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Glass of Green

By Natasha Senko

With everything from cars to toothpaste jumping on the green bandwagon, why should wine be left out of the loop?

When many wineries claim their green fame, they are referring to their farming practices not necessarily their winemaking processes but sustainable, organic and biodynamic wines and winemaking are becoming more and more popular.  Bio what?  Classifying a wine into a category that sounds like a relative of the Bionic Woman doesn’t seem that natural so let me explain the differences.

Sustainable Wines are made from grapes that are cultivated with environmentally sound practices.  Growth in this manor helps maintain the longevity and long-term health of the land rather than depleting it for short-term gain.  It basically looks at the environmental system as a whole.

Organic Wines are broken down into two categories.  The first is wine “made from organic grapes” meaning the wine must contain at least 70% organic ingredients and there is the addition of some sulfites.   The second is “certified organic.”  This means the wine contains at least 95% organic ingredients.  Gone are the days when you count on getting relatively sulfite free wines, but with these green versions you still can.  With both types, the growing process is sustainable as well as eliminating the use of pesticides and synthetic fertilizers and instead using compost and green manures and instilling proper crop rotation.

Biodynamic Wines use a holistic approach to winemaking.  Incorporating all aspects of sustainable and organic techniques, biodynamic winemaking goes beyond just agriculture.  Vineyards who practice this philosophy see the soil not only as part of the growing process but as an organism in and of itself and look at the vineyard as a entirely living system going as far as to use the astronomical calendar to base its planting and sewing schedules.  Some may look at this method as some sort of hippie or voodoo concept but believe it or not, more vineyards use this practice than you would think, producing some of the best wines in the world.

Some “green” wines to try for under a BUDGALICIOUS $20??

RED: Frey Vinyards, 2003 Syrah (Organic) Mendocino County, CA.  around $12. Infact Frey Vinyards has a wide variety of organic and biodynamic wines under $20.

WHITE: Pacific Rim Reisling 2008 (Organic) Washington State. $14. wine.com. The Pacific Northwest is becoming one of the largest distributors of Reisling.