Organic, biodynamic, Fairtrade: never mind the huge range of wine regions and grapes, there’s a whole vocabulary of certifications for wine too. But they are important, especially if you’re seeking out more sustainable or environmentally friendly wines.
Pictures of vineyards might look bucolic but wine production can often be as hard-nosed – and as damaging to the environment – as a lot of other agribusiness. Most wine producers use synthetic fertilisers and spray their vines with a range of pesticides, especially fungicides to combat the mildews and other fungal pests that vines are prone to. But growing numbers of winemakers are resisting that, embracing techniques which focus more on soil health – as well as on healthy grapes.
Producers making a difference
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Saint-Joseph La Croix des Vignes, Paul Jaboulet Aîné 2020
Magnum of Weinert Carrascal Asamblaje Especial NV No.2
Undurraga Finca Las Lomas Leyda Sauvignon Blanc 2024
Quinta Do Vesuvio 2012
Quinta do Vesuvio Pombal do Vesuvio, Douro 2023
Tablas Creek Panoplie Adelaida District Paso Robles 2021
Magnum of Blanc de Blancs, Ridgeview Sussex 2010
Undurraga Vigno DO Valle de Maule Carignan 2022
Coelheiros Tinto, Alentejo 2022
Spoke 'Amped' Marlborough Chardonnay 2022
These are the main certifications to look out for on labels and bottle stickers:
Organic – wines marked ‘certified organic’ by various national bodies are made without synthetic agrochemicals. Instead, producers use mostly ecological processes and non-chemical products. For instance, rather than chemical insecticides, organic farmers use substances that mimic insect pheromones, disrupting bugs’ reproductive cycles. They also use a range of natural sprays. To get certified, a farm usually has to spend two or three years in conversion (it varies by country.) ‘For us, organic is looking differently at what we do every day,’ says Sebastián Tramón of Chile’s biggest certified producer, Viña Emiliana.
However, to control the dreaded powdery mildew, organic growers are allowed to spray with sulphur – which is toxic to beneficial mites and spiders. They also use copper-based preparations such as copper sulphate to control downy mildew – and while such products have been common in European vineyards since the late 19th century, their use over time leads to a toxic build-up of copper in soils. Even then, fungal pests can add up to a real challenge for organic growers in years with difficult weather and in cooler, wetter climates like England’s.
Organic Wines
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Pinot Gris Clos Windsbuhl, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht 2017
Xinomavro Naoussa Paliokalias, Dalamára 2021 Organic
Saint-Joseph La Croix des Vignes, Paul Jaboulet Aîné 2020
Château de Marsannay, Bourgogne Côte d'Or 2022
Cornas Les Vieilles Fontaines, Domaine Voge 2020
Fontanasanta Manzoni Bianco, Foradori, Vigneti delle Dolomiti 2024
Granato Teroldego, Foradori, Vigneti delle Dolomiti 2022
Magnum of Sancerre Cuvée Silex, Domaine Serge Laloue 2023
Magnum of Soave Classico Ca'Visco, Coffele 2024
Marche Bianco, Clochard, La Calcinara 2024
Biodynamic – these wines are indicated by the logo of Demeter, the international body certifying biodynamic producers. This agricultural system was developed in the 1920s by Austrian Rudolf Steiner. Think of it as a kind of souped-up organics: not only does it ban synthetic pesticides and fertilisers, but it’s a holistic approach which considers the vineyard as a self-contained ecosystem. Farmers apply a range of natural preparations according to an astronomical calendar based on phases of the moon, energy from the sun and moon, and the movement of other celestial bodies.
Some winemakers reject the quasi-mysticism around Steiner’s rules. But metaphysics aside, soil life and vineyard health are central for biodynamic growers: ‘the soil is the starting point for me,’ says Alvaro Espinoza, Chile’s biodynamic pioneer. Growers like him aim to increase soil humus, and till to control weeds. Many integrate sheep and other animals into their vineyards, providing compost. But they face the same challenges controlling fungal diseases as organic producers – with lower permitted levels of copper use.
Biodynamic Wines
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Fontanasanta Manzoni Bianco, Foradori, Vigneti delle Dolomiti 2024
Granato Teroldego, Foradori, Vigneti delle Dolomiti 2022
Ermitage Rouge Les Greffieux, Chapoutier 2022
Ermitage Le Pavillon, Chapoutier 2022
Reyneke Syrah, Polkadraai Hills 2023
Riesling Bollenberg, Domaine Camille Braun 2024
Riesling Ostenberg, Domaine Loew 2023
Zellberg Pinot Gris, Domaine Ostertag 2021
Toreye Chardonnay, Weingut Eymann 2024
Regenerative agriculture – there’s a lot of buzz at the moment around this practice, which uses permanent ‘ground cover’ between vine rows – weeds and cover crops such as clover, mustard, and radish – and avoids tilling the soil. This encourages soil life and builds organic matter, as well as protecting against the heating effect of the sun. Farmers graze sheep on cover crops in winter, fertilising the soil, and the crops die off in the autumn and decompose, returning nutrients to the soil. Such vineyards don’t necessarily have to be organic or biodynamic (though most are). There are as yet relatively few certified vineyards, and several different certifying bodies: the one you’re most likely to see is the US-based ROC certification.
>> Read more about farming regeneratively in California
Integrated Pest Management – IPM, or lutte raisonnée as it’s known in France, is a sort of halfway house between conventional and organic agriculture. Farmers employ synthetic chemicals but try to minimise their use, for instance applying them only when needed rather than on the rigid calendar approach used by many conventional farms. These agricultural techniques don’t have a certification label as such, though you’ll see them referred to on back labels.
Fairtrade – this doesn’t relate to the environment but instead to workers’ welfare, and is most common on wines from South Africa and South America. Via the Fairtrade Foundation, importers pay a premium of a few pence per bottle, which goes into a fund at each participating wine estate. A workers’ committee then decides what to spend the money on. For instance, workers at South African wineries have used Fairtrade premiums to pay for crèches or to buy washing machines. The Fairtrade logo is always clearly displayed, on wine as on other products such as coffee.
>> Want to know more about human rights and wine?
Trust in your Wine Society buyers
You can look out for these certifications on bottles, though the detail of, for example, organic practices can be quite complex. For instance, quite a number of winemakers essentially farm organically but say they can’t afford the cost of certification. These are the kind of things that The Wine Society’s buying team looks into in detail – so that you can always be confident about the environmental credentials of the wine you buy.
At The Wine Society, we’re currently working on a scheme to help simplify the process of finding ‘good’ wine so that members can easily find the wines and producers who are going the extra mile to make wine that’s good for you, good for the people that make it and good for the planet. Watch this space!
