With the holiday season almost in full swing, it’s time to marry the love of food and wine with the love of being kind to the Earth. One way to do that is to look for more environmentally responsible wine makers for extra holiday cheer. But if you’re looking for an organic wine in the true sense of the word, it may be very difficult to find. Many people equate organic wine with “sulfite free” wine. For a wine to be considered organic in accordance with the National Organic Program from the USDA, the product must be “made from organically grown grapes and without any added sulfites.”

Sulfites are a natural occurrence in the fermentation process, so even if no other sulfur oxides are added it will occur in the yeasts. Beyond that, sulfites are added to help reduce spoilage by reducing bacteria and mold plus they help the wine keep it’s stability and uniformity of flavor. In the U.S., wines can have as much as 350 ppm (parts per million), while makers of low sulfite wines see levels around 40-90 ppm depending on the type of wine. A couple wines, like the complex dessert wine Cartagene, contain no added sulfites at all.

Wine makers that grow their grapes organically are striving to use as few sulfites as possible to further lessen the impact on the environment, but are open about why they need to use sulfites in the process. Many wine drinkers have sulfite sensitivity issues too, so these eco-friendly wineries allow them to enjoy wine without the allergy issues normally associated with the product.
Other ways eco-conscious wine makers are helping the environment are using gravity to get the juice rather than electric pumps and pruning techniques that are better for the Earth.