Eco Friendly Wine Tasting Results Are In!

In honor of Earth Day we recently held a wine tasting of organic and bio-dynamic wines. We paired the wines with organic and local foods, and we were pretty excited until we got to the organic quinoa and sweet potato cakes which were what you would expect to find in a health food store in the 70s (i.e.: weird), but I digress.

Here is what is interesting about organic wines…just like everything else in the eco space, there are a number of designations and meanings. It is quite confusing and even as I write this I am still learning. At its most basic, a certified organic wine means that the grapes were farmed organically and no chemical pesticides, herbicides or fungicides were used. A wine that is “made with organic grapes” means just that, the grapes were farmed organically but the wine was produced with some chemicals. Another term that the Europeans use is “practicing organic” which means that the wine is made from organic grapes but was produced with a low level of chemicals, most likely sulfites which help to stabilize and preserve wines. Then there are bio-dynamic wines…bio-dynamic refers to an advanced form of organic farming that treats each farm as its own ecosystem and places great importance on the  positions of the moon, sun and planets. A Planting Calendar is used for all farming activities which means that the grapes are farmed in accordance with the rhythms of nature (sounds a bit woo woo but who am I to say?)

Despite the multiple terms, one thing that is consistent is that organic and bio-dynamic wines tend to be more expensive that non organic wines. Why? Well all of those chemicals means less crop disease and greater yields so grape growers can get more grapes per acre at less cost. And speaking as a marketer, I am going to guess that there is also probably a bit of up charge for the sprinkle of magic in the “organic” label.

Cost was the reason why Kyle at Esquin recommended all European wines for our tasting. His take is that the Europeans have been farming organically for years, “it’s just how they do it”, thus the wines are less expensive than their US equivalents. For you hard core greens out there this is likely an unsatisfying way to look at it because of the carbon released as part of transporting the wines from Europe to the US, so mea culpa to you.

On to the wines….we had a very interesting mix of French and Italian wines and it is worth noting that of the approximately 2000 organic wine producers worldwide, 885 of them are in France.  Here was the line up:
– 2009 Vigneto di Gino, Verdicchio dei Castelli de Jesi, retailing for $15.99 (Italian white wine)
– 2011 Mas de Daumas Gassac Blanc, $54.99 (spendy French white)

– 2010 Les Baux de Provence, Mas de Gourgonnier, $21.99 (French red)
– 2010 San Fereolo Dolcetto; $19.99 (Italian red)

The feedback from the tribes was somewhat mixed. Wine # 2 (the Mas de Daumas Gassac Blanc aka: the spendy French white) was the favorite of both the Balanced and Complex tribes. This wine has organic grapes and uses no chemical fertilizers and while it does have sulfites it is produced in a way that is gentle on the earth. The Balanced tribe liked its smell of fresh air, juniper and green grass and commented on its easy drinkability. The Complex tribe liked its warm outdoorsy smell and appreciated its tastes of pear and apple. The Developed Tribe liked this one without food but not with, and found its scent to be unpleasant after it had been uncorked for a while (“cat urine on rug” to be specific).

Speaking of the Developed Tribe, their favorite was #4, the Dolcetto…they appreciated the smoke and berry smell and liked how the woodsy smokiness carried through to the taste of burnt crème caramel. The Dolcetto was the preferred red for the Balanced tribe as well (but that isn’t saying much considering how strongly they disliked the tannins of the Mas de Gourgonnier). Not surprisingly the Complex tribe preferred the Mas de Gourgonnier over the Dolcetto, because they liked the tastes of white pepper and citrus and appreciated the tannins and dry finish. Note that the Mas de Gourgonnier is certified organic and the Dolcetto is bio dynamic.

You may be asking yourself, well what about wine #1, the Vigneto di Gino, Verdicchio dei Castelli de Jesi? This bio dynamic wine was so interesting that I would suggest that you go buy a bottle to try. First off it stinks…badly. It conjured up scents of “boy’s gym bag”, “sulphur and barnyard” and “burnt tires” but it tasted lovely. Initial floral tastes finish off with honey and it had a really rich mouth feel. It was an experience and worth the money, despite the initial smells.

To summarize, if you are in the Balanced or Complex tribe cough up the dough and check out the 2011 Mas de Daumas Gassac Blanc and if you are in the Developed tribe go for the 2010 San Fereolo Dolcetto. And just for fun, all of you should consider the Verdicchio dei Castelli de Jesi.

Organic and bio-dynamic wines are definitely worth a try, be it on Earth Day or any other day because you can smell and taste the land in these wines. If you would like to check out some organic and/or bio-dynamic wines that are closer to home, consider Grgich Hills and Benzinger, both from California. And for those of you interested in learning more about bio-dynamics, check out this site, it was the most comprehensive one I could find: biodynamics.in.

Cheers to Earth Day!