Wines are made mainly of grapes, so basically it is the growth of grape that makes a wine of a specific type. Same goes for organic wines.
What are organic wines?
A quality of wine is directly proportionate to the type of grape used. Organic wines are wines that are made from grapes cultivated with no use of synthetic herbicides fungicides and fertilizers. A good quality organic wine can only be produced if the base product, that is the grapes, are of good quality. And we all know that organically grown grapes are free from chemical dependency. People who respect the environment and biodiversity encourage growth of these organically grown grapes, thereby encouraging the growth of organic wine.
In organic vineyards grapes are grown on living soil that is filled with bacteria and worms. These things help the grape to grow to its appropriate level acting as minerals for the grape plant. These grapes are very beneficial as they have resistance power to fight many diseases.
These days there are many wines with organic labels and people get confused as to what it is basically.
Basically grape growing is organic by nature, but these days for fast growth and quantity people have started using various chemicals in their vineyards, which is making grape growth a bit synthesized.
Hence, when we say organic wine we mean wine made from organically grown grapes.
How did organic wines come about?
In 1990 congress passed a law called the Organic Foods Act which had the purpose of protecting handlers, producers, retailers, processors, and consumers of organic food from fake labels. It controlled the aspect that a product being labeled as organic were actually organic. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) was given the right to make laws regarding food and food products.
In this act fermented beverages were also included hence; automatically the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms (ATF) became part of it. This agency is responsible to make laws regarding beverage drinks including wine and other alcoholic drinks.
It was announced that a wine can be labeled as organic only if it is certified by some accredited or recognized certifying agency. However, that did not include the finished product of wine in the organic category. Sometime later, Hallcrest Vineyards and the Organic Wine Works took a step against it and challenged the ATF. So they became the first to have an organic label on their wine that was purely based on inspection of raw materials, its methods and various records. It is since then that wineries have the option of giving its wine an organic label that is based on proper inspection by ATF.
These labels also come in four different categories:
1. 100% Organic
2. Organic
3. Made With Organic Ingredients
4. Wine made with Some Organic Ingredients
Line BreakAuthor: Patricia Fioriello (81 Articles)
