What's Organic Wine? There is much confusion around the world as to what exactly constitutes organic wine. There are some basic principles ­ firstly the soil in which the vines grow. Organic winemakers only add manure and compost to the soil, rather than chemicals. They argue that by adding chemicals ­ which are basically the same the world over ­ it reduces the importance of terroir ­ the unique constituents of where a vine grows so loved by the French. The next is the complete ban on pesticides, which is quite tricky because there are lots of bugs around that just love to eat vine leaves. The other principle is the natural protection of the environment. Organic winemaking became popular in the late 80s and early 90s mainly in response to peoples concerns about chemical ­ primarily pesticide ­ residues in wine. There were also concerns about vineyard workers health, certainly in France, where pesticide poisonings were not uncommon. Surprisingly it is not California or New Zealand but France that remains the bastion of organic wine. It boasts over half of the worlds 500 registered organic wine producers. Organic wine, often called vin biologique, is primarily made in the warmer drier climate of the south. Its much easier to forgo the use of chemicals if the sun shines. That having been said, there are organic producers in all of the major wine areas. What most organic winemakers try to do is replace the chemicals with plants which carry out the same function, so a vineyard might have alternate rows of radishes, tomatoes, mustard or clover. These are delightfully named companion plants. Others introduce specially bred bugs or mites to control pests. Excepts ©2002 Newsquest Media Group. A Gannett Company (C) 2002 The Record, Bergen County, NJ. via ProQuest Information and Learning Company; All Rights Reserved

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