Organic, Sustainable, and Biodynamic Wines—What to Know

Organic, sustainable, and biodynamic wines refer to how the grapes used to make the wine were grown. And, if you've been looking at wine, you might've noticed at least one of these labels on them. But what do they mean? More specifically, how do they affect your wine-drinking experience?

Well, you need to understand the different types of certifications in the first place! To do that, we need to look at the process of winemaking. Let's look at each certification and the journey that sustainable wines take from when they are freshly picked grapes to when they are poured into a glass:

Organic Wine

Organic-certified wines are made without the use of any artificial fertilisers, pesticides, or chemicals. Instead, grapes are grown naturally in the vineyard without any added agents, and only organically grown ingredients are used in the winemaking process. Additionally, no genetically modified organisms are included, ensuring a pure and natural product.
Labels: ECOVON, Naturland, Bioland, EU-BIO, AB (Agriculture Biologique), Nature&Progrès

Now, how does this affect you? Well, when you buy a certified Organic wine, you can be confident that all the ingredients are grown organically. 

Sustainable Wine

Sustainable wines are those that are produced in a way that is environmentally friendly, socially responsible, economically feasible, and produces high-quality wines. The process includes taking measures to protect the environment, such as preserving biodiversity in vineyards, conserving water, and using renewable energy sources like solar power during the winemaking process. The goal of these efforts is to create wines that are both delicious and sustainable.

What can you expect from this? By buying a bottle of wine from GrapeTimes, you can be confident that the wine was produced with the environment, social responsibility, economic viability, and high quality in mind. This wine might not be certified organic or biodynamic, but we as your online wine shop work closely with the winemakers and make sure they live up to a sustainable philosophy. 

Biodynamic wine

Biodynamic wines are made in a way that respects the environment, before any chemical treatments in the growing and winemaking process in the cellar. The grapes are naturally grown, free from pesticides, artificial fertilisers, and GMO products. During the winemaking process, very low levels of sulphites are used. Furthermore, to gain a biodynamic certification, vineyards must follow certain practices that take into account the entire ecosystem and the lunar cycles. This allows them to create wines that are completely natural and in tune with nature. There is different Biodynamic certification labels on the marked like: Demeter, RespectBiodyn, Biodyvin

Now, what does this mean for you? If you purchase a biodynamically certified wine, you know that the grapes used to make it were grown more than organically hence biodynamic and that the entire environment, from the ground to the sky, was kept in mind during the winemaking process. However, like organic wine, biodynamic wine does have sulfites (up to 100 mg/l for dry wine) and great ability to age. The mose expensice wines in the world like Domaine Romané Conti aka DRC are working biodynamic since day one to ensure the highest quality. 

Fermented grape juice: grapes, grapes and more grapes, and the result is wine

For us means Natural wine: as natural as possible. In other words, letting the wine go its own way, from the viticulture to the finished wine in the bottle. This creates the lively and exciting taste of natural wines that differs from conventional wines. So get involved and you will be surprised, I promise! :-)

We have defined the following natural wine principles for ourselves:

1. Biodynamic work in the vineyard 
2. Spontaneous fermentation without the addition of cultivated yeast
3. Unfined, without the addition of “fining agents” (you wouldn't believe what you can do with conventional wine – here we write something extra about it)
4. Bottled unfiltered – only naturally clarified
5. Minimal sulfuruse up to max. 25mg / l

For the term Natural wine, also called RAW Wine, there are no set rules yet. However, most winegrowers agree that organic viticulture precedes the term natural wine. With organic cultivation, the focus is on healthy grapes, which requires extensive care of the vineyard. What is of course also important for spontaneous fermentation are intact and healthy cultures on the vineyard and in the grapes. At first it sounds simple and self-explanatory: “Read the grapes and let them ferment”. But if you start to take a closer look at the production steps, it quickly becomes apparent that natural wine in its purest form is almost a miracle. A great balancing act between life in the vineyard, in the cellar and in the bottle. 

#lively #pure #genuine #authentic #natural #fantastic :)

Conclusion

There you have it! Those are the differences between organic, sustainable, and biodynamic wines, along with the respective experiences and expectations you can have for each one. Now, if you are unsure as to which ones to get, don't worry too much. They all can taste incredible, and all you need to do is to pick a bottle of wine that ticks as many needs of yours as possible, and you should be well on your way to enjoying great wine!

GrapeTimes is your go-to sustainable wine shop for natural and biodynamic wines. If you are interested in purchasing biodynamic wine and the like, check out what we have to offer.

PLEASE ALSO REFER TO THE FAQ SECTION ON THE WEBSITE:

Good to know

Have a look at what we wrote on Organic and Biodynamic all ready and adjust accordingly.

Also see our article about sulfur and the allowed levels in wine.