What is Terroir?
Terroir gives wine a sense of place. When the land, animals, and natural elements come together, the wine that is produced has a presence of the land embedded in its core.
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Austria’s Old World Wines Make a New World Market Comeback
Austria is one of the oldest wine growing countries in the world, with archeologial evidence of wine production dating back nearly 4000 years ago. Grape seeds have been found in urns within the country as early as 700BC.
Organic and Biodynamic Viticulture: Not the Only Green Game in Town
It is easy to get the impression that, apart from conventional practices, there are only two options available in viticulture: organic and biodynamic. However, there are other methods being developed.
Clearing Up The Confusion About Organic Wine
here is a lot of interest and a lot of confusion about organic wine these days. The interest stems from the increasing presence of wines with organic claims on store shelves and from wine consumers who want organic alternatives to conventional wines. Most of the confusion has to do with the labeling of these organic wines.
Facts About Organic Wine Labeling
CCOF stands for California Certified Organic Farmers and is an organic certification program that certifies over 1,300 different organic crops and products ranging from apples to livestock to wine. Many vineyards choose to become certified with CCOF because it has similar certification standards in the vineyard as USDA and allows the vineyards to have a recognizable symbol on their wine labels. What it does not cover is certification in the winery, which has its own set of rules regulated by the USDA with, but at the very least it give consumers the confidence that their wines are “Made with Organic Grapes.” …
The Art
Organic winegrowing recognizes that healthy soils grow balanced grapes that produce the best wines. Organic vineyards are often small, family-owned and -operated properties.
The Fauna
Biodiversity is a vital part of nature’s system of checks and balances, keeping harmful populations of insects and weeds in control and providing a balanced environment for the vines.
The Flora
Vineyard/Farm as a living, life giving system
The Dirt/Soil
The vines reach into the soil for their essential needs: water to drink and food to eat. If the soil is full of microbiotic life and natural nutrients, the vine absorbs everything it needs to grow at a normal, healthy rate.
Demystifying Wine Sulfites
Sulfites in wine are ingredients about which there are a lot of misconceptions. Many people avoid wine entirely because of sulfites, and for the most part this is not necessary and is based on false information.
Biodynamic Wines – Taking in Terroir
Biodynamic viticulture is a methodology of growing grapes based on a principle that all living organisms are inter-related and are affected by the spiritual elements within the universe.
The Visionary Behind Biodynamics
The idea of the “farm organism” as a living being to be protected from outside materials is inherent to the idea of biodynamic farming.
