Organic Vs. Conventional Wine Growing
In conventional agriculture, chemical fertilizers are used to promote larger yields and protect against disease. These same chemicals are absorbed through the roots into the vine's sap and are then passed through leaves, and stems into the fruit. As a result, residues of these chemicals find their way into the finished wine. In addition to the effects of direct consumption, conventional 'chemical based' farming has a significant impact on soil and water quality. Wine growers farming with chemicals have to wear 'hazmat' style clothing and breathing apparatus to protect themselves while crop spraying.
Proponents of organically grown wine believe that chemical farming destroys the uniqueness of the land, and the unique flavor that this 'terroir' imparts to the wine.
In the USA, strict rules govern the organic winemaking process at all stages of production including harvesting, the types of yeast that can be used during fermentation as well as storage conditions. These rules are applied for all imported and domestic wines that acquire USDA certification. In the USA, the total sulfite level must be less than 20 parts per million in order to receive organic certification.
Read more about this topic: Organic Wine
Famous quotes containing the words organic, conventional, wine and/or growing:
“And what if all of animated nature
Be but organic Harps diversely framed,
That tremble into thought, as o’er them sweeps
Plastic and vast, one intellectual breeze,
At once the Soul of each, and God of all?”
—Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772–1834)
“My attitude toward punctuation is that it ought to be as conventional as possible. The game of golf would lose a good deal if croquet mallets and billiard cues were allowed on the putting green. You ought to be able to show that you can do it a good deal better than anyone else with the regular tools before you have a license to bring in your own improvements.”
—Ernest Hemingway (1899–1961)
“Let us have wine and women, mirth and laughter,
Sermons and soda-water the day after.”
—George Gordon Noel Byron (1788–1824)
“Rearing three children is like growing a cactus, a gardenia, and a tubful of impatiens. Each needs varying amounts of water, sunlight and pruning. Were I to be absolutely fair, I would have to treat each child as if he or she were absolutely identical to the other siblings, and there would be no profit for anyone in that.”
—Phyllis Theroux, U.S. journalist. “On Being Fair,” Night Lights: Bedtime Stories for Parents in the Dark, Penguin (1987)