Organic Winemaking, The Jim Milone Priniciple

Q:  I have a question about the chard that probably only the winemaker can answer. It has the ccof logo on it yet it says it contains sulfites. I think to get ccof there has to be no added sulfites. Is that the case with this wine? I do know you have the suftites warning on there as there are always some sulfites in wine. Maybe you have an idea of  the ppm?

Jim's Answer:

Great question……….. I wish everybody paid this close of attention to things. It is really important that we educate people about the different levels of “organic” and what it really means.

There are so many different labels people are using to sell wine these days…….. sustainable, fish friendly, carbon neutral, organic…..blah,blah,blah. Here is the scoop.

Sustainable really means nothing to me because if you are a farmer of course you should not be trying to destroy your land, you want sustained production. But so does Monsanto and Dow. (I’m starting to get on my soap box) so back to our organic status, There are three basic categories of organic:

1.     California Dept of Food and Ag – Very little oversight, must register with county. (means very little)

2.     Third Party Certifier – Must follow the guidelines and parameters of a registered third party (CCOF). Must have  this to put “made with organic grapes” on the front.

3.     Absolute Organic – Must follow guidelines as above but cannot add sulfur or any additives. Must have this to say “organic wine” on the front.

 

Terra Savia falls into the 2^nd category. I like CCOF because they are reasonable. We can use sulfur but our total sulfur cannot exceed 100ppm.(legal limit is 300ppm) Anyone using good grapes and good winemaking techniques should be able to meet this standard. As well, there is a long list of things we cannot use and I hate to even get started on that list as my conventional winemaker friends and comrades might chase me out of the biz. On a more positive approach I like CCOF because they are local, one of the first and the consumer can go to their website and see just exactly what the parameters are for my winemaking.(this is an important education tool)

A problem I see with the  organic perception of wine is that it all seems to focus on sulfur. There is so much more to it. To me it is more about how we treat the little piece of the planet that we are using to create a product and make a living. The consumer has been schooled to think it’s all about one of the most organic compounds on the planet.(Uh oh I’m getting started again)

Anyway………….. I would love to sit down and talk about all this with you further if you’re interested. The history and discovery of the use of sulfur in wine by the ancient Greeks for instance is a great place to start.

Sorry to babble on so………………hope I answered your question and thanks for asking.

Thanks

Jim

Jim Milone

Winemaker - Director of Sales