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Organic wines are taking off
“We see conventional vineyards, and their soil is so parched and baked compared to here. We have a lovely soft, crumbly soil and the roots get down easily to get the nutrients they need."
- Vineyard owner Sean Feely of the Chateau Haut-Garrigue
FRANCE - Supermarket and cave shelves can contain a baffling array of wines from around France and it is understandable if you just head for the bottle with the gold medal sticker from the Salon de Paris. However...
However, a new green sticker is starting to appear on more wines, and even world-class ones; the Agriculture Biologique logo shows that the wine has been made organically, or more correctly, it has been made from organic grapes.
As the wine harvest is in full swing and the vignerons collect their grapes and head for the vats, the vendange itself has changed little over the decades, apart from increased mechanisation, while the rearing of the vines has changed markedly. That has now sparked a fightback by growers who want to use fewer chemicals.
Organic or bio wines are taking off as wine-makers become concerned at the amounts of pesticides, weed killers, fungicides and other chemicals being sprayed on the land, the vines and the grapes.