Organic Wine

Recent updates by the USDA say that “a wine made from organically grown grapes and without any added sulfites” is what constitutes a “certified organic” wine. That’s a problem. You see, wine that is made without any added sulfates is very unstable; the quality is unstable, the color is unstable, and the taste is really unstable.

What were once sold as “organic wines” are now sold as “wines made from organic grapes.” This means that the grapes used to make the wine were grown in an organic method. No artificial pesticides or fertilizers were used on the grapevines.

The wine makers are not happy campers, to say the least. These new guidelines mean that the wine industry is the only industry that cannot label its products “certified organic,” even though they at least 95% organic and in some cases as high as 99.99% organic.

Wine producers say that this undue attention given to “certified organic” wine doesn’t serve the public well. They say that it takes attention away from the important issues like soil conservation, soil depletion, soil erosion, water pollution, ecological impact, and pest resistance, and only serves to confuse consumers and merchants alike.

The result of the changes in the rules by the USDA that you will likely notice are wines that were once labeled “certified organic” are now labeled “made from organically grown grapes.” You’ll probably also notice a price increase.

Sometimes, it seems, the USDA trips over its own feet in its haste to make rules and regulations. Some of the rules and regulations do nothing more than add cost to products that we all buy everyday. They don’t enhance their safety, they don’t enhance their taste, and they do nothing to safeguard the environment – they simply add to the cost.




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