Organic Wines

Click to see a list of organic producers

We are pleased to list wines from several producers who have Ecocert status, are "in conversion" or are well-known to employ organic methods of production outside the official rules of the various organisations. In France there are a number of bodies which award a variety of "organic" accreditations. They do not necessarily conform to the UK format and regulations as laid down by the Soil Association.

The term "organic farming" was legally defined in 1981 as 'farming which uses no synthetic chemical products'. This prohibits the use of a wide range of pesticides, fungicides and fertilizers in order to protect the natural environment. Organic farming also safeguards consumers from pesticide residues, thereby protecting their health.

In relation to wine, the term "organic" is a difficult concept to define. According to Jancis Robinson's Oxford Companion to Wine:-

 "ORGANIC WINE:- imprecise term for wine made from grapes produced by organic viticulture using a minimum of chemicals during wine making."

 Organic wine is made from fruit which has been grown and processed without the use of synthetic fertilisers, chemical weedkillers, chemical disease-control sprays, insecticides, growth regulators, flavour-enhancers or genetic engineering.

Within the spirit of these definitions, most of our wines can claim to be "organic", especially those from small producers who have a vested interest in respecting and protecting the vineyard environment, and who in any case are likely to prefer non-chemical and biodynamic approaches to protect their vines and the soil on which their future production and income is dependent. However, most vineyards will make some limited use of sulphur dioxide (SO²) in the winery for ensuring cleanliness and preventing oxidation, and often use Bordeaux mixture (a mix of lime, copper sulphate and water) on the vines to inhibit mildew. Both these compounds are generally permitted under the various "Organic" regimes.

SO² is the chemical which, in some mass-produced wines, can give the wine a bad egg aroma and which is responsible for more hangovers than anything else. Without it, however, wines could be bacterial time bombs. However, some producers have found ways to avoid using much or any SO²: the Perrin family of Château de Beaucastel (Domaines Perrin) has developed a method of "thermo-vinification" by which grapes are heated up for about a minute to kill off unwanted and undesirable bacteria before being cooled down prior to fermentation. Others use some carbon dioxide (CO²) in order to bottle with little or no SO². Such wines may be slightly fizzy when opened: they simply need to be allowed to breathe to let the CO² disperse.

The climate of the Southern Rhône is ideally suited to organic viticulture which requires a warm, dry environment in order to produce commercial ly viable quantities of high-quality wine. Indeed, many producers in the region (including all those on our list) use very little in the way of chemicals simply because they have found them unnecessary. Also, whilst various bodies have been set up to monitor organic production, many producers in the region prefer to follow organic principles outside any formal organisation.

 Several of our growers do belong to one of the various bodies. For example,

Domaine de la Charité's Christophe Coste belongs to the TERRA VITIS association, which promotes "integrated viticulture".

Domaines Perrin has full ECOCERT status for some of its range as does Xavier Vignon for his Vacqueyras.