When it comes to aging, Frey has
had 12-year-old red wines made from
heavier grapes like Bordeaux that have
matured perfectly. He does point out,
however, that while most whites have a
2 to 5 year window, their vineyard tells
its customers to drink its whites within
2 to 3 years. “We sell a lot of fruit-for-
ward wines that are meant to be drunk
young anyway, so it works out just fine.”
As for consistency, Phil LaRocca
from La Rocca Vineyards, another
NSA organic winemaker, says that at
first he would tell customers, “Try this
and if it doesn’t taste right, bring it
back and I’ll exchange it.” But now,
after almost 20 years of perfecting his
technique, he hardly ever has a return,
even on bottles that are shipped
around the world. His wines have won
numerous awards and his sparkling
wine was Martha Stewart’s choice for
ringing in the New Year in 2009.
Another sign of how far NSA wines have come is that European wineries are
starting to export NSA wines into the U.S. with success. Organic Merchants recently began distributing the first Spanish and Italian NSA organic wines from
Spartico and La Cantina Pizzolato vineyards, respectively.
Non-Sulfite Alternatives
Despite the success that several NSA wines have had, the fact is that without
some kind of preservative, wine is still an extremely fragile commodity. Thus,
the use of sulfites will most likely remain important to the majority of winemakers—at least until another alternative is developed.
Currently, UC Davis is offering a $1 million prize to anyone who can develop
an all-natural replacement for sulfites. The SULPHREE research project in Europe, started in 2007, is also looking for alternatives to sulfites using natural
plant compounds. Other methods have also been experimented with, such as
using a CO2 flush, to prevent oxidation, but oxygen has always managed to get
in. Clearly, there is still a tremendous need for further research.
In the meantime, do some experiments of your own and compare a variety of
wines that are “made with organic grapes” and NSA, organic certified wines. In
the end, you’ll be supporting organic agriculture either way and you’ll get some
practice perfecting your wine pairing skills and glass holding techniques. o
Kat Schuett is the editorial director of Organic Processing Magazine. You can reach her at
kat@organicprocessing.com.
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