great economic sense. This means that the farmer might largely rely on and use organic farming practices, but if some of those practices don’t make economic sense (e.g., they are too expensive), the farmer might skip a few of them. Sustainable wine doesn’t have a formal certification, but there are several well-known and respected organisations and associations that winemakers can join to formally list themselves as a sustainable vineyard.
Biodynamic Wine
A biodynamic wine goes above and beyond organic farming practices, in a bid to balance the entire vineyard with the moon cycles and nature. This method is based on the writings of Rudolf Steiner, who believed that a vineyard is one ecosystem, that when in true balance will grow the best possible fruit. Biodynamic farming practices are widely used and accepted all around the world, but like sustainable wine, there is no formal verification for it. Therefore, many biodynamic winemakers are choosing to add the organic certification to their bottles, as they have in fact been grown and processed organically, as well as biodynamically.
Sulphite Free Wine
Sulphite free wine is wine that is produced with no added sulphites. Sulphites occur naturally in wines; they are produced during the fermentation process. They are added to wines in order to prevent oxidisation and to maintain a wine’s freshness. However, there is a movement towards sulphite free wines as they only contain naturally occurring sulphites, just the way that nature intended it. Producing wine that has a lower sulphite content can be difficult in practice, as even some organic wine producers find it difficult.
With the continued drive towards health, vitality and looking after our bodies; it is easy to see that these types of wine will be growing in popularity quickly. More vineyards are considering a move into the “no added sulphites” approach in order to keep up with the demand.
