You've invested in that eco-friendly hybrid car. You've shopped at your local Farmer's Market for fresh, organic veggies. You've purchased energy-efficient light bulbs and installed those bamboo floors. You diligently recycle. Now try visiting your local wine shop to seek out another sustainable produced product: Organic & Biodynamic Wines.
For starters, what does Organic Wine mean? At its most basic level, organic wine is made from grapes that have been grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides. The wine should then be made with little or no manipulation of wines by reverse osmosis, excessive filtration, or flavor additives (such as oak chips). Many organic winemakers also prefer wild yeasts for fermentation.
Have you have ever wondered why people at wine tastings go through a form of ritual of tilting their glass, swirling the wine around the bowl, sniffing the wine and apparently gargling with the wine before eventually spitting it out? If you have, then this whole process is not really such a mystery and quite simply represents the five steps that are necessary to assess quality of a wine.
One of the great joys of wine is to be able to select a bottle from your own cellar, perhaps one that you've been storing for some years, draw the cork and enjoy it with friends. You can marvel at the changes brought on by maturity and, as a bonus, you can brag about the price you paid and congratulate yourself on picking up such a bargain!
