Once dismissed as a passing fad and even a way to sell poor wine, organic wines are now enjoying a surge in popularity. Buying Director, Stephen Crosland uncorks the certification.
Just as organic food has become a staple in our weekly shop, organic wine is now earning a rightful place at the table. Consumers are increasingly seeking bottles with certification and winemakers are responding with offerings that are not only sustainable, but also seriously good.
Put simply, organic wine is made from grapes grown without synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers. In the winery, additives are restricted and processing aids must meet organic standards. Certification ensures adherence to these rules, promoting environmental sustainability, healthier soils and a more natural expression of the grape and terroir. Switching to organic cultivation and winemaking techniques is no quick fix, it is a drawn-out process with conversion taking at least three years, but with consumers appreciating the concern for the environment as well as what’s being put into the wine, it’s a path more and more winemakers are going down. It’s also worth pointing out that organic and biodynamic wines are strictly controlled and have legal requirements throughout the process, even extending to those that sell them wholesale. As importers, this means Tanners has an organic inspection every year to check our processes and record-keeping conform.
Our range of organic wines gets bigger every year, but one of the areas that has long led the way is the Loire. Bonnet-Huteau are certified both organic and biodynamic and their Gautronnières is classic Muscadet with wonderful freshness and minerality. Further upstream at Saumur, Château du Hureau make crunchy, juicy Cabernet Franc. In Bordeaux, Pontet-Canet is perhaps the best known property to be fully organic but Claire Villars has followed organic and sustainable principles at her properties for many years. Château La Gurgue is a typical Margaux with delightful fresh fruit. Over in the Douro Valley Carvalho Martins are in conversion. Try their delicious light and fresh Pacto Palhete red slightly chilled or the lightly oaked Golpe Reserva white made from local grape varieties.
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