Organic Vs Sustainable Vs Biodynamic, breaking it down!

Are you an organic wine lover? Or just wondered what makes a wine biodynamic? It has been heartening to see the ever-growing choice of wines that are labelled organic, sustainable and biodynamic. Nonetheless, there is a still a lot of confusion about what these terms means.

What qualifies as a sustainable wine? 

The meaning of ‘sustainable wine’ does tend to differ between countries. It may even differ between wine regions within a country. Generally, a sustainable wine will be one where the grower will be conscious of using farming techniques to protect the local environment. This may include improving biodiversity, recycling, water usage, and power consumption/generation. Some regions have Sustainability Programs that producers can sign up to. Many wine producers will merely mention it on the back label. 

The Organic wines 

Put simply, to officially call yourself an organic producer, you may need to become certified by your country’s organic regulator. This process can be expensive and lengthy. Needless to say, to be an organic producer, you will most likely follow sustainable farming principles. ‘Organic’ grape growers cannot use synthetic chemicals in their vineyards at all. It means only using plant or mineral based products to grow and produce your wines. 

This also means not being able to use genetically modified seeds or plant material. Of course, only organic wine products can be used to make that wine as well. Such as using an approved organic yeast. In saying that, some chemicals are allowed depending on the country. This includes sulphur and copper. Countries such as Australia and Europe allow some sulphur to be used. Conversely others, such as the USA do not allow sulphur to be used at all. This is despite sulphur being the best natural preservative for wine. Without it, many wines may have a shorter shelf life and may be prone to other faults. 

The Biodynamic wines

Biodynamic wine producers follow even stricter rules than organic producers. Many of the principles are the same, however, they include traditional farming techniques. Some of these principles includes things like noting the moon’s cycle and how it effects water in your soil. This allows you to choose the best days to carry out vineyard tasks. For example, the best days to plant, prune, fertilise or harvest. 

Another of these techniques includes burying manure in a cow horn over winter to allow the enzymes to react to produce a super fertiliser. This manure is well diluted. The mix is sprayed on the vines to assist the plants to grow stronger in spring. These are not new techniques. Perhaps, to say they were forgotten is more precise!

Does biodynamic make a difference? 

Biodynamic wines may have deliciously intense fruit while keeping their elegant proportions. They are rarely huge or powerful wines. Remarkably, it is not unusual to hear stories of how biodynamic producer’s vines are much healthier during poor vintage conditions as well. These vines may go on to produce good wines when many producers have lost their crops. Again, biodynamic producers require certification to label their wines as ‘biodynamic’. 

The problem with certification 

To be certified as organic or biodynamic is often a costly and long process. For instance, in some countries it might take six years of ‘conversion’ before you can be fully certified as ‘organic’. It goes without saying that it is easy to lose this certification too. Particularly in a year where, due to the weather, a producer may have no choice but to use a chemical not allowed under the certification. That producer will then have to start again. 

Another reason may be that it is simply too onerous. The situation in the USA is a great example. Currently in the USA, certified organic wines cannot have any sulphur used in the vineyard or the winery. This puts off many would-be certified producers. For these reasons, there are many more producers using organic growing and winemaking methods than are certified. It always pays to read the back label to check!