All you oenophiles out there, I bring you all the facts and information that you have been seeking with regards to organic red wine. Read ahead to get enlightened!
It is well to remember that there are five reasons for drinking: the arrival of a friend; one's present or future thirst; the excellence of the wine; or any other reason. ~ Latin saying
I'd go for the excellence of wine and any other reason - in that order! If you deem a particular wine to be excellent, the best tribute you can pay its excellence is to drink it for its own sake and proudly serve it to your company, as if you were showing off the splendors of the Kohinoor diamond itself!
Indeed, a great wine is its own excuse for consumption and the fact that you have a couple of bottles of it in your cellar gives you sufficient reason to complacently let your company know of such proud ownership, in a way that hovers somewhere between brazen declaration and subtle mention.
Okay, before I get carried away by the splendors and sensual escapades of red wine, let's proceed towards exploring the jurisdiction of organic red wine.
What is Organic Red Wine?
Most of us who appreciate good wine, especially red wine, must be well aware of the various different types of red wine such as Shiraz, Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Pinot Noir, Malbec, Sangiovese, etc.
So, is organic red wine another varietal? No. It can be any of the various red wine types - what makes a wine organic is the way the grapes, that are used to manufacture the wine, have been cultivated. Precisely, any red wine, the grapes for which have been cultivated using organic farming methods, qualify as organic wine.
Therefore, let's first understand what organic farming means.
Organic farming methods of cultivation are those that specifically discourage and exclude the use of artificial and chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, weed killers, etc.
The aim of organic farming is to rule out the negative health and environmental effects that are often brought about by using too much chemicals and artificial products for and during the course of cultivation and farming activities.
As far as organic wine is concerned, a wine may be given the organic status based upon the organic farming methods used to cultivate the grapes, as well as the specific preservatives that are used in it.
Those of us who have even moderately sound knowledge of oenology know that the chief preservative for wine is sulfite or sulfur dioxide. Continuing in this line, for any wine to be deemed as organic, it must exclude sulfite.
As per legal mandates, therefore, there are two criteria that must be fulfilled if a wine is to be deemed organic - it must be made from organically cultivated grapes and sulfites must be completely absent from it.
Therefore, a red wine without sulfites and made from Cabernet franc or Merlot (or any other red wine varietal for that matter) grown in accordance with organic farming principles qualifies as an organic wine.
That was a precise overview of what organic red wine is. Try these out, if you haven't already, and savor the full range of wholesomeness of red wine benefits.
This sparkling, crimson liquor is no less than ambrosia for mortals like us, who consider themselves worthy of red wine's sensual indulgence every so often. On a parting note, I would like to quote W. E. P. French as a tribute to fine red wine:
Here's to the corkscrew - a useful key to unlock the storehouse of wit, the treasury of laughter, the front door of fellowship, and the gate of pleasant folly.