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.”
If wine is labeled as “Organic Wine”:
1. Grapes have been grown in accordance with the organic standards established by the USDA National Organic Program (NOP).
2. Wine has been produced and bottled in a certified organic facility.
3. Wine contains no added sulfites. May contain up to 10ppm naturally occurring sulfites.
4. These wines MAY display the USDA ORGANIC logo and/or the certifier’s logo.
If wine is labeled “Made with Organic Grapes”:
1. Grapes have been grown in accordance with the organic standards established by the USDA National Organic Program (NOP).
2. Wine contains all organic grapes.*
3. Wine has been produced and bottled in a certified organic facility.
4. May contain added sulfites up to 100ppm.
5. These wines DO NOT display the USDA ORGANIC logo but MAY display the certifier’s logo.
*Products which contain organic and non-organic grapes must indicate the presence of non-organic grapes in the “Made with Organic…” statement on the label.
If wine is labeled with an Organic Ingredient statement only:
1. Wine contains at least some certifi ed organic grapes.
2. The wine is not required to be made at a certified winery or be certified.
3. These wines DO NOT display the USDA ORGANIC logo nor the certifier’s logo.
