Wine Goes Green: Natural Wines Creating a Stir

It goes without saying that green is the new red. There’s a new trend on the horizon and we’re not sure if it will really catch on or if this is just a fad. Organic wine is becoming the talk of the town…or at least a buzz on a few lips. So, what is this weird stuff anyway? Does it taste better? Or does it just give us the illusion of feeling like we are doing something better than we were…

In order to understand this notion of “green” wine, you must understand that when making wine, grapes are grown, picked, crushed, and fermented. It is important to understand this because “going green” has an impact on both the grape growing and grape fermenting stages. At both points it is possible to add additives and chemicals which is usually the case with conventional wineries. When a vineyard decides to “go green”, it is deleting or reducing the amount of chemicals such as pesticides and herbicides introduced to grapes used in the viticulture process.

Whether a wine is truly organic depends …some vineyards declare their wine organic if there are no chemicals sprayed on the grapes in the growing stage. However, in order for a wine to be certified organic by the United States Department of Agriculture, it must not only use organic grapes, but it must not have any additives in the fermenting stage…pretty high standards. Some argue that merely using organic grapes, but using additives during fermentation, defeats the purpose of “going green” or “going organic” in the first place. 

There is still much debate about whether these wines taste better than their conventional counterparts. That, my friend, is up to you to decide. Here are some “green” wines for you to try out for yourself courtesy of Food & Wine Magazine. Cheers!

There may be no vintner more forthcoming than practicing-biodynamic producer Randall Grahm: The back label of his savory, dry, Grenache-dominant rosé lists copper sulfate, oak chips and yeast hulls as ingredients. Fortunately, it tastes better than it reads.

Telmo Rodriguez, a leading practicing-organic winemaker in Spain, creates delicious bargains like this crisp Rueda white.

Marc Kreydenweiss, one of the best winemakers in Alsace, uses certified-biodynamic grapes. His Pinot Blanc is full-bodied and dry, with a minerally finish.

This earthy Paso Robles Syrah with appealing cherry aromas comes from a practicing-biodynamic winemaker, Tim Spear, who says it was fermented while classical music was playing.

Gamay is the grape used in making Beaujolais; this bright, juicy red from Doug Tunnell, Oregon’s leading certified-organic winemaker, gives Beaujolais lovers a good reason to buy American.