Different shades of green for wine fans | Environment

From the Baltimore Sun

Different shades of green for wine fans

Take a dive in for the grades of green wine, types of organic wine, plus favorites and best bargains.

By Rob Kasper, Columnist

March 5, 2008

Green wines are growing. These are "eco" green wines that their makers say are made in harmony with nature. In the United States their sales are up, as is the number of vineyards using organic farming methods.

There are various grades of green. First, there is wine made from vineyards that practice "sustainable farming." This is a rather loosely defined designation, which means that the wineries use a minimum of chemical treatments and preserve the natural balance of the soil.

There is also "biodynamic" wine. This is wine that has been made following the holistic farming methods advocated by the late Rudolph Steiner and certified by a group called the Demeter Association. Some of these methods include planting and harvesting the crop in harmony with the position of the sun and moon.

Finally, there are three types of organic wine - certified 100 percent organic, organic and wine made with organically grown grapes - that are certified by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. To qualify for the 100 percent label, the wine must be made entirely from organically produced ingredients and cannot have added sulfites. To be labeled organic, 95 percent of the ingredients in the wine must be organic and cannot have added sulfites. A wine that is labeled "made with organically grown grapes" must be made with at least 70 percent organic ingredients and may contain added sulfites.

Who knew you needed an environmental scorecard to drink wine?

I learned all these terms at a recent tasting of green wines at Watertable restaurant in the Renaissance Harborplace Hotel. The restaurant has begun serving these green wines by the glass. Sharon J. Charny of the Charmer Sunbelt Group, a distributor of these wines, conducted the tasting and also took on the task of explaining the nuances of green wine to the restaurant staff.

The restaurant's wine list has abbreviations - CO for certified organic, SF for sustainable farming, BF for biodynamic farming - to let you know what kind of green wine you are drinking. After the tasting, I looked for green wines in local liquor stores and noticed that retailers are employing various methods of distinguishing them.

Wells Liquors in North Baltimore groups its green wines in a display in the middle of the store. The staff of the Wine Source in Hampden puts a small ladybug sticker on the neck of each bottle of organic wine and a sticker than resembles a moon on the bottles of biodynamic wines. Without any of these aids, customers have to read the label, often the back label, to determine whether a wine is green or not.

I tasted a number of green wines and list my favorites on the right. I could not detect any difference in flavor between these green wines and mainstream products. Rather than new or different flavors, these green wines seem to be emphasizing a new way of making wine - one that leaves a smaller ecological footprint.

Rob Kasper's rankings

FAVORITE RED
Bonterra Merlot
Mendocino County, Calif., 2005 // $17 This wine had rich cherry fruit and a touch of oak. At 13.9 percent alcohol by volume, it had balance as well. Like those guys in the movie Sideways, I don't ordinarily care for merlot; but this green one proved to be an exception.

FAVORITE WHITE
Bonterra Chardonnay
Mendocino County, Calif., 2006 // $14 Buttery and creamy with a great mouth feel, this organic product appeals to both conventional chardonnay fans and to hard-sells like me.

BEST BARGAIN // RED
Montirius Cotes Du Rhone Valley of France, 2006 // $10.40 A mixture of 73 percent grenache, 20 percent syrah and 7 percent mourvedre, this biodynamic blend makes an excellent everyday green.

BEST BARGAIN // WHITE
Santa Julia Organica
Mendoza, Argentina, 2006 // $9 Made from organically grown grapes in what once was a desert in Argentina, this medium-dry white had pleasing green-apple notes.

ALSO TASTED
Sokol Blosser, Evolution 11th Edition
Dundee Hills, Ore. // $20 This is a blend of nine varieties of organically grown grapes-Muller-Thurgau, white riesling, semillon, pinot gris, gewurztraminer, muscat canelli, chardonnay, pinot blanc, sylvaner - that is food-friendly, but lacks edge.

Stag's Leap Winery Merlot
Napa Valley, Calif., 2004 // $33
The alcohol in this California merlot - structured, classy and sustainably farmed-was too hot for me.