I have heard some of the old school winemakers and suppliers snort dismissively about sustainability and organic agriculture. They used to be rather smug in the belief that their wines were of higher quality than the 'treehuggers'.
Well, buckle up boys, because those days are over. Now there is tremendous quality and diversity to be found among the world's organic, biodynamic & natural wine offerings. And yes, to the unconverted or just plain cynical, it appears as just clever marketing to be seen as 'green'.
Millennial wine lovers in particular expect companies to be responsible (76% of millennials emphasized the importance of brands being ecologically conscious).
Of course, there are many wineries that operate sustainably out of conviction and if it helps sales, all the better.
If one can turn a profit while caring for the planet and the health of your workers at the same time, that seems a laudable goal to me.
A 1999 study sites 539 cases of pesticide poisoning among California vineyard workers. This was reported cases only. The next highest category was for broccoli (399 cases of pesticide poisoning). I would love to hear if any readers have more recent data.
Lets just assume that most people would rather not work around or with toxic chemicals.
Cowhorn Winery in Oregon hasn't missed a beat when it comes to the triple bottom line & wine. The winery is a certified organic grape grower, as well as a Demeter certified biodynamic grower & winery. This means they also use native yeasts.
But beyond the grapegrowing and winemaking, Cowhorn also 'upcycles' wine bottles via The Green Glass Company and recycles their corks.
But here's the thing, the wines were very good. Crisp, clean, fruit forward wines that can battle any conventionally produced wine out there. Personally, I would love to see what these wines tasted like if the new oak was dialed back a bit further(right now the wines are a blend of new & old oak barrel treatment). But that is my personal taste and one that many wine lovers may not care about at all.
Cowhorn Syrah 2007 $32
Deep purple color. Pick up some spicy oak on the nose. Loads of boysenberry & blackberry fruit. Great acids on the finish with a hint of roasted meat. 13.5% alcohol
Cowhorn Spiral 36 White Blend 2008 $18
Light golden color. Lovely pear & apple flavors, firm acids, a pretty wine at 13.4% alcohol
Viognier 35%, Marsanne 30%, Roussanne 35%
*Cowhorn Syrah 2007 and Cowhorn Spiral 36 were sent to me as samples.
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
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5 comments:
Just stumbled upon your blog.
Thank you for bringing this issue in front of more eyes. Around 12 years ago I sold wine from a mostly organic/biodynamic portfolio and experienced much of the pushback concerning these practices from my clientele. It is worth noting that I sold some pretty amazing wines from the likes of Mark Angeli and Guy Bossard. It is really gratifying to see more folks get into these wines not only because of the repercussions to our health and planet, but also realizing that these wines are just better, and markedly so.
Thanks for the tip on the Oregon producer. I am always looking for wineries like this in America.
Going to check out Cleanskins now.
If you've had a Chapoutier wine in the last couple of decades, you can't be in doubt about whether biodynamic methods are capable of producing superior wines.
Does Cleanskins have a statement of the wine production methods to which its represented producers should at least aspire? "Natural" means anything at all; all wine is natural in some sense. "Organic" means whatever the government can be influenced, from one country to the next, to call organic. My impression is that "Demeter certified biodynamic" genuinely means something, although I haven't done any in-depth research. Of one thing we can be certain: however "natural" may be defined, more producers will want to appear natural to the market than will find it convenient actually to be natural in practice. So: does "natural" mean anything on which consumers may reasonably rely?
Henri Vasnier,
Good question! Unfortunately, my answer is: At the present time, NO - 'Natural' just means whatever whoever writes it wants it to mean! I believe that until the issue is legally resolved, consumers will have to use common sense and do their "due diligence", ie get to know and trust their producer(s); and we producers will have to reach out and get our consumers to know and trust us
Fabius,
Your comments are always so thoughtful and sensible! Thanks for contributing.
Hi Henry,
After working for other wine companies for many years, I have finally have my own little company, Cleanskins Wine. My main rule is that I really like the wine and the people, both the people who make it and the people who buy it from me.
Some producers are certified and some are not, that is just fine by me. I sympathize with their avoidance of bureacracy. I agree with Fabius, consumers can either get to know and trust certain wine producers. Or just buy from the certified producers if that is their preference.
I do have a link in the post to Demeter about biodynamic farming.
Further, since organic and biodynamic production do have certifying bodies already, I am not convinced that vin naturel must be certified as well.
More good wine, less paperwork!
Wow, nice discussion. I don't usually read such clear comments about "natural, organic and Biodynamic." As one of the owners of Cowhorn, I am biased about certifcation. I just don't know how consumers of wine, who are geographically diverse, can get to know their grape farmer thus insuring their knowledge of the farming and winery processes. Independent certification eliminates the guesswork. For me, the best of both worlds is enjoying certified wines from far away places and local wines from farmers I trust. Thanks for listening!
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