WHINE # 43

 

Organic Wines:   A very good drinking buddy asked me to discuss organic wines in my blog.  I’m not certain why he asked as his well-stocked cellar contains few of these currently trendy wines.  However, let me try and dispel a myth or two.

In simplest terms organic wine is a wine produced from grapes that have been grown without the use of pesticides (toxic or otherwise) and herbicides.   In an age when many of us are trying to be more “green”, buying organic wines means that we are doing a tiny bit to help slow the addition of harmful chemicals to our environment.  This is the main and perhaps only reason one should seek out wines that are labelled organic.   Organic wine itself is no different from non-organic wine, so as a drinker you will not notice any difference in taste.  On the other hand, the streams and rivers near the organic winery may be much “healthier.”  The only real downside of drinking organic wine is that the cost to the producer is slightly higher (more labor costs in pulling weeds, etc.) and that will be obviously passed on to the consumer.

But wait, you say, aren’t organic wines sulfite free?  No, all wines contain naturally occurring sulfites.  However, in some legal jurisdictions (California, for example) in order for a wine to be labelled organic it cannot contain any added sulfites.  But since many producers of non-organic wines also do not add sulfites the distinction between organic and non-organic is not very clear on this point.

This, of course, leads me to a short blurb on sulfites, and although I have written on sulfites before, it is an important topic worth repeating.

Sulfite is a synonym for sulfur dioxide (SO2), a preservative that not only occurs naturally as a by-product of yeast metabolism during fermentation, but which is frequently added during the wine-making process.  Sulfur reacts to oxygen reducing the amount of oxygen in wine.  Thus, sulfur dioxide reduces rotting of the wine itself; in other words, both naturally occurring and added sulfites act as wine preservatives.

Perhaps you know people who tell you that they are allergic to sulfites in wine, and either they do not drink wine at all, drink only white wine, or drink only organic wine.    They believe that the sulfites in the wine are the cause of their recurring headaches.  As noted above, organic wines contain sulfites, although perhaps in smaller quantities than in some non-organic wines, so if one is allergic to sulfites, they are probably allergic to organic wine as well as non-organic wine. 

Secondly, a person who claims that they can drink white but not red wine is someone who has fallen prey to a “self-fulfilling prophecy”.   The fact is that white wine contains MORE NOT LESS sulfites than red wine.  Red wine contains tannins which help to stabilize the wine during fermentation.  Thus less sulfur dioxide is needed to keep the wine from rotting.  In the European Union (and the same is true elsewhere) the maximum allowable level of sulfur dioxide in red wine is 160 parts per million, whereas it is 210 ppm for white wine.

Now this leads to the question, do the sulfites in wine really cause headaches?  The answer is perhaps “yes” for a tiny, tiny minority who are sulfite allergic.  However, the vast majority of those who think they are sulfite allergic are suffering from a psychosomatic reaction, not a chemical one.

How do you know if your friend, guest, lover is really allergic to sulfites?  Here is an easy test.  Make a salad that contains some dried apricots (perhaps chop the apricots into small pieces so they are not left in the bowl).  Two ounces of dried apricots contain 10 times the sulfites that are in a glass of red wine.  Now, if after dinner the salad eater heads to a dark room with a cold compress, perhaps she or he is in fact allergic to sulfites.  On the other hand, if there is no immediate migraine, then that person has nothing to fear from red or white, organic or non-organic, wines.

Wine Inventory:    How much wine do you have on hand?  I suspect some of you have 3 or 4 bottles on the back of your kitchen counter; others have hundreds of bottles carefully arranged in well-stocked cellars.  Perhaps most of you fall somewhere in between with partially filled boxes piled in a haphazard fashion.

Regardless of the above it is very important to take stock (at least annually) to determine which of your wines are still too young, which are ready to drink, and which have essentially passed the best beyond date.  While it is a shame to drink wines that have not fully developed, it is a much bigger mistake to keep wines to the point where they are starting to turn to vinegar.

If you are an Opimian member you are fortunate to be able to take advantage of the “my wine cellar” service.  Every wine that has been sold by Opimian is tasted annually and then rated on 10-point scales as to drinkability and maturity.  If you click on to “my wine cellar” at the left side of the home page you will find only those wines that you have purchased.  Each April when the wines ratings are updated, l  carefully go through my cellar and place the “drinkability/maturity” ratings on each bin of wines (or on individual bottles, if only singles remain.)  My masking tape labels are crude but effective.  My experience has been that wines number 7/7 or less are not ready, those labelled 8/8 or 9/9 are ready and the 10/10’s should be pulled aside for immediate consumption.  I think this service is one of the best things that Opimian does.

Organizing your cellar may be a task, but it is also fun.  You need to devise your own system, whether it be by using a spread sheet to track your wines, using a simple word processed list (my system), or going with a more elaborate commercially developed tracker.  For example, www.cellartracker.com offers a simple spread-sheet system that is free, or a more elaborate system for which there is a fee.

Future Whines:   I have now written 43 of these Whines.  It has been fun for me and I hope that the Whines have been useful to you.    However, I sometimes struggle for new topics to include.  If you have ideas for topics I should greatly appreciate your sending me a quick e-mail.  I’ll try to include your topic in a future Whine.

Cellar Offering # 218:  This is the second last offering from Opimian for 2013.  Next month the final offering will be made up primarily of wines from California.  Thus, my suggestion is that you save your money and stock up on California wines next time.

However, if you can’t wait, here are a few suggestions from this offering:

7150 Saint-Romain AOC.  The Pinots from Burgundy are famous, full of flavour, but very, very thin.  If you are looking for a muscular wine this is not it.  If you are looking for a subtle wine, perhaps.

7162 Chateau Canet.  I think the wines of Minervois are some of the best in Languedoc-Roussillon.  Much more body than the one above.

7181 Domaine Peiriere Grenache Rose.  It is perhaps time to stock up on a very inexpensive Rose.  With the warm weather coming it is always nice to sip an iced Rose on a hot afternoon.

7197 La Source, Chateau Vignelaure.   A heavier wine.  In a blind tasting you might even think it’s New World.