Robert Sinskey Vineyards

Natural, Organic or Biodynamic, Oh My!

As the cliché goes, it’s not easy being green. No matter how true the intent, someone will always find something you do, or don’t do, not green enough. We might as well paint a big bull’s-eye on the cellar doors.

Just in the past few months, articles on “natural wine” have appeared in the SF Chronicle, LA times and the NY Times. They were thought provoking, illustrating how today’s wine drinker is looking for a new definition of “luxury wine.” The problem is that the four major categories, “Sustainable,” “Organic,” “Natural,” and “Biodynamic,” are ill-defined and riddled with pitfalls and contradictions. It all boils down to intent. “Sustainable” is the most difficult term to get a handle on. In the purest sense, it covers the three “E”s: Ecology, Economy and Social Equity. Thus, a farm should remain economically viable, pay its workers a living wage and maintain a viable and healthy ecosystem in and around the farm. Unfortunately, sustainable-in-practice usually means the farmer thinks about natural methods, but reserves the right to use herbicides and pesticides when it makes better financial sense.

“Organic” is a term governed by the National Organic Program (NOP) under the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and use of the term in any label or promotional material requires certification with an NOP-approved certifier. There are a couple of categories when it comes to organic and wine: wines made with organically grown grapes, where only the vineyard is organically certified, and organic wine, where the winery is also an organically certified processor. Organic certification in the vineyard means the farmer only uses naturally occurring nonsynthetic inputs. While this is a good baseline of purity, “organic” does not address sustainability. For example, there are only minimal requirements for soil health and tilth. Also, keep in mind that natural herbicides and pesticides, like the chrysanthemum derived pyrethrins, may be used instead of synthetics. The upside is that these natural born killers are short lived, breaking down to natural elements rapidly without known carcinogenic or neurotoxic residue.

Organic wine certification is problematic. A wine can be “pure,” nothing synthetic added, yet still not merit organic status due to one little element. Fermented beverages generally contain sulfur as a byproduct of fermentation, and 99% of the world’s winemakers add small amounts as a preservative. The USDA feels the need to warn the consumer about the levels of sulfites with these confusing labeling standards:

1. Up to one part per million (ppm) - “No Sulfites” can be printed on the label. I have never had a wine that had less than one part per million of sulfites.
2. Up to 10 ppm - “Contains only naturally occurring sulfites—no sulfites added,” or no mention of sulfites at all. I would assume any wine that falls into this category would not print the warning. Again, it is rare to find wines in this category, and even rarer to find one in good shape.
3. Any wine with more than 10 ppm must have a “Contains Sulfites” warning on the label. Conventional wines are allowed to contain up to 350 ppm, while a certified organic wine must have fewer than 10 ppm, occurring naturally. A wine carrying “made with organic grapes” on the label must contain less than 100 ppm of combined natural and added sulfites.

The contradiction runs deep. Organically grown grapes have the same sulfite warning on the label as a conventionally farmed wine, even though the allowable levels of sulfur are much less in both organic models (Organic wine and Organically grown) than conventionally farmed wine. Unless refrigerated and consumed in the near term, wine is susceptible to oxidation and spoilage. Sulfur is the most innocuous preservation method. Sulfur is, after all, the tenth most abundant element on earth. It is a part of every cell in our bodies and naturally exists in many things we consume. It has been used as a natural preservative in food and wine for millennia. Unless allergic, most people are unaffected by sulfur, confusing reactions from histamine, alcohol and yeast, with sulfites. I am sulfur sensitive yet, at levels well below 100 parts per million, I am unaffected by sulfur in my wine. I also have allergic reactions to certain yeast strains in beer and champagne, penicillium (in certain blue cheeses) and other natural items that carry no warning. Who is being protected when a conventional wine is allowed up to 350ppm of sulfur yet carries the same warning as an organically grown wine with less than 100ppm?

The meaning for “natural wine” is unclear. The closest anyone has come to defining wines in this category follow these guidelines:

1. Organically or Biodynamically farmed
2. Hand harvested
3. Ferment with indigenous yeast
4. Minimal or no sulfite additions
5. Nothing artificial added

There is no regulatory agency or standard for “natural wine” or for the use of the term. I believe we make natural wines, yet even though our vineyards are certified organic and Biodynamic, an extremist would take issue with some of the things we do in the
cellar. First, we use stainless steel tanks and control temperature. The wines start on ambient yeast, but if the fermentation sticks, or takes off in a funky direction, a non-aromatic yeast is added to regain control of the “wild” fermentation. However, if the wild fermentation takes the wine in a good direction, we let it go.

Describing yeast as wild or indigenous is imprecise. A better term would be “feral” yeast. Yeast is everywhere. It is in the air. It exists on grapes. In our little valley, populated by hundreds of wineries, most wine yeast strains escaped from the cellars as composted grape pressings and spread into the vineyards. Just over the hill is a commercial brewery that exhausts its content into the air. So an argument can be made that what we think is wild yeast is just commercial yeast gone rogue. Are you really expressing the terroir of the place by only fermenting with a feral yeast? If a packaged yeast is not an aromatic type, that is, if it does not impart a foreign flavor or aroma on the wine, then it is a natural, non-synthetic product that assures the character of the vineyard can show through by avoiding off-aromas and flavors. I think this a good, natural, insurance policy.

Finally, “Biodynamic” (BD) is the most complex and ritualistic of the methods. Biodynamic certification (and even the use of the word “Biodynamic”) is closely regulated by Demeter USA. It is also broken into two parts: Biodynamic Farm and Biodynamic Winery. The BD approach is to look at the entire farm as an interrelated, living entity. It is a holistic approach that believes the farmer’s role is to heal the damage done by farming and leave the earth in a better, healthier state. A Biodynamic farm is inherently organic, but Biodynamic certification goes much further by addressing the health of the soil, encouraging vigorous populations of microbes and embracing the natural structure of the earth. Being a Biodynamic farmer means that you are on a mission to find the natural rhythm of the farm and prevent problems before they occur. The pitfall in Biodynamics is that even though there are some basic
guidelines, it is more of a self guided journey.

Many people ask why we don’t state that we farm Biodynamically on the label. Simply put, we are not a Demeter certified Biodynamic winery. Even though RSV makes wine only from our certified Biodynamic vineyards, Demeter requires a winery to also be certified before any statement can be used on a label. However, being a Biodynamic winery is currently controversial. The US regulations are different from the EU regs. The idea is to make wines as “natural” as possible, but, as I discussed earlier, no one really knows what that means. For instance, some feel that micro-oxygenation of the wines is natural; we beg to differ. Because of this uncertainty, we remain undecided as to whether we will proceed with Biodynamic winery certification.

Confusing? Yes! That is why you need to know your farmer and your vintner. Here at RSV, we do our best with the tools on hand and continue to learn as we go, but we are not without some contradictions. All we can do is constantly try to improve our natural techniques while improving the quality of our wines.

~ Rob Sinskey