Organic / Low-Sulfite Wines

Pesticides are being questioned. Is it sustainable to use them? What do these poisons do when the fruit or crops are ingested by humans? What affect does their runoff have on our water supply?

Across the country, many wine producers and fruit growers are ratcheting down their use of pesticides or choosing to eliminate pesticides altogether in their grapes, fruit or other crops.

For those likeminded wine drinkers who also question the use of pesticides, our Organic search function allows you to find organic and low-sulfite versions of your favorite fruit wines, honey wines and hard ciders.

When using our Organic search, you will see that each result has green highlighted text that indicates each product as being either:

• Organic
• No Sulfites Added
• Made with Organic Ingredients.

Below is explained what each of those designations means:

Organic

If the wine is labeled “Organic,” it means the wine is either “USDA Organic,” “Biodynamic” or both. In any case, this guarantees that the wine is made from fruit grown on land that has not had pesticides applied to it in the last three years.

It also means that the sulfite level is no greater than 100 parts per million (PPM). Wines that are certified organic have no added sulfites and will have anywhere from none to 20 ppm of naturally occurring sulfites. Biodynamic wine is allowed to have sulfites added to 100 ppm.

The average sulfite content for non-organic, non-biodynamic wine is 125 ppm. The maximum sulfite content allowed by law in the United States is 350 ppm.

No Sulfites Added

Wine labeled “No Sulfites Added” means it was made without any added sulfites. But remember, wines with “No Sulfites Added” will still have naturally occurring sulfites in a range anywhere from none to a very modest 20 ppm.

The “No Sulfites Added” designation is used because some  wine drinkers are hyper sensitive / allergic to sulfites and prefer bottles with none or very, very small amounts of the preservative. This designation assures those drinkers that, according to the winemakers, the wine they are buying likely contains 20 ppm or less of naturally occurring sulfites.

This designation, however, also means that the wine is not certified organic or biodynamic. Low-sulfite wines that are certified organic or biodynamic are labeled exclusively as “Organic.”

Made with Organic Ingredients

These are wines that are not certified organic or biodynamic, yet still contain organic ingredients, such as organic fruit, organic honey or organic flavorings. These wines contain added sulfites.