Organic, Biodynamic & L.I.V.E Wine
Certifications for Farmed and Other Specialized or 'Green' Wines
When it comes to wine, the choice is no longer as simple as organic or not. How to tell the difference between newer certifications.
As consumers get more sophisticated about what they put in their mouth, and vineyard managers increasingly understand their duties as stewards of the land, green wine has become a force in the wine industry. Green wine is a loose term for any wine that makes a claim on your conscience as well as your palate, an amalgamation of certifications and claims that are often so confusing they get in their own way. Here is a simple guide to help you sort them out.
Certifying Bodies
Most green wine is governed by one of any number of certification boards that are in place to protect the consumer from false claims. They range from the national organic boards of both producing and consuming countries to those regulating specialized practices, like biodynamics and Oregon’s salmon conservation. Few, if any of these certifications are free, which also means that inevitably, and confusingly, there are those who follow all the strictures of these practices, but refuse to pay for the seal of approval.
Organically Farmed Wine
Organic practices are the foundation of green wine. While different certifying boards split hairs on what is allowed under their definitions of organic, the essential commitment is to take petroleum-based and other chemicals — mainly fertilizers, herbicides and pesticides — out of the vineyard and substitute them with more ecologically sensitive replacements. Certain compounds are still allowed, notably copper sulfate, one of a category of chemicals, which get much attention, called sulfites.
Organic Wine
The vast majority of wineries that attain organic certification are doing it for their work in the field, not in the winery. For this, there is another level of certification which prohibits the addition of sulfites in the wine making process. Not many acquire this certification, since sulfites are predominantly assumed to be necessary for the preservation of wine.
Biodynamic Wine
Biodynamic (BD) practice stems from the philosophy of a German thinker by the name of Rudolph Steiner, who posited a system of farming that considers the farm as an energetic whole that must be brought into balance by the sum of its parts. Among its esoteric practices are preparations that are sprayed on the vines or buried in cow horns, all of which proponents claim makes better wine in the final analysis. Demeter, its certification body, also pass the threshold for organic, so an easy way to think of BD is as organic plus.
Other Certifications
Oregon has been at the forefront of creating specific certifications that get at the spirit of green wine. Salmon Safe ensures that nothing harmful is running off from the vineyard into potential salmon breeding streams. Low Impact Viticulture and Enology (L.I.V.E.) is a sustainable agriculture certification which allows more flexibility than the organic one does by assigning weights to different practices, allowing farmers to adjust to adverse conditions with non-organic treatments while still maintaining a balance of green practices.
Certifications are starting points to knowing about what a winery does or doesn’t do to your wine before you drink it. There is no substitute to finding out more through your local retailer or (when possible) visiting the winery itself.
