Once upon a time, all food and wine was organic and it was not necessary to have a word associated with these products.  It was just “food” and “wine”.  What does the word organic really mean?  If based on the definition that organic means “of, relating to, or derived from living organisms such as organic matter”, then all living beings including you and I are organic too.

I know it can be confusing if you really start thinking about it, but the fact remains that we don’t think about it anymore.  In today’s consumer world of shopping, most people do not think twice about what the word organic means.  They know inherently that it is a product that is grown with out any pesticides, herbicides, or fungicides, etc.

So what is the difference between “Organic Wine” and “Wine Made with Organic Grapes”?  In short, it is definition that the USDA and TTB came up with to distinguish whether a wine had any added sulfites.  Thus, a wine that is organically grown and follows all the USDA rules in both the vineyard and winery, yet adds any amount of sulfur, cannot put the words “Organic Wine” on the label, nor use the highly recognizable symbol designed by the USDA.  Instead they have to use the words “Made with Organic Grapes”.

So if you see a bottle with a variation of “Made with Organic Grapes” on the label then you can rest assured that your wine has not been made with grapes that had anything unnatural sprayed upon them.  And at the end of the day, this is what persuades most consumers to purchase organic products in the first place.

Drink wine Made with Organic Grapes and feel good about doing it!

Photo Provided By:  Gilles Louvet