Organic Pinot Noir

Organic Pinot Noir – US Pinot Noir

I wish that all Pinot Noir was organic. And not just because I think it would make the world a better place… I think it would make the Pinot Noir better.

Imagine a vineyard where crimson clover, Austrian winter pea, and oats grow between the rows of Pinot Noir to provide rich sources of nitrogen to the vines; where blue birds swoop down to eat pesky insects; where humans ride zero-emission electric four-wheelers around the vineyards; where windmills and solar panels dot the landscape, providing energy for the winery; where little sheep mow the clover and prune unwanted vine shoots, then poop them out to fertilize the vines. This isn’t a vision of some fairytale idyll, but a depiction of real practices employed by a growing number of organic pinot noir wineries in the US.

Organic pinot noir isn’t just about substituting synthetic pesticides, fungicides, and fertilizers for natural ones. It’s a holistic perspective of agriculture that sees nature as a partner, rather than as an opponent, in the grape growing and winemaking process. It takes into consideration every aspect of a vineyard and winery – from using underground storage to eliminate the need for air conditioning, to using (and recycling) natural corks to limit the use of petroleum products since there is plastic in screw caps and synthetic corks (that’s right, corks may be “greener” than screw caps!).

Organic viticulture isn’t just about the pinot noir that goes into your glass either. It’s about the fact that over 60% of the harmful polluting chemicals that end up in our rivers and oceans – the water we and our livestock drink and the fish we eat – comes from agricultural run-off.

Of course there can be challenges to fully embracing this perspective, especially when it comes to Pinot Noir. Pinot Noir is one of the, if not the, most highly susceptible varieties of grapes to the various species of fungus and mold that can decimate a grape crop. In addition, Pinot Noir grows best in cooler, often damper, areas where those harmful fungal pests also grow best. Even the most vigilant organic growers can regularly lose a percentage of their crop to black rot or powdery mildew. And in a business that is already fraught with difficulty, the temptation to remove some uncertainty and loss seems like common sense. But then why are there so many organic wine producers in Oregon (over 25%) where it is wetter and cooler, and so few in California (1%) where conditions might be more ideal than anywhere else on the planet for organic wine production?

The point is: where there’s a will, there’s a way. Organic viticulture isn’t necessarily more challenging, it’s just different. Conventional agriculture isn’t sustainable. Organic is the future, and the more we consumers support it the more it becomes the present. Request it, promote it, and support it with your $.

A special note about organic pinot noir: Though viticulture and winery operations are the most significant part of organic pinot noir production, there are a lot of ways the pinot noir can be demoted from “100% Organic” to “Made with organic grapes.” The easiest way is by the addition of even small amounts of sulfites. While some very few people do have sulfite allergies, and things added during the winemaking process sound scary – like diammonium phosphate – they are often harmless. Diammonium phosphate is a chemical added during winemaking that yeasts use for food and has been found to be non-carcinogenic. And you can read my article about sulfites here.

I don’t mean to suggest that there’s nothing to worry about regarding chemical additives in wine, but I would suggest that how the grapes are grown should be the primary consideration.

Stay tuned: next year I’m going to make wine from organic grapes in two batches, one with sulfites, added yeasts, yeast food, malo-lactic bacteria, and ML food. The other batch I’m going to stomp and let ferment with natural yeasts, add nothing to it, and compare the results.

Organic Pinot Noir in California – Why Isn’t There More?
Since California is doing so poorly with regard to organic and sustainable pinot noir, I’ve compiled a list (below) of every California producer that I could find who is producing pinot noir organically and/or sustainably. I’m sure I’ve left off a few, so please let me know of other organic California pinot noir producers. I’m hoping that this kind of list will encourage more California producers to adopt organic and sustainable practices in their production of pinot noir.

Organic Pinot Noir – California

Alma Rosa – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://www.almarosawinery.com/index.html

Barra of Mendocino – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://www.barraofmendocino.com/barra/catalog/index.jsp

Casa Barranca – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://www.organic-wine.com/

Coturri Winery – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://www.coturriwinery.com/winemaking.html

DeLoach Vineyards – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://www.deloachvineyards.com/deloach/page/bio-dy.jsp

De Tierra – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://www.detierravineyards.com/

Emtu – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://www.emtuwines.com/wine/pinot-noir/

Frey Vineyards – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://freywine.stores.yahoo.net/orpinnoir19.html

Hartford Family Winery – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://www.hartfordwines.com/vineyards/farming.html

Heller Estate – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://www.hellerestate.com/

Lutea – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://www.luteawinecellars.com/

Madonna Estate – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://madonnaestate.ewinerysolutions.com/index.cfm

*Marimar Estate – Organic Torres Family Vineyards – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://www.marimarestate.com/page/index2.php

Masut – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://www.masut.com/wine.html

Napa Wine Co. – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://www.napawineco.com/index.html

Organic Vintners – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://www.organicvintners.com/docs/TECH_OV_Pinot_Noir.pdf

Patianna Organic Vineyards – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://www.patianna.com/pn2007.html

Porter Creek – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://www.portercreekvineyards.com/pages/about_main.html

Presidio Vineyard & Winery – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://www.presidiowinery.com/

Robert Sinskey Vineyards – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://www.robertsinskey.com/

Silver Mountain Vineyards – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://www.silvermtn.com/vineyards.shtml

Wild Hog Vineyard – Organic California Pinot Noir
http://www.wildhogvineyard.com/index.html

Sustainable Pinot Noir – California

Clos Pepe – Sustainable California Pinot Noir
http://www.clospepe.com/vineyard_philosophy.php

Davis Bynum – Sustainable California Pinot Noir
http://www.davisbynum.com/index.php/about-us/sustainable-practices

*McIntyre Vineyards – Sustainable California Pinot Noir
http://www.mcintyrevineyards.com/mcintyre/page/sustainable.jsp
*highly recommended

Muir Hanna Vineyards – Sustainable California Pinot Noir
http://www.muir-hanna.com/

Wente Vineyards – Sustainable California Pinot Noir
http://www.wentevineyards.com/

Organic, Sustainable, LIVE, Biodynamic, and/or Salmon Safe Oregon Pinot Noir

To begin to list Oregon vineyards and wineries that are organic or sustainable would be too much for this site. A huge percentage of Oregon wineries that produce Pinot Noir practice some level of organic, sustainable, LIVE, biodynamic, and/or Salmon Safe viticulture and wine making practices. To list any would be to leave too many out. More than 25% of the wineries in Oregon are organic and sustainable, compared to merely 1% of California wineries. Instead of a list or Oregon organic or sustainable pinot noirs, here is a link to the definitions of these terms, as used in Oregon, so that when you see them on your bottle of Oregon Pinot Noir you’ll know what they mean:

Oregon Pinot Noir – Organic, Sustainable, LIVE, Biodynamic, Salmon Safe

LEED Certification
Also look for pinot noir producers that have been LEED certified.
From Wikipedia: Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design (LEED) is an internationally recognized green building certification system, providing third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies intended to improve performance in metrics such as energy savings, water efficiency, CO2 emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.
Learn more from USGBC
Pennsylvania, New York, etc. Pinot Noir – Organic, Sustainable

Pinot Noirs are produced by quite a few Northeastern wineries, but the cold and excessively rainy weather there make organic practices extremely challenging from a commercial perspective. Please let me know if you know of any commercial wineries that produce Pinot Noir on the East Coast using organic and/or sustainable viticulture (or in the MidWest for that matter).