Grape and Grain Newsletter

          In the fast paced world of winemaking it seems more
than a little odd that many wineries are moving backwards, to
move forwards, just grapes and the elements of nature. Due to
a higher demand in today’s world that seemed to become
much more earth friendly over-night., the wave of “green”
products from natural cleaners to no chemical tanning
products has run over into the wine and spirits industry. The
demand has created yet another incentive for wineries to
produce more and more “green wine”.
The Facts, Since grape growing is organic by nature there
seems to be a lot of confusion on what makes a wine organic
or not. So to put it simply A wine can only truly be labeled
organic if it passes and abides by all of the standards set by
the National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) and the United
States Department of Agriculture (USDA). There are two types
of organic wine on the market in the US currently.
Organic: wines made with 100% organically grown grapes (no
pesticides, growth enhancers, or other chemicals), There are
no added sulfites, and the natural sulfite level must be less
than 20 parts per million. In addition the winery must have
been certified by one of the few USDA approved organic
certifying agencies. Since it is quite a tedious and lengthly
process few wineries are currently certified as 100% Organic.
       Made with Organic Grapes: This classification of organic
wines must be made from 100% organically grown grapes,
however the wine maker may add sulfites and preservatives in
the wine making process.

       To add to the confusion is the common misunderstanding
of sulfites. Since Sulfites can cause headaches in some
individuals there is an increasing demand for wines that
contain no or few sulfites. Due to government standards and
there inability to add additional sulfites as many wineries
making non organic wine due to achieve there finished
products Organic wines tend to contain fewer sulfites than non
organic wines. Hence is not true that all organic wines are
sulfite free… Sulfites are a naturally occurring process of wine
making so to become sulfite free the wine-maker must remove
the naturally accruing sulfites beyond detection to be labeled
sulfite free. If a wine has more than 10 parts per million of
sulfites they must be labeled as containing sulfites. Not all
Organics are sulfite free and and Non-Organic wines can be
sulfite free.

       As the market grows and more Organic and Organic
Grown Wines become available to us our selection of these
wines will also grow. We currently carry 6 Organic wines one of
which is also sulfite free and 2 organically grown wines. All of
these wines offer great value and tastes to fit the many styles of
wine we believe our customers will enjoy. In addition to these
wines there is 360 Vodka an Organic Vodka that is four times
distilled. 360’s creators went an additional step and made all
there packaging from recycled products with an incentive to
return the bottles in hopes to continue there earth friendly
mission. This is truly an eco friendly product working towards a
greener future.
We hope that you will try this new wave of products that have
returned to what made wine and spirits so amazing in the first
place…. Simply just Nature.