As we delight in warmer springs, stay surprised by drier winters, and brace for blistering summer, it makes one wonder what we're doing to Mother Earth!
Earth Day, celebrated on this date annually, is a time to reflect and think about the products we eat and drink and how they're produced. After attending in January the Millesime Bio in Montpellier, France, I've become a fan. I'm not a fanatic but a big fan of the wines, the Languedoc, and the importance of buying food products - and wine - from producers who care about what they're doing to their soils, steams, and air.
Organic wine does not use chemicals - pretty simple isn't it?
You can find organic wines in the U.S., mostly from California along with biodynamic wines. In your wine shop you might have to make an effort to find a bottle. Too often the organic wines are stuffed in a corner with Kosher wines, state wines, and "other" bottles.
French wines are labeled "made with organic grapes." The French do add minimum sulfites while U.S. producers do not.
That is a discussion for another time and you can read more about it in the story I wrote for Palate Press after returning from France.
But for today think about organic wines. Try a few. If you have trouble finding them then I'll direct you to my friend Veronique Raskin's wonderful The Organic Wine Company website. The Bousquette, Mas Janiny, and Ventoux wines are a great starting point. Keep your eye open for wines imported by Paul Chartrand, also a friend, and one of the leading organic wine importers in the U.S.
Frankly, I'd challenge you to set up a blind tasting and see if you or your friends can taste any difference.
Most organic wines are wonderful. And, they're wonderful for Mother Earth.
Send comment or questions to: hewitthoward@gmail.com
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