24 Feb Organic vs. Biodynamic vs. Sustainable…and what does it all mean for wine???

Organic vs. Biodynamic vs. Sustainable, what does is all mean for wine?

(graphic from Wine Folly www.winefolly.com)

Listen, we are all trying to do what’s right for the earth, right? For sure. So what does that mean for the wine that we drink? There’s a lot of information out there, and we are going to try and break it down into bite-sized morsels for you.

Put in the most basic terms it works like this:

Organic wines-  Use non-synthesized ingredients.

This means the wine is grown with organic grapes and any additives have to be natural and all sulfates added must be non GMO.

Biodynamic  wines- Holistic agriculture health

In this process, much care is taken with the maintaining of soil health and planting with the lunar cycles.

Sustainable wines-  Organic, also but include resource management in terms of water and energy efficiency.

Defining exactly what a is “sustainable wine” is a little difficult. At this point, there is no standardization due to the unique environmental needs of each region, which are as diverse as the wines they produce. Several regions in the United States and the rest of the world have put certifications into practice to verify that a vineyard or winery meets their qualifications.

California alone has three separate certifications; SIP (http://www.sipcertified.org/), Certified Green (http://www.lodigrowers.com/lodirules/certification/), and Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing (https://www.sustainablewinegrowing.org/). Given the state of climate change, expect more and more wineries and wines to be produced in this way. Fun facts, by 2019 the entire Sonoma region will be sustainable and nearly 100% of New Zealand and South African wines are certified sustainable!

written by Sarah Basta of @shesips.  Follow her on Instagram for the love of wine!