After all that has been written on the subject some customers are still wondering about the differences between organic and no sulfites wines and are sometimes surprised to find the sulfites warning on our labels. Let me start the year with some fresh definitions on these matters.

All wines contain a minimal amount of naturally occuring sulfites. We are commonly referring in our conversations to the sulfites added to the wine during or after fermentation, for preservation and aging and finally at the time of bottling. What's left in the bottle is called total sulfites (= free + combined parts).

Added or natural, if the sulfites level reaches 10ppm [= 10mg per liter, a very low amount], the "Contains Sulfites" warning must be affixed on the label. Just now the US norm has reached Europe and will be enforced there too! People who drink wines in Europe thinking they contain no added sulfites are mistaken! There was simply no compulsive warning until recently, that's all! Moreover there is no technical reason why a US vintner would use more sulfites than a European one, nor why the latter would put more in a bottle destined to the US market.

In the US the term "Organic Wine" means that no sulfites have been added to the wine. If any amount of sulfites is added and the total reaches 10ppm the correct term is "Wine Made From Organic Grapes".

In the rest of the world, Organic Winemaking standards allow the presence of up to 100ppm of sulfites in the finished product but for political reasons we can only talk of "Wine made from Organic Grapes", not Organic Wines, notwithstanding the sulfites!

Making wine without sulfites is independent of growing the grapes organically. Conventional growers could conceivably market a no sulfites wine if they saw an interest in it, BUT that would not make it organic!

SO2 (shorthand for sulfites) is a very simple and versatile preservative agent with relatively few harmful effects. However it has been demonized by the media since it is easy to make it look bad> Doing this distracts the public from the really serious issues: Heavy use of herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilizers which have known carcinogenic and other life crippling effects both on workers and on consumers. Changing this practice would require a major transformation but questioning the mega profits of the chemical companies which make these products is simply not in the cards yet.

Whereas every serious winemaker is doing his best to minimize the use of SO2, there is a point of balance where the risks of losing the wine to bacterial spoilage or oxidation far outweigh the expected benefits of a low level in the bottle. A small amount of SO2 is OK, no SO2 at all is very risky!

Headaches are wrongly attributed to SO2 [They are more likely due to the alcohol content or the bio amines] but it can generate rashes, hives, heartburns, nausea type feelings. However it is difficult to discern what is responsible for what among the hundreds of constituents of a wine. No serious study has been funded for that purpose, are you surprised?

In real life, an increasing number of people are coming out of the closet saying they feel really bad drinking conventional wine. This fact is naturally totally dismissed by the industry as a whole which would rather see them as sick or nutcases. This might sound familiar to the millions of people who have been told at one time or another: "Oh! It could not possibly be the drug you are taking, it must be YOU!", until they retire the famous drug from the market....

25 years of experience have shown us again and again that the vast majority of people negatively affected one way or the other by drinking conventional wines can enjoy the pleasure and goodness of wines again as soon as they switch to certified organically grown wines and that the presence of low levels of sulfites is innocuous to all but literally a handful of highly allergic or asthmatic people.

Winemakers love challenges and this one is puzzling them. There may be currently a dozen wineries in the US and up to 50 in France who are making a go at it. The results have been varied (to be polite!) but improving. There is no guaranteed method to succeed but the vintner will usually risk a portion of his harvest only if specific conditions are met: on certain varietals, with an optimal sanitary level of the grapes, good maturity and high level of acidity, limited handling of the juice, hermetic vats to keep the CO2 (carbonic acid) in, etc, etc...

It is easy to make wine without sulfites but quite difficult to make GOOD wine! Given the extra care and the potential financial risk involved it is not unusual to find these wines at a premium over their sulfited counterparts.

In the final product the consumer needs to be aware that the wine will likely oxidize rapidly once the bottle has been opened. It will develop unpleasant aromas and become undrinkable in a few hours. In rare instances of remarkable balance though, some vintages can age beautifully for several years and even keep fresh for a few days once opened.

In conclusion, there will certainly be more and more trials of no sulfites wines in the future to respond to a growing consumer demand. But the inherent difficulties involved will likely limit that expansion. All the more when an educated consumer will realize that he does not have to sacrifice quality and pleasure for health concerns. The vast range of organically grown wines already available achieves a remarkable balance between the two. As in the case of other no-something crazes (no fat, no sugar, no starch, no calorie, etc) which eventually prove more harmful than good, the no sulfites wines will seriously benefit only the extremely sensitive people with real allergies, asthma or life threatening chemical poisoning. However if that research uncovers one day a magic bullet to replace sulfites in wines and elsewhere everybody will rejoice!

Related articles:

When bad wines happen to good people

The Sulfites Issue

Red Wines headache Mysterious

Located in Narbonne, a delightful (but windy!) old town in the heart of Languedoc where the first vines were planted by the Romans, this annual show is a must for the whole profession. As the original President of the then small group of people who envisioned and put together the initial structure of the show I am extremely proud of what has been accomplished by my successors and colleagues.

Imagine a gathering of more than 200 organic winemakers coming from several countries: France, Italy, Spain, Portugal, Germany and even Greece all proposing their best production for tasting! Three full days are not enough to even get a glimpse of the richness and the diversity of what is offered. And talking to old friends always takes you longer than you ever expected!

It's a great place to reconnect with the growers and our fellow merchants, get a feel for the market, a sense of what's cooking in people's cellars, see the new trends in packaging or winemaking. Plus we have the pleasant evenings spent around great food and, naturally, a few more bottles that had not yet been opened! You see the challenge and hard work I have to go through to bring you the best wines to your table!

This year I have spotted a couple of wines made without sulfites: A great Muscadet [white wine well suited for shellfish] and a Bergerac [red wine from a region close to Bordeaux, both geographically and in quality]. If they seem to handle well the travel, we will give them a try.

My dream is to build our business to such a level that we could go to Millesime Bio and grab all the bottles that deserve your attention, saying :"Give me a pallet of this and a pallet of that!" and come back to make you discover the incredible diversity of tastes and pleasures that these wonderful people are spending their lives perfecting. There is so much that you are missing right now! Help us expand and grow and we will bring you an endless stream of surprisingly good wine experiences!

Our best friend and supporter Ron Porter has been for several years a great help in selecting the wines we import for you. His expertise as a wine buyer for Beverages & More comes in handy to spot the best products and the best deals. And it's such a fun time gathering around the table and the new wines to taste and evaluate them!

In addition he provides us with well needed encouragements when fatigue and difficulties set in. It's not so common to make good friends in this fast paced world. We're happy to count you as one, Ron! And next year I'll take you to Millésime!

After several months of work our partner CenterCube has just finalized our new website. We are proud to announce the launch of French-Wine-Online.com! Easy to navigate, attractive, with new features like Wine for the Food and Wine for the Mood, this new presence on the net will put Organic Wine Company in the top league of wine merchants. I'd love to hear your comments and suggestions before we launch a serious marketing campaign. The offerings are slightly different. Check it out!

Our previous websites ecowine.com and theorganicwinecompany.com are still on duty though to satisfy different generations of web surfers.

You can send your friends to this site to get (one) Newcomer's Treat for the low price of $24 (+shipping). This is reserved to new customers, please!

We love to help you make your choice. Call us and tell us your special needs. We will do the best to satisfy them. Real people are just a phone call away at 888-326-9463! (888-ECO-WINE)

Dr Mic
Wine Selection

Veronique Raskin
President

Organic Wine Company
415-256-8888

email: michel@theorganicwinecompany.com

phone: 415-256-8888

web: http://www.theorganicwinecompany.com