Turning to Nature to Produce First-Class Wines

My friend, who is an organic grower recently sent this article to me via snail mail. This article was published in the Wall Street Journal publication called Penta and was all about the Eco Wine Boom, March 2018 issue.

We can totally relate to the vineyard activity shown in the photo of Tom Ward from Shinn Estates pruning the vineyard. The article mentions that No two vines will be cut the same; each presents its own puzzle to solve. So true.
The article then went on to describe how European growers are transitioning their vineyards from using chemical fertilizers toward more sustainable organic and biodynamic practices.
One thing that I found to be very interesting was the definition of the following:

• Sustainable: Sustainable farming allows for flexibility to respond to uncertain conditions, but it can be slippery slope in the hands of producers who don't rely on third-party certification to verify what they do. Groups have cropped up across the U.S. to boost integrity, including LIVE in the Pacific Northwest and Long Island Sustainable Winegrowing.
• Organic: Wines labeled organic in the U.S. are certified by the Department of Agriculture. "Made with organic grapes" means the grapes are 100% organic, and the wine is made in an organic-certified facility, according to Pam Strayer, an expert in organic and biodynamic wines. These wines can have sulfites up to 100 parts per million units of wine, aiding in preservation.
• Biodynamic: A producer must be certified by Demeter, an international nonprofit that verifies biodynamic practices and principles, to call itself "biodynamic," says Elizabeth Candelario, managing director at Demeter USA. Biodynamic practices go beyond organic to treat the vineyard as part of a complex "self-contained, self-sustaining" ecosystem that includes soil, plants, insects, and animals, Demeter says. Biodynamic practices include natural soil preparations, ideally made with components from the farm, including herbal teas, manure, and cow horns.
• Natural: A largely unregulated movement that encourages "natural" processes in the vineyard through winemaking. Natural wines don't have added sulfites (the USDA does have an "organic wine" category of no-added-sulfite wines, Strayer says). The risk is that these wines can spoil, so buy carefully.

I appreciated knowing the difference between sustainable, organic, biodynamic and natural wines. It brought to mind a restaurant sign that my husband and I recently saw that said: vegan organic sustainable cuisine. Huh? Maybe I can "get" it now.
Thanks for the article!