What does Organic mean?
Organic wine is made from grapes grown without synthetic pesticides or fertilisers and produced under the EU rules for organic production.
Also known as: Organic wine, EU organic
Organic wine is wine made from organically grown grapes and produced under the EU rules for organic production. It is a regulated term: the producer must be certified by an approved control body, and the bottle may then carry the EU organic logo, a leaf made of stars on a green background.
In the vineyard, synthetic chemical pesticides, synthetic fertilisers and genetically modified organisms are banned. Instead the grower works with compost, green manure and plant cover between the rows, for example. Copper and sulphur are allowed against fungal disease, with an upper limit for copper. A vineyard usually has to be farmed organically for three years before its grapes can be sold as organic.
Since 2012 the EU rules have also covered winemaking. Fewer additives and techniques are permitted, and the limits for sulphur are lower than for conventional wine, for example 100 mg/l for dry red and 150 mg/l for dry white and rosé.
Organic tells you how the grapes were grown and how the wine was made, not about its style or taste. Organic wines exist in every style.