Is getting organic wine delivered to your door with the rest of your organic food is a dream or reality?

Getting organic wine is hard, because many local bottle shops do not carry any range of organic wines let alone organic food retailers.

I just wonder where all this organic wines are sold at?

Well, I got the chance to speak with few of winemakers at the organic expo, and I have asked them this exact question, most of them almost had the same answer: ”direct!”

70% of Australian organic wines are sold directly to consumers. This is a large percentage comparing it with the European and the US wine market.

However, this does not come without its limitations. Organic wine is expensive and one of the main reasons is the limited supply of organic wines and wineries in Australia.

One winery is reported that they sold all their wines each year via their wine club and newsletters. They did not have enough wine to supply all of their customers and each year their customers are increasingly buying more than what they can produce.

Is a good problem to have? For business is great, for wine lovers it’s a deferent story!

Unlike their counterparts, conventional wines, they find it harder and harder to sell their wines, because of the continued growth of wineries and the ever increasing of competition. Maybe it’s about time they consider adopting the organic way.

And I thought organic food was hard to get!

I would love to see an organic food retailer with a liquor license. This would make life so much easier. But finding organic food in Sydney that has a delivery service and a liquor license is almost impossible, because of the cost of the license it self.

I buy my organic food online from one company, and my organic wine from a deferent company!

I have also asked this question to a number of organic food home delivery companies and their answer was: “we do not have a liquor license!”

How hard would it be to get a liquor license? Well, I don’t personally know, I just drink it. But wouldn’t be good to be able to buy your weekly shopping and have it delivered with your favorite Shiraz or Rose. Only time will tell.

Let’s hope in the next couple of years, the organic food industry will expand to include a larger verity of products including Alcoholic beverages like wine and beer, like most of the European countries.

In the mean time, get on that wine list, and buy it direct like “almost” everyone else.

Any thought and ideas, please let me know. I would really love to hear from wineries or you if you do buy your wine direct.

Australia is the fourth largest producer of wine in the world. Australian wine has earned respect as a leader in combining tradition with new ideas and technology. Biodynamic and organic vineyards are gaining popularity in Australia, due in part to the organic movement and Australians commitment to the holistic, healthful properties of the earth.

Australian wine-makers travel the wine world as highly skilled seasonal workers, relocating to the northern hemisphere during the off-season at home. "They are an important resource in the globalization of wine” and wine critic Matt Kramer notes that "the most powerful influence in wine today comes from Australia”.

Australia has about 60 wine regions located across the country with 103 defined geographic wine growing districts.

The largest volume of wine is produced from grapes grown in the warm climate Murray-Darling Basin zones of Lower Murray, North Western Victoria and Big Rivers. In general, the higher-value premium wines are made from smaller and cooler-climate regions.

Among the most popular regions include the Hunter Valley, outside of Sydney, the Barossa Valley, in South Australia near Adelaide, and Yarra Valley, in Victoria outside of Melbourne.

In recent years, the Tasmanian wine industry has emerged as a producer of high quality wines. In particular, the Tamar Valley has developed a reputation for its Chardonnay and Pinot Noir, which are well suited to the cooler Tasmanian climate.

The major grape varieties in Australia are Shiraz (also called Syrah), Chardonnay, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sermillion, Sauvignon Blanc and Reisling.

The biggest, most well-known wineries in Australia inlcude Penfolds, Hardy Wine Company, Rosemount, Lindemans, and Wyndham Estates.  But when looking for exclusively organic and biodynamic wines you’ll need to look to Robinvale, Captains Creek, and Kalleske Wines.

Robinvale

Robinvale Wines have been operating since 1976, and for many years when people thought organic wine, they were the first brand, and sometimes the only brand, that spilled out of people's mouths. Now there are so many new organic wine producers in Australia, it's good to see that Robinvale aren't resting on their laurels, but continue to be innovative, leading the way with interesting new varieties

As a Certified Demeter Biodynamic wine, it's been produced using environmentally friendly, ecologically safe biological methods to activate and nurture the life of the soil, without the use of artificial or synthetic chemical pesticides, fungicides, herbicides, fertilizers and other unnecessary additives.

Captains Creek Organic Wines

This family-owned and operated vineyard in Daylesford, Victoria produces hand-crafted premium quality certified organic wines from the Burgundian grape varieties Chardonnay and Pinot Noir. No chemical additives are used throughout the wine-making and the essential preservative sulphur dioxide has been kept to a minimum.

Kalleske Wines

In South Australia’s celebrated Barossa Valley, the Kalleske family have been farming and growing grapes since the 1800s. All wines are estate grown and vinified with minimalistic winemaking techniques used to fully capture the essence of the vineyard allowing genuine hand made estate wines to be produced. They have received the Australian Certified Organic seal on all their wines.

Nowadays, people around the world are making their own wine. It’s a fun way to enjoy a particular type of fruit wine that you may not normally find in your local wine shop. Many folks who decide to try winemaking, experience the pride of serving their own bouquet to friends, family, and neighbors.

With home wine making you can be assured of the wine’s ingredients.  With all the confusion today over organic, biodynamic, and semi-organic wines, you’re never quite sure what you’re getting. If you decide to make organic wine from home, you know exactly how your grapes were grown, and what kind of preservatives and sulfites were added in the winemaking process.

When you make wine from scratch, you have several choices about how to get your grapes.  You can grow them yourself, which can take years, and require lots of work.  You can buy organic grapes from a vineyard, which is less effort, but may not give you the full satisfaction of the complete winemaking process.  And, lastly you can buy grape concentrates which may not yield the flavor you were looking for.

Home wine makers can add various ingredients to enhance the flavor of the grapes, to create a higher alcohol content, and to preserve the freshness of the wine and prevent oxidation. You can ferment grape juice in its own yeast, but most wine makers don’t want to take the chance.

You can also choose to add sugar or honey to grapes with lower sugar content. Some home winemakers add wood chips to get the woody flavor without storing the wine in wood barrels for long periods of time. And of course, every organic wine maker must ask him or herself whether to add sulfites, and if so how much. 

Sulfites prevent oxidation and spoiling of the wine.  But most wines that are certified organics are limited in the amount of sulfites that can be added in the wine making process. The fermentation process naturally creates sulfites, so you’ll need to be careful in your assessment.

If you want to make your own wine without all the hassle, you can buy home winemaking kits that include grape concentrate, yeast, nutrients, and preservatives, as well as the basic equipment you’ll need like a bucket, carboy, hydrometer, a siphon, and corks.  Some kits come with organic ingredients and limited additives.  These kits usually only require adding water and sugar. So they are handy, and come in several different wine types including Chardonnay, Reisling, Sherry, Port, Cabernet Sauvignon, Chianti, Merlot, Shiraz, and White Zinfandel.

All kits come with some sort of wine making instructions, and will generally yield a good bottle of wine in about three weeks.

With the movement towards organic winemaking, regular people are challenging themselves to get back to nature and to create a wine that is rich, flavorful, and aromatic without compromising the holistic values of organics.

Wine collecting has become increasingly popular and common over the last century with people of average or above income. Prior to this it was only the rich who would have wine collections which was usually located in the cellars of their homes. Of course this wine was only for family and guest use and was not so much viewed as an investment but rather as a need.
If wine has been stored correctly it can last for many years. Wine needs to be stored in the correct temperature and humidity in order for it to remain in good condition. 

Temperature

Temperature is a key factor in preserving your wine and allowing it to age well. The best temperature for wine storage is 56 – 58 degrees F. Organic esters in the wine gives it its characteristic flavor. At this temperature wine ages well and tastes great.

Different types of wines should be served at different temperatures. Use the following as a guide:

Red, rich, and full bodied wines are best served between 59 - 68 degrees F

• Rose, Blush, and Dry White wines should be served at 46 - 57 degrees F
• Light Red is better served at 54 - 57 degrees F
• Sparkling wines and Champagne should be served at 43 - 47 degrees F

A simple guide is that red wines can be served directly from storage and white wines should be removed from storage to the refrigerator before serving.

Controlling Humidity

Humidity levels of 70% RH or higher is optimal for wine storage. At this humidity level the cork will not shrink which prevents oxygen from slowly leaking into the bottle, causing oxidation and converting the wine to acid. Bitter wine is usually the result of oxidation, and humidity plays a big roll in preventing oxidation.

Ullage is the gap between the wine in the bottle and the cork. “Proper ullage” describes the distance that should exist between the cork and the wine. If the humidity level is maintained at 70% RH you will have cause the cork to expand and no wine can escape. Proper ullage makes the cork last longer and the wine stay fresher.

If the humidity of the wine bottle is lower than the 70%, the opposite will happen with wine slowly leaking from the bottle and the cork drying out, allowing oxygen to leak in. Air, or oxygen, is a wine destroyer.

If the wine in a bottle is filled to a high level this is generally a sign of a new wine or a very good wine of 5 – 15 years of age. If the wine is below the shoulder of the bottle the wine is probably not drinkable. Depending on the age and type of the wine the level of wine in the bottle will be different however the level should be at least to the upper shoulder on the bottle. When you find the wine level above the shoulder, you can be fairly certain it’s a good bottle of wine.

Sulfite free organic wine does not exist in nature.  It’s physically impossible.  But, organic wines low in sulfites or no-sulfites-added organic wines are becoming more popular in some circles.  There is a movement in the organic wine making industry that wants to rid wine of added sulfites. Why? It’s a chemical preservative. But let’s look at what it actually does.

What are Sulfites?

Sulfites are typically added during winemaking to prevent bacterial growth and oxidation. In sulfite-free wine, no sulfites can be added to the wine during the winemaking process, although they are naturally produced in the fermentation process. So, there is technically no such thing as a sulfite-free organic wine.

These days non-organic winemakers have often overused them to mask odors from the wine or a poor quality crop of grapes. Sulfites have been linked to headaches, respiratory problems, rashes, and other allergic reactions. The sulfites that are added cause these allergic reactions, whereas the naturally occurring sulfites usually cause no side effects. 

The biggest complaint about sulfites is the side effect of headaches.  While added sulfites can cause headaches, naturally occurring tannins released from the skins of the grapes are more likely the cause of headaches. But people are unsure and no conclusive testing has been done to demonstrate the harmful side effects of sulfites. So for now, organic proponents will say that if it isn’t naturally occurring, it shouldn’t be added.

What about Organic Wine and Sulfites?

Organic wine has no added sulfites, but sulfites are a naturally occurring result of fermentation, coming from the skin of the grapes. So, organic wines must maintain a level of sulfites less than 100 parts per million (ppm), as opposed to the 350 ppm limit for non-organic wine makers.

If you are concerned with added sulfites, you should be aware that European wines have significantly more sulfites than American wines. Also, white wines need twice the sulfites red wines do.

Taste of Sulfite-Free Wines

Many people have complained over the years about the taste of wines with no added sulfites. This is what has prevented organic wines from flying off the shelves.  But organic vineyards are doing better with this. 

Although sulfite-free wines have a brown tint to them, organic wine lovers are touting the rich, true flavor of the wine when no sulfites are added. But, still others will swear that sulfite-free wine tastes like battery acid.

Since wine tasting is such a personal thing, only you can decide if you like the flavor of truly organic wine with no added sulfites. Many times the good organics never get to the wine shop shelves, but can be found at local restaurants and wineries.  Since the nature of sulfite free wine is that it cannot sit for long periods of time without some spoilage, these untainted bouquets may never be for mass consumption.