Organic Wines

2009-11-14T00:54:00.000-08:00

YEAST FREE WINES

Good Afternoon, I enjoy my wine as much as the next person, unfortunately I suffer from a yeast allergy. Do you currently have any wines that are yeast free?

Lucy
..............................................
Hi Lucy,

Have you had problems while drinking wines in the past? And if so was it really possible to link them to the presence of yeasts?

The reason I am asking is that yeasts, while necessary to the making of wine itself, fall at the bottom of the vats and are raked when transferring wine to different containers. After that there is a process of fining which grabs every particle in suspension, followed by a tight filtration. Another filtration is performed right before bottling. Given the size of a yeast cell it is virtually impossible to find one left in a wine bottle unless the wine has been purposefully kept and bottled without these processes, a rare occurrence that is advertised on the label since it is considered a plus by a certain public.

With allergy however it is conceivable that minute parts of a broken down yeast cell wall be present in the wine and that its protein constituents would be enough to trigger some response. When it comes down to such sizes it is simply impossible to be affirmative. There are a thousand elements in a wine though and if one has a bad reaction while drinking a glass it is pretty challenging to know what he is responding to. Regarding yeasts organically grown wines will not fare any better than conventional since their presence and work is central to the transformation of grape juice into wine. But experience shows that in most cases adverse reactions are caused by chemical residues (herbicides, pesticides) that should not be there or at least can be avoided by drinking organic products. In all our years of experience we found very few people who were not happy with the level of integrity achieved by the wines we selected. However the ultimate judge will be your own physiology when you try one of them yourself.

Dr Mic

2009-10-02T12:52:00.000-07:00

SULFITES
How much sulfites does the average wine bottle contain that you would buy at a retail store? I tend to have a hit or miss on wines...if it has a high sulfite content I have a severe allergic reaction. I have started writing down the wines that I dont have a reaction to. I havent had a NSA or organic wine yet.

Sonal
........................................
That is a very good question but one pretty hard to answer! We do know that our wines and organically grown in general MUST be under 100ppm. Our analysis shows levels of 30 to 60 for the reds, 50 to 80 for the whites. Commercial wines (conventional) can have up to 160 but it’s entirely dependant on the winery’s habits. Given the tens of thousands of different labels giving an average has really no useful significance. Moreover the main problem is that nobody knows if you are responding to sulfites or other things or any combinations of the 1,000 chemical components of a wine!! Certainly the residues of chemicals used in conventional viticulture has a big role to play but guess what? Nobody is interested in finding out! Finally the chemically active part of the sulfites present is never measured since it is constantly changing however that would be the only significant measurement. The total sulfites level reported can then have no bearing with the actual active part!

As you can see when you start digging into the matter it is very complex. Naturally everybody in particular the consumer would love a simple yes/no answer but you won’t get it!

What we can say with a certain level of assurance is that the vast majority of people who have ever had any problem whatsoever drinking wine has been extremely satisfied with organically grown wines. Maybe 1% of those with sensitivities still respond to something in organic wines but what is it really (tannins, histamine, anthocyans, sulfites, pesticides residues, etc…) is anyone’s guess!

Dr Mic

2009-09-01T12:14:00.000-07:00

BREATHING TIME

Dear Michel,

We have been traveling quite a bit lately and leave for France next week but I have been intending to write to let you know that I've tried only the Janiny Merlot 2004. I opened it at home one evening last week, poured out a glass and then put the cork back in and enjoyed very much the one glass. Then two days later we went to our friends' house for dinner and I took my opened bottle. Wow! It was very good when I first opened it but after the two days it was truly quite special. It rounded out beautifully with a rich fullness it had gained from, I'm surmising, being opened and doing some breathing during those couple of days?? Anyway, I absolutely loved it. This time I'm going to keep a record of the wines I really like so when it comes time to re-order, I'll get my favorites.

When we go through all of the other wines (which is quite a challenge), I would love to fill the wine room with plenty of organic wines to be able to introduce my friends to how delicious they are.

Kindest regards,

Sherrill
...............................................;
Hi Sherrill,

I am sure glad that you had a more positive experience with the second wine, the way it should be! Indeed it is quite interesting to see how a wine holds and evolves over a couple of days. Surprisingly, organic wines are much sturdier than one might expect and actually oftentimes outlive their conventional counterparts! It is quite exciting to hear that kind of experience and I hope you'll have more like that!

Best regards and happy French travel!

Dr Michel Ginoulhac

2009-08-25T08:48:00.000-07:00

PROBLEM WITH A BOTTLE
Michel - at the end of June we purchased a case of wines on sale. We
have loved each and every one of them with one exception... the Mas de
Janiny Syrah, 2005. We have really enjoyed this wine in the past and
included 3 bottles in our case. The first bottle was just fine but
the both of the last two have been not even drinkable - the cork was
very colored and the wine actually fizzed upon pouring. Needless to
say we were really disappointed! Not sure what your refund policy is
but I see you have a Barbera still on clearance.... we also had two
bottles of that in our order which have been wonderful and some
chardonnay would also be an acceptable substitute. Thanks for
bringing great organic wines to the world!

- Anna
............................
Hello Anna,

Happy to hear about your satisfaction! Unfortunately your experience with this vintage of Janiny Syrah has been common. This wine has encountered a sad fate which we nor the producer can understand. Since we are always trying to put a minimum of sulfites it is probable that the level was just too low this time and that the wine did not stabilize and refermented in the bottle. It is an illustration of the difficulty of bringing low sulfites wines to market. A problem like that can be devastating to both the producer and the distributor.
Therefore we pulled the '05 out of the Catalog as soon as we understood there was a problem. In the meantime the '06 has just arrived in the warehouse.
We can refund you or send you the 2 bottles you mentioned. Usually we don't do that because of the shipping costs. Would you consider taking a credit for a next order to be more (eco)logical/nomical?
DrMic

2009-08-24T23:17:00.000-07:00

Good morning Dr. Michel,

Just to let you know that I have a copy of your brochure, it was included with my first order of organic wines from you. It also includes information on “Storing Wines.”
Although my dwelling/condo is an apartment-type building, my place is air-conditioned. I have the wine stored on its side and will let it rest from at least 5 to 10 days. It was an excellent buy and I am glad to have had a chance to purchase and have it sent and delivered in excellent condition.

Thanks again for the opportunity,

Ciao, Pauline

2009-08-24T23:14:00.000-07:00

HOW LONG TO KEEP WINES?

Can you help me? I am most definitely not a wine expert. However I love the organic wines you offer. I would like to take advantage of the 'angel' discount for the Bousquette wines but I will not be using them until November (Thanksgiving). Can I keep them that long? I do not have a wine cellar/frig/etc.
thank you
Denise
..........................
Hi Denise,
Don’t worry about these wines, they will last probably several more years! The Rosé is the only one you would want to drink earlier as it would simply lose the quality of freshness typical to these wines. But even this one will be fine in a year (we’re still selling the 07). Actually the Veronique 07 is probably a bit young and will only be better in a few months. 4 to 6 years after harvest year is the average optimum time for these wines. Provided the temperature of your cupboard does not jump up and down you are taking no risk!

Sincerely

Michel

2009-08-10T03:55:00.000-07:00

ALLERGIC REACTION TO SULFITES?

Hi Michel,

I read your article on sulfites with interest.
I recently drank a brand of white wine (Pinot Grigio) that I had never tried before (though I have tried several others). I had a severe allergic reaction - my tongue swelled and I had to be rushed to the emergency room.

There was no other change in my diet and I have never had an allergic reaction to anything before. Is it possible that brand has an unusually high sulfite content?

Thanks,
John
................................................
Hi John,

White wines in general contain more sulfites than reds because of the need to preserve color and freshness. Even organically grown contain around 80ppm (max 100 by law). However conventional wines have less restrictions and could go up to 160. It all depends on the bottling conditions and nothing except a chemical analysis will tell you the exact content. Also aside from the total sulfites content, it is the active part that is important because it is the one responsible for the chemical activity and therefore your own reaction. This is never mentioned so you could conceivably with the same amount of total sulfites for instance 100ppm have an active level of a few ppm up to 30 or 40ppm which would explain why one wine would not create any problem and an apparently similar one trigger a big reaction!
Not very reassuring for you I guess. However when one is sensitive to sulfites a high content is generally easy to spot thanks to the smell or by tasting a very tiny amount. Have you been aware of that?

Generally speaking if you have been able to drink most wines you should be completely safe with organically grown wines which have a maximum allowed content of 100ppm. For the past 30 years we have had countless customers satisfied with our products. Only extreme allergy sufferers need to stay away from anything having touched the allergen they are sensitive to.

DrMic
............................
Hi Dr. Mic,

Thanks for the information.
I *did* notice that the wine tasted "funny."

I never had a reaction before and I never had that wine before, so I didn't know strange/different = danger. Now I do.

Thanks,
John

2009-07-26T09:48:00.000-07:00

ALLERGY AND VEGAN WINES

I have a severe seafood allergy (fish and shellfish) and was wondering which of your wines are vegan. Also do your vegan wines contain carrageenan? Or are there any other wines I can drink other then the vegan ones?

Thanks in advance
Criss
....................................
Hi Criss:

You can easily find the Vegan section in our General Wine Catalog.
Fish byproducts are used very rarely as fining agents and only on white wines. Therefore all red/rose wines even non vegan should be fine for you and I am not aware of any of my white wines fined with fish products at the moment.

Carrageenans are food additives that have no usage in wines and would be banned in organic wines anyway.

You should be safe with our line of wines!

Dr Mic

2009-06-17T05:29:00.000-07:00

SHELF LIFE OF ORGANIC WINES

Can you please tell me what the shelf life is for organic wine and vegan
vine? I would like to order but do not drink often, and keep it mainly for
company. Thank you!
Terie
.......................................................
Hello Terie,

There is no real difference between the shelf life of organic versus non organic wines. Totally organic, meaning without any added sulfites, will probably not keep for many years even though I have seen examples to the contrary. The main difference will happen when you open the bottle and the oxidation will start quickly limiting the drinking time to a few hours. However with the vast majority of what is called organic wines but is really organically grown wines with some added sulfites [for instance all the wines we carry are in that category], wines will keep very well and once open will last in the same way as "regular" wines. The factors at play here are not the organic growing but rather the type of wine, color, body, style, age, varietal etc etc as well as the outside temperature and the storage conditions which will influence more strongly the future of your bottle.

Being vegan or not (no animal byproduct used for the fining of the wine) will have absolutely zero influence on its shelf life.

For instance in your case if you keep wine mainly for company without any idea of when they will be served it may be wiser to get some sturdy reds which will withstand a couple of years in the cellar rather than light whites or fruity reds which will lose their youthful qualities if you keep them indefinitely!

Sincerely

Dr Mic

2009-04-03T10:49:00.000-07:00

FLOUR PASTE AND BARRELS

Hello Michel,
Thank you so much for taking the time to explain the use of flour paste on wine barrels today. It will be so wonderful to be able to use wine in cooking for my children and not have to worry about traces of gluten contamination. Here are a few links for the information that folks who have celiac disease are so worried about:
http://www.stavin.com/barrelsystems/insert.htm
http://www.ntolerance.co.nz/Services.aspx?PageID=125

Instead of wheat flour paste on the barrels, maybe arrowroot starch could be used to make a paste instead. Very very few people are allergic to arrowroot but about 1% of the population has celiac disease.

Leigh Ann
......................................
Hi Leigh Ann,

Thanks for the links, I did learn something today! As you can read on these links this use of a wheat flour paste concerns the MAKING of barrels, something that winemakers are not involved in directly. This is why myself and others consulted had never heard of it before. It is used exclusively and once only to seal tight the bottoms, the 2 round pieces of wood at the extremities of the barrel. Realize that first the amount used is minute given the space to fill, probably a few grams per barrel, second that most of any potential residue is washed away by successive water fillings and that what's is left is hardly in contact with the wine. Finally whatever amount is still present is diluted in 40 gallons of wine and this several times over the course of the barrel lifetime. Therefore while it is still conceivable that trace amounts could be found in the final product I wonder which unit you would have to use to describe it, milligrams per liter for sure and possibly parts per million! I honestly do not know at which level of sensitivity goes celiac disease. Can it be that sensitive? Some toxins are felt at highly diluted levels but I have no idea if gluten could be that dangerous for certain people. I am seriously doubting it but since I lack the appropriate information I can only guess. And I suppose that affected people are the only ones capable to answer that question.
As far as suggesting a different component to the barrel makers that would take an effort from a celiac disease association to contact the dozens of companies making barrels and offer a valid substitute that would have to be tested first for efficiency and neutrality of taste.

Regarding your own personal quest you will be safe staying with white and rosé wines which are only exceptionally put in oak barrels. As for red wines the vast majority of today's wines are made for fast consumption therefore all the young fruity type wines of the most recent vintages would be ok. Oak aging concerns only a few percent of the total production and is reserved for wines of a high enough quality to deserve being kept for a few years or decades. I would guess that anything under $12 should be fine and this characteristic can be easily checked with the vendor.

All the best
Dr Mic
....................

2009-03-28T16:46:00.000-07:00

Dear Veronique,
I am 41 years old and a Breast Cancer Survivor this past year.
As I had a lot of time on my hands during chemo last year, I read several books. Everyone of them had a paragraph on sugar, a paragraph on animal fat, a paragraph on antibiotics....but 2 pages on Alcohol. I was disappointed, as my husband and I truly love to share our day over a glass of wine in the evening and an occasional bottle of champagne over the weekends. I am looking further into these accusations to see if I can put to rest some of the hype. Can you help me understand "Organic Wine" as compared to non organic wine. Can you give me any information from your winemaker that may help me understand with millions of women around the world that think they can no longer enjoy a glass of wine?
.............................
Dear friend,
I understand your concern given your personal background! I have been reading the same information that you probably have. Nowadays we are inundated with studies which try to draw helpful conclusions and they are all fascinating however I deplore the use of the term "risk" in these presentations where all they found was a correlation between alcohol intake and cancer, but did not talk about all the other factors that may be involved! To make it a cause/effect relationship seems exaggerated. I am always doubtful of studies that overtime tend to be contradicted by new studies. However it is quite probable that the intake of ethyl alcohol has negative effects on your health just like many other components of wine are found to have a positive effect. Everything is always a matter of balance and moderation. Also it is important to come to terms with the fact that living is essentially dying slowly and that the present obsession with avoiding any kind of stress/poison/pollution is utterly ridiculous in view of all the things that can befall on us on a daily basis. How much of life do we have to do without to make it “safe” enough for our comfort and what kind of fun would you have living that life? I think the sickness comes from this attempt to control each and every aspect of our environment which is a never ending and probably lost battle. Lest you want to live in fear it is better to listen to your body wisdom and go for the feel good sensation provided you have enough clarity to understand what well being and balance mean for you.

That said, there is no reason to believe that the alcohol in organic wines is any different in its effects than the one in conventional wines. (until new studies prove that!). However several things could mitigate these effects: organic wine is a much more complete, balanced and therefore digestible product. The energetic signature of organic/biodynamic wines is incomparably stronger and healthier than conventional wines. The elements present in them certainly contribute to the best possible assimilation/elimination of undesirable components. Secondly, the absence of residues of any sort may also make a difference. In the studies there is no reference to organic wines versus conventional (that would stir serious controversy) and therefore who knows what is the incidence of the presence of pesticides which are a known cancer factor. This is the kind of subtlety that goes unnoticed in such studies. Alcohol is the big red flag but it may be all the things that come with it which are the real culprit.

To illustrate my point look at the tobacco statistics. There is a confusion between cigarette smoking and tobacco. If you were growing your own tobacco leaves, drying them and smoking them you would probably never get a cancer. But in a cigarette you are smoking a plant that has been treated with 40 different chemicals to grow it, protect it, dry it, color it, save it, flavor it etc, etc… plus the same thing on the paper itself! Therefore you are smoking a cocktail of chemicals where tobacco itself may play a secondary role. The industrial aspect of the tobacco business has made smoking indeed dangerous. It may well be the same for wine.

Another factor to consider is that organic wines in general and French ones in particular have a lower level of alcohol. Again there is more balance in the fruit leading to a more balanced end product. (and no acceptable way to correct artificially one aspect or the other). Since the risk is linked to the quantity absorbed it makes sense to look for wines around 12.5%, to drink it with food so that the alcohol is better digested, to eat enzymes which are sorely missing in our diet (Wobenzyme being one of the best).

Finally read Hulda Clark’s book “the Cure and Prevention of All Cancers” to understand what cancer really is and take the appropriate measures to protect yourself.

And I hope you won’t let anyone and particularly statistics prevent you from enjoying the simple pleasures of life that make it worth living!D

Dr Mic

2009-03-28T16:43:00.000-07:00

LOW SULFITES CONTENT

What is the lowest sulfate red wine that I can order from you?

Karen
........................
We do not monitor the sulfite level in wines. It is a rather irrelevant measure since it varies from one bottling to the next and does not reflect in any predictable way the physiological response one might get from it since a number of other factors are involved. The measure is of total sulfites and never the free or active sulfites which is really the portion that creates reactions.
In any case our red wines are all within short distance from each other between 30 and 60ppm so the difference is not really significant. Bourgogne Pinot Noir is one of the consistently lowest with Domaine des Cedres, below 30ppm.

Dr Mic

2009-03-04T14:57:00.000-08:00

SULFITES LEVELS IN WINES

Is there a site that will indicate the percentage of sulfites in various
types of wine? Thanks
............................
You will find a few here:
http://chartrandimports.com/sulfites.pdf
our colleague Paul from Chartrand Imports has attempted to list them however this is a pretty futile exercise. The actual levels change from one bottling to the next, from one vintage to the other and evolve after that in different ways. Therefore it is impossible to guarantee that these numbers are representative of reality. However the general picture is correct. Moreover this gives you the total sulfites, not the active part that would be the one interesting to know since it is the one responsible for unpleasant reactions.
As I mention on our website red wines are generally lower, between 30 and 60 ppm, whites are above, between 60 and 80 with sparkling reaching 100ppm more easily.

Dr Mic

2009-02-24T00:31:00.000-08:00

Thank you for your education bit on sulfites and organic wine. I was wondering if you thought that the labeling requirements were appropriate for organic wine. Meaning, when organic grapes have sulfites added to the wine, they cannot bear the USDA organic, the bottle can only say "made with organic grapes." Do you think this is reasonable? Or should sulfites not be part of the organic labeling requirements, when the FDA already requires the wine to label if it contains added sulfites. I would greatly appreciate you thoughts on this issue!!

Monique
................................................

Obviously I would prefer myself to have the right to use the organic label for wines with limited added sulfites. I think the public as a whole is losing greatly because this labeling fragments a little more the market in subdivisions that have almost no relevance. One could still put forward the non usage if that was the case but to ostracize 97% of organically grown wines because of that is punitive to the growers and ultimately to the public, in my opinion. Unfortunately it is of little weight!

Dr Mic

2009-01-04T23:31:00.000-08:00

I would like to order wines that have NO added sulfites or yeasts. I have many allergies to things like eggs, corn, soy, yeast, wheat. I drink wine occasionally and LOVE it. I do notice tho that most wines give me real headaches and uck feeling. Do you have any available that are 100% organic, not just organic grapes? I look forward to hearing from you. I look forward to finding great wines to drink in 2009.

Also, my son likes reds, I have drank mostly whites, like pino grigiot- my uncle brought one to me that had the most buttery after taste, which has to do with the oak? I donʼt know. But then my son brought us over some Chilean wines, two dif kinds and wow. One was too spicy but the other had some punch but not overwhelming, so now I think I need to look into reds as well. So I will be learning as we go. Just no sulfites or yeast added, is that possible?
Thanks, Joann
............................
Hi Joann,

Thank you for contacting us. Your concern is one that I hear everyday. If you take the time to read my pages on sulfites
http://www.theorganicwinecompany.com/sulfites.php and on vegan wines you will see the difficulties of finding wines without sulfites.
You can easily find wines that have had no contact with albumin in the vegan section. In reality there is none left in the wines because of the tight filtration that is used for bottling anyway. This process also eliminates any residual yeast. It is impossible however to make wine without yeasts, be they naturally present or added, just as it is impossible to make yogurt without them! And there is no difference between the 2, it is just a selection of strains, just like you can make yogurt by chance, hoping that the right kind of ferment will be naturally present or add one which you already know. If you’re lucky you might get a fabulous result, if not, well…

On the other hand to import wines without sulfites is extremely risky and not worth the effort. Your reactions have 99% probability to be caused by other things, namely residues of pesticides or other chemicals. I have had thousands of sensitive people over the years completely satisfied with the level of quality that we provide. My sister actually got into this because of her extreme sensitivity to anything chemical and she is a very good “guinea pig”!

Bottom line, I will refund you if after trying any of our wines you do not feel just fine, that’s all I can say. Trying is the only way to know for yourself. However if you insist on finding 100% organic you will need to turn toward the handful of domestic producers who can provide them: Frey, Organic Works, China Bend, Badger Mountain (probably the best one). However their taste will make you understand why everybody else uses sulfites!

If you were truly allergic to sulfites it would be safer to drink red wines since there is always a higher content in white wines! In reality my own experience has shown that was not the issue with sensitive people. But you can only trust your own physiology!

DrMic

2009-01-01T16:57:00.000-08:00

Hello,
I just ordered your organic wines. I did have a question that maybe you could answer. I recently heard on a TV news program about wines tested contained metals. They listed the wines from 3 countries that had no metals. They were Brazil, Venezuela, and Italy. Why would wines have metal and were does the metals come from? Processing, soil? Any danger to health?
Thanks, Nancy
........................
Hi Nancy,
While this study has been drummed up if you look carefully at the way it has been conducted the results seem at a minimum unreliable or even not significant.
It is a meta study, gathering results of a bunch of previous studies and the way these things are put together and weighted is central to the quality of the results you get. Unfortunately this kind of occurrence is frequent nowadays in journalism under the cover of “science”!
The presence of lead for instance may be attributed to studies done before 94 when lead capsules were still in use (for expensive wines mind you) and therefore be totally irrelevant nowadays. It is not clear either if the amount found of any of the co-called heavy metals (I did not think Manganese belonged to them) is really significant in terms of their bioactivity. All of that seems pulled by the hair.

Based on these results I would not worry about it. In any case, if metals are found in wine, apart form copper which is widely used in the fields as an anti mildew, they probably come from their presence in pesticides or weed killers or even as pollutants in synthetic fertilizers. Since none of these are used in organic agriculture, this particular risk is probably close to 0 when you drink organically grown wines anyway.

All the best

Dr Mic

2008-12-21T01:30:00.000-08:00

Hi,

I've ordered wine a couple times from your site and particularly enjoyed the 2004 Coteaux du Languedoc Domaine Didier (no-added-sulfites red wine). I just went on to try to re-order some, but couldn't seem to find it anywhere on your site. Are you no longer carrying it, or is it just temporarily out-of-stock? Thanks for your help.

Best,
Shannon
......................................
Hi Shannon,

Unfortunately our good friend Didier died from a ruptured aneurism earlier this year and his wife could not follow in his footsteps. There won’t be anymore Didier wine!

It was indeed exceptional by many aspects and I doubt very much to find anything comparable. No added SO2 wines are generally not that great and when they are their price is also high. Add to that the high risk of importing such wines and you will understand why I am very cautious with them!

Château Véronique is one of the closest wines (or Bousquette) we have.
Sorry about that
Dr Mic

2008-12-09T15:16:00.000-08:00

hello, I was reading about your company and want to ask one question
before I place my order.
I drink wine on occasion. Two sips is the perfect digestive aid for
me. So, I tend to pour much wine down the drain as the bottle goes bad
before I finish it. A friend suggested port as it has a long shelf
life. Is this true? If so, I will order your organic port. Thank you
for your time
Pal
.....................
Certainly! Port can be kept for a long time as well as Cartagene (which is much sweeter though), the bottle standing and corked in a fresh place (but not fridge necessarily).
However if you enjoy red wines ours can last up to a week without much difficulty. If you get one of these stoppers where you can pull the air out you extend their life quite a bit. That's what I use when I have opened many bottles for a tasting. Other option: a bomb of neutral gas (nitrogen) that protects from oxygen with the same result of life extension (used in wine bars)

Dr Mic

2008-12-06T09:31:00.000-08:00

My sister has celiac disease and can't consume anything with gluten in it.
I was hoping to get her some wine for Christmas, and wanted to know if you had any gluten free wines.

Thank You,

Henry
............................................

Dear Henry,

I had to look up for the information myself as I have never heard of anybody using gluten as a clarifying agent! It seems to be indeed a possible alternative very rarely used in the clarification of white wines. However the following articles seem to conclude that there is simply no risk whatsoever in wine regarding the presence of gluten.

Article 1
Article 2

In any case none of our producers use this product so you are clear!

All the best

Dr Mic

2008-11-09T10:31:00.000-08:00

I wish to purchase an inexpensive dry red wine that does not have any added sulfites as I am sensitive to sulfa drugs. The pharmacist said I would just have to challenge things with sulfites in them as I would be bothered by some and not others. So after reading this article, I would like you to recommend a wine with the least amount of sulfites.

Thanks,
Alice
.................................................................................
Hi Alice,

As you can read on my website there is more to this subject than the simple number representing sulfites. First of all this number is not often available since it is actually different with every bottling done by the vintner. Conditions change over the course of the year and therefore the quantity of added sulfites in the bottle vary. Then in many cases people are actually sensitive to other chemicals present in wine other than sulfites OR to the combination of one with the other. Consequently there is no way to assess your sensitivity to a wine unless you try it with your own physiology. Your pharmacist is right! All our wines being organically grown have less than 100ppm of sulfites in them. The Didier has the least amount, unfortunately we are getting to the last cases of it.
Finally people imagine that it should be easy to simply make a wine without sulfites. In reality it is very difficult to make a good wine like that and particularly one that lasts! The financial risk is extreme for the producer and the distributor! You can try domestic wines without sulfites (my Daily Red and Frey wines for instance). They are cheap and sell well but are definitely not good in our opinion. Decent organic wines without sulfites will never be cheap, that is a contradiction in terms! The extra care required and the financial risk assumed will always be reflected in the price!
Balance is the main factor in everything you ingest. We guarantee that our wines will agree with you or we refund them so confident we are about their quality.
Red wines in general contain less sulfites however since they are more complex they also contain elements that may induce other responses, there is no simple answer!

sincerely

Dr Mic

2008-11-02T01:55:00.000-07:00

I was looking at your organic wines and could only find two bottles and both looked like red wine, but from the testimonies from people it sounded like you had some white wines, where might I find them?
thank you
.....................................................................
You were at the right place! Unfortunately the white wine we had was a Muscadet and the producer had an horrible 2007 season so simply did not make any last year. I will see if there is any hope for 2008.
NSA (No AddedSulfites) wines are rare, usually expensive, not always good and particularly dangerous (for us) to handle since when they turn bad we are the ones holding the bag and taking responsibility for the loss. Too late to complain to the producer since we are supposed to know what we are doing when we buy them!
All in all a very risky business for the sake of a product we don't particularly feel is necessary or justified. Indeed it is an extremely rare individual (I would say a few per million) who cannot drink our "regular" organically grown wines which carry only a limited amount of sulfites. Even my sister who is highly sensitive to anything looking like a chemical drinks them every day of her life without ever a problem. This explains the paucity of our offer. Importing them involves high risk and the domestic ones you can find are frankly not that drinkable!
So for now you have to give a try to our regular white wines and go on trust! If they don't agree with you I will gladly refund your purchase!

DrMic

2008-10-15T23:13:00.000-07:00

I recently opened 2 bottles out of a shipment of 6 bottles of French Didier wine and it was bad.
I have not opened the other 4 bottles but expect the same problem. My other Didier wine that I
had previously ordered from you is fine. Please tell me what to do in order to get a refund or return of these 6 bottles. I would like to continue to order this wine or similar sulfite free wines but worry that it does not ship well or have a long "shelf" life. Please advise.

Thanks,
Jim W.
...............................................................................
Hi Jim,

There is no telling what will come out of the other 4 bottles unless you open them! Since I don't know what can be the problem on the first 2 that is impossible to guess. Corks come all mixed up in big bags and therefore cannot be just bad in a given case (unless the whole 1,000 or 10,000 are bad for instance which may also happen!). One could imagine that some shipments have encountered more heat than others which might explain the situation. In any case it would be silly to return these bottles: either they are good and you can enjoy them or they are bad and you can throw them out just as well as we can and without paying a second shipping charge! So try them out and we will resend or refund you the number of bad bottles, it's that simple!

This wine will be discontinued not because it's bad (because it has been exceptionally good for an NSA wine) but because the wine maker is dead! We have only a few cases left of it so grab what you can since we guarantee it anyway. NSA wines are certainly more prone to turning bad than sulfited wines and that's the whole problem. And what happens when they do? Well, it's a financial disaster! As you mention you worry about their shelf life. Imagine when you have a container load! That is why we stick to wines with a reasonable protection with a low amount of sulfites, that's the best of both worlds.

Dr Mic

2008-10-13T02:28:00.000-07:00

Dear Michel,

the most recent order was shipped and received promptly. I wish there were a way to reuse that beautiful packing material and not waste it, but I can't see how.

There is a problem this time: The first bottle I opened was a Bousquette '03, and it is bad. I think the cork must have been bad as it is like vinegar. The second bottle is drinkable, but it isn't as good as I remember from before, like it is starting to go off. I guess I have to make my way through this case and see how the others are.

Herbert
...................................................
Dear Herbert,

Just keep track of the number of bad bottles and next time we will replace them with the new vintage. Remember our unconditional guarantee! It seems that this 2003 did not last as much which in a sense was expected due to the scorching temperatures of that year. But it may also be a cork problem. Vintners and particularly organic winemakers are caught between going natural with the usual natural corks which, because of the high demand tend to create problems no matter the price you put on them (mind you, they range from a few cents to a dollar a piece!) and going with other modern closures (screw caps, synthetic and reconstituted corks etc), which encounter resistance in the public and worries about their innocuity. A never ending problem!

Best to you
Mic

2008-10-01T01:07:00.000-07:00

I've returned to your web site and am unable to verify ppm on any of the wines. Am I missing where it is listed? If I do order, it will be on occasion not on a monthly basis.
Linda
.....................................................
You are not missing anything. I have simply stated a ballpark figure for the wines in the Sulfites section (30 to 60 for the reds, 60 to 80 for the whites, 100 for sparkling).
Beyond that, tracking sulfites levels in each bottle is a major headache, knowing that they change virtually at each new bottling, not just each vintage! And the difference are significant in numbers though insignificant in my view as an indication for you. Why? Because they measure the Total sulfites and never the active part which is the one protecting the wine and at the same time potentially harmful. This you never get. Therefore you can have a high total sulfites number with low active part and the reverse. In reality there is little information that can be derived from looking at the number only. Knowing that organic growers have a maximum allowed of 100ppm and that they thrive to stay well below is enough. Then it is your own reaction to the particular wine because there are literally hundreds of components in a wine that effect the way sulfites are absorbed. It is a very complex chemical interaction that no measurement will be able to analyze better than your own body.
drMic

2008-09-30T17:27:00.000-07:00

Did you stop carrying the larger bottle of the Cartagene Andre Bourguet?
I am able to find it on the Internet in the larger bottle but the different sites take me back to you and then I can't find it on you site.
I just love this wine, is there another wine that you could recommend in the same category with the similar sweetness? I don't care for dry or bitter wines. The Cartagene is the best..

Please let me know.

Thank You,

Christina
......................................
Indeed the new packaging is in 500 ml. It's the same wine, different vintage. The large bottles are simply less appealing and most dessert wines are sold in 500 ml size.

My friend André would be happy to hear you comment his wine! I sell very little of it but have always kept it because I think it is such a unique product.
sincerely
DrMic
..................................
Now that you mention the difference, on one of my orders I ordered for one large bottle and one small. I noticed a slight difference in taste, but I just thought it was me and I do agree the smaller bottle was better than the larger version.
Tell your friend Andre that I have never been a wine drinker much less a drinker of any kind.
I just had never acquired the taste for alcohol, but I am truly in love with this wine.
I look forward to my evening glass everyday.
If you have any other recommendations of another wine with the same exquisite sweetness and smoothness just let me know, I am willing to try another.
I will be placing my order this evening for another case of the "Cartagene".

Thank You Again,

Christina
............................................................
Well, the 500 ml were made with a different vintage so the wine is a bit different in color, less deposit too, different blend. This is not an industrial production!
It surely is a delight and you can surprise anyone with it!
In our line the Port would be the closest thing even though less sweet, more tart maybe more sophisticated in taste when the Cartagene is closer to the fruit juice.

Another delight is the Moscato d'Asti, light bubbles, high sweetness, delicacy in taste if you know the Muscat grape. The main problem with it, since it is only 5% alcohol, I can drink the whole bottle by myself without feeling any need to share it with anyone!
Finally if you look towards more "real" wines, the Gewurztraminer is the sweetest wine we have, very elegant, refined, a masterpiece!

Glad you're enjoying your glass!
DrMic

2008-08-13T17:47:00.000-07:00

Do you know where I can get organic wine bottle corks? The only ones I have
seen thus far are TCA treated - I don't know what TCA is, but it does not
sound organic to me.

Thanks,
Michael
...................................................
TCA treatment means that the cork has been treated (there are several techniques, some based on steam distillation) to remove TCA which is the substance responsible for the tainted corks taste. Therefore it does not indicate a treatment WITH a substance called TCA!
Innocork for instance has a pretty good reputation.

Dr Mic

2008-06-27T07:39:00.000-07:00

I wanted to ask you, now that I am receiving your wines regularly, when should one slightly chill a red wine. I am told that not all red wines should be served at room temperature. I just received my 12 pack and a couple of the bottles said to serve at room temperature and the others said nothing about how to serve. The whites of course need to be chilled. I purchased a beverage fridge a while back and I am starting to use if for my new wines. It tells you basically where to place the types of wines. Red on top at a minimum etc. Any information will be greatly appreciated.

Joanna
............................................................................
Most red wines do not appreciate being chilled as it tends to flatten their aromas so it is all a matter of degree (literally!) and your taste buds will ultimately be the judge.
As a rule, young, fresh, fruity, light reds with little extraction (and color) will be better off a bit chilled (like our Beaujolais, Barbera, Gypsy melody, Ventoux…) since they are in a sense closer to the fruit juice. The older guys with more evolved scents, more complex aromas will be fine hardly fresher than room temperature. Now that is tricky because are we talking of Winter or Summer here? In the old days the cellar was probably between 8 and 13 celsius (50 to 60F) and therefore the purpose of "chambrer" a bottle was to bring it to room temperature which, by then, was probably only 16 to 18 C (65-70F) far from our heated houses nowadays! It is interesting to taste a wine at different temperatures as it expresses a variety of aromas that will be released according to their volatility.

hope this helps
Michel

2008-04-20T08:36:00.000-07:00

Hello,
I've been reading about the chemical in plastics called BPA and learned that this plastic is sometimes used to line the casks that are used to store wine (I think that's how it was used).
For this reason apparently wine has a very high level of this chemical that they now feel is a carcinogen. Do you know if the organic wines are stored differently? Or have your wines been tested for this chemical? I've ordered your wines in the past, and I'd certainly want to order even more if I could confirm that yours are BPA-free.
Thank you!
Donna
.................................................................
Hi Donna,

To my knowledge wine containers are made of
Concrete
Wood (oak, sweet chestnut)
Stainless steel
Steel or concrete covered with a special polymer paint suited for food
Fiberglass (epoxy resin + glass fibers)
This is what is used and accepted for organic wines
I have seen small containers of plastic used for carrying wine, not storing it. It is always an accepted material for alcohol products.

Now with advanced knowledge basically there is no safe container as even glass could contain lead residues and stainless containers have electric charges creating problems of their own. It's just a matter of how hard you want to look into something to find its drawbacks! You've got to own a very high level degree of chemistry and biochemistry to inquire about the thousands different products coming out, provided you have the time and money to do the proper research. It is a maddening search! All I can say is that our producers and all organic ones for sure are particularly concerned and attentive to this kind of thing on top of having stringent regulations.
It's a crazy world and we can only aim for a reasonable amount of risk without turning completely paranoid! There is no reason why this BPA would show up in our wines but I would not be able to give you a certificate for that!

Sincerely

Dr Mic

2008-04-18T06:09:00.000-07:00

Subject: Château Véronique

Hi there

FYI you cannot write "estate bottled" if it is a "Mis en Bouteille à la propriété", it is a consumer confusion. "Estate Bottled = mis en bouteille au château".

Best,
Stephane
PS: You can send me a case for my advice:-)!
.............................................................
Thank you Stephane! I would be interested to know the official text where you read that information. To my knowledge there is no legal difference between the 2 in French. It can be a winery with or without a Château or a family property. The legal information this is carrying is that the wine has been bottled on the premises where it was made and not carried in a container to a different facility, rented or otherwise, used for the bottling process. The idea is that carrying the wine elsewhere exposes it to further physical stress and increases potential exposure to contaminants or mistakes or even frauds.
Estate bottled means that the wine maker assumed the complete responsibility of the wine from the vine to the bottle and implies a guarantee of quality and origin. The fact that there is or not a building that one can call a Château is irrelevant to the quality and therefore not misleading the consumer. Finally there is about 10 times more labels with the term Château than there is actual buildings in the properties! And my information is probably dated!
Most Bordeaux properties for instance use several Château names as brand names for different quality levels whereas there is only One "Château" to speak of!

Sincerely

Dr Mic

2008-04-17T16:57:00.000-07:00

Dear Michel,
My husband Danny recently purchased a case of 12 assorted red bottles of wine.
Unfortunately one of the three bottles of Savignac Merlot was spoiled. The top of the wine bottle was sticky when we removed the foil and the cork looks as though wine has leaked through. We have not opened the bottle. What should we do?
Thank you
Fionna
....................................

Dear Fionna,

For some reason this has been happening with the Savignac. Sometimes it has to do with the temperature or weather conditions at the time of bottling or other factors difficult to comprehend. The thing to watch is the level of wine in the bottle. If there one inch of air under the cork, then the wine that has run out might have been in excess and pushed out by dilatation. The wine could still be good and it’s worth opening. If it does not smell good it’s an easy diagnostic!

If there is a significant loss of liquid, the cork is likely the culprit and too much air has come inside the bottle with an assured disastrous effect on the wine itself. Well sometimes it can turn into a good vinegar so it’s always worth checking!

Let me know if the wine is undrinkable and I will refund you on your previous order or add a bottle to your next one, your choice.

Dr Mic

2008-03-27T09:02:00.000-07:00

I am seriously allergic to eggs and milk and have found that many wines are treated with the aforementioned- they make me ill. Are your wines so treated?- I would appreciate your honesty in a response? I so would love to go back to a glass of good wine per day.

Ruth
.......................................................

You will find in the Vegan wines section wines made without any animal products which should eliminate all potential risk for you.

Even though an allergy sufferer needs a minute amount of a product to trigger a reaction I doubt very much though that the amount of egg white or milk found in a wine could be responsible for such a reaction. Albumin or casein may be used to clarify red wines but they do not become part of the wine. They are added in small quantities, taken out and then filtered out! The possibility of residue on the wine is close to zero. But since we offer a reasonable choice of vegan wines you will be safe starting with those!

At your service

Dr Mic

2008-03-10T11:09:00.000-07:00

We have now become so spoiled with the wonderful taste of your wines that nothing else tastes good! It is often difficult to make a decision on which ones to order, they all have their special taste and aroma. It must be wonderful to go into your wine cellars and take your pick of the day. What fun!
Again, thanks.
Janet
....................................................
You are welcome, Janet! This is the kind of reward we are looking for: to make you discover and enjoy new and wonderful wines and the people behind them!

DrMic

2008-02-21T13:41:00.000-08:00

I have msg sensitivity and recently discovered that wine grapes are sprayed with Auxi Gro which is another name for msg.

Do you use this product in your grape growing process?

Thank you for your assistance.

Barbara
Sacramento, Ca
.............................................................
Hi Barbara,

I understand your concern as the invasion of chemical products is growing by the day. All synthetic chemicals are banned from organic agriculture and growth factors (hormones and the like) like the type you mention are definitely out of the question.
However the formula for Auxi Gro includes L Glutamic Acid which is at least the natural form found in living things. The D glutamic Acid is the one posing problems therefore I would not say that Auxi Gro is similar to Monosodium Glutamate. Also the presence of this product in the final wine seems extremely unlikely since it is applied during the growing season and has all chances to be utilized or destroyed by the time the grapes are harvested and the wine made.

In any case choosing organic wines is always a smart move for your health!

All the best
DrMic

2008-02-15T11:35:00.000-08:00

Greetings from a very dissatisfied customer

When I opened the 1st bottle of Chateau Veronique I recently ordered from you, I found sediment in my glass about half-way through. I emptied the rest to test it and found a shocking amount of heavier sediment. I had bought this wine for a party because I did think it excellent wine. Now I will be forced to buy more wine from a winery I can trust because, of course, I can't trust that your Chateau Veronique will be any good. So what should I do about the 5 unopened bottles?

Clo
................................................
Dear Clo,

I understand your concern and will try to answer to the best of my ability. The presence of sediments in a bottle has nothing to do with its quality. In fact there is a growing number of vintners who offer unfined and/or unfiltered wines precisely with the viewpoint that heavy filtration is taking away from the integrity of the wine. If you had the opportunity to taste a wine before and after filtration you would understand why people are debating this matter.

Depending upon temperature conditions while traveling or storing wine a certain amount of precipitation can happen in any bottle, even if it has been filtered, which is probably what has happened with this Veronique bottling. There are a number of factors influencing the amount of deposits. The only real "drawback" is that you have to pour the wine slowly and not shake the bottle to avoid putting the precipitate back in suspension. It does not alter the taste of the wine in any way. You can also pour the wine in a different jar. This is called decanting and was traditionally done for all great wines kept in a cellar.

It is true that to please the consumer's perception of and request for cleanliness the tendency has been to filter heavily all products, however in the organic field you will find more cases of products left raw or lightly treated. Did you find any difference in taste? I bet not and the rest of the bottles should be just as good unless of course there is a problem from the cork.

My sense is that with a little precaution pouring the wine you should find the wine as excellent as you knew it was and if that is not the case we will refund you as advertised.

DrMic

2008-02-05T15:36:00.000-08:00

I was interested in questioning which wines are less sweet and posses higher levels of antioxidants?

Candi
...........................................

Typically red wines have a higher antioxidant content. While there may be some differences between the grape varieties this kind of analysis is not readily available as their cost is certainly significant and the results may change from one year to the next making that information an expensive proposition!

As far as sweetness is concerned none of our wines except the dessert wines are sweet. The usual level being 1 to 3 or 4 grams per liter. As a comparison even a Dry Sparkling contains 10g/l for instance.

Often what people mean by sweet is actually fruity. The fruit sensation can be present without actual sugar but influences the drinker to think in terms of sweetness.

sincerely

Dr Mic

2008-01-10T00:50:00.000-08:00

Hi Michel,

About the wine (Cartagene), I would like to exchange it if possible for something different. I didn't realize that there was going to be stuff floating at the bottom of the bottle, and it doesn't even look like wine. I have never purchased dessert wine before. I don't want to open the bottle, I would rather do an exchange or a refund. Please let me know what can be done.

Thank you
Lisa
..........................................................
Hi Lisa,

This is due to the nature of this wine and the way it's produced. Cartagene is made from grapes soaked in alcohol for a year then pressed and decanted. Since there is no fermentation it is not a wine, as you observed. For this product there is no filtration nor added sulfites to keep it as natural as possible. This is intentionally home made style! Therefore there are light particles that can condense in the bottle and float around particularly after the bottle has traveled and been shaken.

Let it stand in the fridge for a while and everything will deposit at the bottom. The product will clarify in the bottle and in your glass. If still bothersome you can take care of it by putting it through a simple coffee filter. In any case this is purely natural, like you can get unfiltered apple juice for instance, and is not detrimental to the taste.
Cartagene is an absolute delight and you should give it a try. I am pretty sure you'll love it! If you don't, just give it away and I will gladly refund your purchase.

Dr Mic

2008-01-07T00:10:00.000-08:00

hello:
I just read your article about the term "organic wines" and was wondering if you could explain the requirement to add sulfites to wine. Is it a government decision or the wine industry's? And if you can buy hundreds of wine in Europe without added sulfites, why is that not the same in the US?

Personally, I would prefer totally organic wine (and everything else) and am willing to pay for it; however, when I go to traditional stores where I can purchase wines, I don't seem to have that choice. I would love to understand the discrepancies that constantly appear between European rules and those in this country. Maybe I'll move to Europe!

Where do you market you wines? Thanks for any info you can supply.

Sue
........................................
HI Sue,

You can access some info on sulfites through the following links:
http://www.theorganicwinecompany.com/sulfites.php
http://www.theorganicwinecompany.com/news/january_06nws.php
which should provide most of the answers you are seeking.

In a few words though:
Sulfites act as preservatives in wine, vintners have used them for a long time as the best (and certainly least bad) way to keep wines from turning to vinegar.
Making wine with a little amount is possible, with none at all it is extremely risky. Quality of no sulfites added wines is generally under par unless you put a high price for it!
I would be hard pressed to find even 50 wines without sulfites in all of Europe, I know maybe 10 at the moment. Europe had simply no obligation to state sulfites on the label because it was not seen as an issue. Due to international harmonization, this has been enacted on Jan 1 2007.

In most cases going 98% organic is attainable while 100% is out of reach and creates unmanageable complications. Techniques you can use and things you can do in your own kitchen are sometimes not scalable for entire industries!

We market our wines in a few states other than CA (CO, FL, NY, MT, TX, IL, WI, AL) but the bulk of our sales happens now through the Internet at:
http://store.theorganicwinecompany.com

Hoping to see you there sometime I wish you a Happy New Year!

Dr Mic

2008-01-02T02:28:00.000-08:00

I am allergic to the oak barrels that wine is normally distilled in. Could you tell me if you have a wine that is distilled only in the steel barrels? Or could you recommend an alternative?

Thank you for your help.
Tana
....................
Wines are not really distilled in oak barrels unless you are talking of spirits (alcohol extracted from wines) but I understand what you mean. Wines meant to be kept for a longer time, usually of a higher quality, are put in oak barrels for 6 to 12 months and the tannins extracted from the oak are what you are allergic to. The small barrels are thrown out after 3 to 5 years because they have given all their tannins away. A lot of the wineries still have huge oak casks to store wine before bottling but in my opinion these are very old and do not release any tannins.

Therefore I believe that in your case (depending on your personal sensitivity obviously) practically all young wines and low priced wines (since barrel aging is expensive) should work for you. Focus on recent vintages and light, fruity and inexpensive wines. You can also consider white or rosé wines since 95% of them are made in stainless steel.

Dr Mic

2007-12-30T01:12:00.000-08:00

We have been given a bottle of Chardonnay Vin de Pays des Coteaux des Baronnies. It seems rather sedimenty and we wondered if this is how it should be. Or is it off?

It is showing a 1996 label and is a reddish color but on the back it says it has a buttery nose and perfectly balanced by citrus flavors.

Can you advise please?
Dennis
.....................................
This wine was meant to be drank within a couple of years of its creation, certainly not later than 2000. By now it is very oxidized, having turned from clear yellow to dark to orange or reddish which means an advanced state of evolution. While some rare people enjoy the "maderization" effect of oxidation it is not what this wine was supposed to become. It has simply been forgotten and will now end up in the sink unless you can find a use for it in cooking!

DrMic

2007-12-20T10:15:00.000-08:00

I recently purchased an organic vegan no sulfite wine from your business. I received the wine a few days ago,tried it and was very,very unhappy with the flavor. I'm sorry to say that I think there might've been an error when the wine was produced because it tasted like bad vinegar and neither me or my guests could finish a glass of it.Please discontinue to sell this wine to
customers until the problem is resolved.

Thank you/Angela
.................................................

Hi Angela,

I am sad to hear your story but I am happy to report that it is an extremely rare occurrence. As any "alive" product, wine can also "die". Trying to answer consumer's request for no added sulfites in the wine is a real technical challenge! Particularly for wines that come all the way from France and then travel back across the USA.
Sulfites are not put into wines for pleasure but precisely to prevent the kind of accident you were the victim of. This particular product is in fact remarkably made but being without sulfites is like being naked in the winter, a demanding situation!

While we have ourselves drunk cases of this particular wine (Didier) without finding any bad one it is certainly possible and even to be expected to find occasionally one that has turned bad. It is our policy to satisfy the customer and we will be happy to send you a replacement. If the problem persists, either you have really bad luck or we have to seriously look at it. Moreover even conventional wines have an admissible percentage of defective bottles. For the moment with maybe a 2 per thousand occurrence, this wine is still way better than most.

I will send you a replacement bottle hoping to have better luck with it.

sincerely

Dr Mic

2007-12-14T00:11:00.000-08:00

Hi Michel,

We have enjoyed being members of the 'red only' club. However, we are becoming increasingly concerned about climate change issues and are seeking ways to reduce our own footprint. While we love opening the once a month package you've shipped us, we recognize the significant transportation impact to the environment. We've been having a big discussion about saving international wine experiences for special occasions. Then, we excitedly opened December's shipment, and were extremely disappointed at the Styrofoam packaging. What's up????

- Anna and Doug
..................................

I guess I should make a general email for this subject. During weather extremes, both hot and cold, my warehouse switches to Styrofoam following weather reports. While corrugated cardboard is our preference it has little if any insulating quality. It then becomes a choice of stopping the service or using Styrofoam to reduce greatly the chances of ruining the wines, which in itself would be a stupid loss for everyone and a possible damage to other goods!

Regarding the Wine Club, I am having the same thoughts myself. This is the reason why I chose to send 3 bottles instead of 2 like in many other wine clubs, but in terms of impact it would make more sense to send a full case 3 times a year! Given the durability of wine this is the way to go!

All the best

Dr Mic

2007-12-02T07:40:00.000-08:00

Comment on Gypsy Melody

This red is spectacular! My taste in reds is light, crisp & non-acidic & this wine is all that. I was surprised by my first sip which was at first light & fruity, then slightly dry & acidic but completed so smoothly & deliciously that I found myself on my 2nd glass in what seemed like no time. I've been telling everyone about this wine & will be getting a case to share with all my family and friends during the holidays.

Anonymous, Boston

..........................................

2007-11-30T05:43:00.000-08:00

Hello! My name is Tony and I am interested in purchasing organic restricted, no added sulfite wines from you. My favorites are Pinot Noir, Pinot Grigio, Chianti, and Cabernet Sauvignon in that order. My fiancée loves lighter and sweeter wines like White Zinfandel. I prefer wines made in France and Italy.

Your selection online of no added sulfites seems limited. Please advise?

Thank you
............................................

Hi Tony,

What you see is what you get! Organic No added Sulfites wines are hard to come by. They are rarely good and affordable and few vintners are crazy enough to take the financial risk to put them on the market. Whereas it is relatively easy and reasonable to restrict to low levels of SO2, to do without any is a dangerous proposition with little benefit since the vast majority of people are very happy with low SO2 wines. Sometimes the "pure" thing is not viable nor the most desirable. This is why you see almost exclusively domestic NSA and few imports!

Hope that answers your query

DrMic

2007-11-06T23:27:00.000-08:00

Good morning:

I am a fact checker at Rodale and would like to ask some information about organic wines. One of our writers believes that organic wines are always made from younger grapes. He also believes that due to the low sulfite content of organic wines, it is best to drink them while they are younger.
I am hoping you can confirm that this is the case. Also, we plan to mention your website as a resource in our publication Best Life magazine in February 2008.

Many thanks
Kate K, PA
.......................................................
Hi Kate,

If you mean by younger grapes those coming from younger vines the answer is certainly no as there is just as much incentive to get grapes from old vines in organic viticulture as in conventional. Older vines tend to extract more elements from the earth since they have had more time to grow roots in deeper soil.
If you mean less mature grapes (green) the answer is still no as every vintner tries for the same reason to obtain the best possible extraction and maturity in the grapes to have the best fruit to work with (higher sugar content and other components). Naturally there is a limit where you risk bringing in the cellar grapes that may be over mature and maybe more prone to oxidation. For that reason it is conceivable that organic vintners would want to avoid that risk but it is certainly more a personal choice than an industry-wide practice.

Regarding the low sulfite content: in most cases (the wines made from organically grown grapes) the limit of 100ppm is more than enough to protect wines adequately and I can attest that our own wines have lasted up to 10 to 20 years without suffering with the modest amount of SO2 they contain.
In the case of organic wines (by the legal definition of having no added sulfites) then the really low if not inexistent amount of sulfites puts them definitely at risk if you keep them for a certain amount of time. While we cannot draw a general conclusion due to the amount of factors involved it is probably safer to drink them as soon as you can. However to give you a relatively counter example, the no added sulfites wines that we have selected (a tough job!) which are both 2004 vintages are perfectly drinkable even though one of them is a white! So you see…

We’ll be delighted to be mentioned in your publication. We are modest but believe that our website is certainly the best resource to obtain good and well priced organically grown wines.

At your service

Dr Mic

2007-10-30T17:28:00.000-07:00

I am not an expert on wine, so I was thrilled to discover The Organic Wine Company. In the past, I was always nervous in buying wine because I was afraid I might be choosing something that, frankly, didn’t taste very good.

Every wine I have ordered from The Organic Wine Company has been superb, and I know that I can count on them. The fact that so many of the wines are organic makes buying them all the more gratifying. --

Laurie Graham, Pittsburgh, PA.
-----------------------------------
Thank You, Laurie!

2007-10-29T15:52:00.000-07:00

...............
I also wanted to mention that we have very much enjoyed all of the wines you have sent monthly - great quality at a good price, and you do a great job. I'm so happy I found the Organic Wine Company! Organic wine is not easy to find, and you have a great selection. I also appreciate the obvious care with which you select the wine to include with the monthly sampler.

Andrew B. , WA

......
No Comment!

2007-10-29T13:43:00.000-07:00

I have a question about the 2003 Veronique I received last week. I had a
bottle this weekend, very good, but I noticed some residue in the glass
when finishing the bottle. Is this normal for Veronique? I have not
noticed this in other bottles.

This is not a complaint, just a question.

Thanks for your great wines.

Ken, WA
...............................................
Hi Ken,

I do notice from time to time some residue on different bottles, on Château Véronique or others. It depends on various physical factors like the temperature (cold) reached during the winter or the time spent in the bottle but mostly the temperature after the wine has been bottled. If it goes down further than during its stay in the cellar, then a certain amount of components will precipitate and give this residue without consequences other than visual.

Sincerely

Dr Mic

2007-10-23T02:15:00.000-07:00

Dr. Mic,
I'm asking specifically about ORGANIC pesticides, not synthetic ones. Organic/natural pesticides are permitted in certified organic gardening/farming. Yesterday I had some organic grapes that gave me a bad reaction. So, needless to say, I'm concerned about organic pesticides as much as I am synthetic ones.
I'm still in the process of tracking down food allergies. So, knowing specifically what I'm being exposed to will help me to track what is causing a reaction. I know for a fact that I have allergies to legume products, which would include the natural pesticide rotenone. There are a couple of other pesticides from other food groups that may also be causing me trouble. Are any of the pesticides listed on the following website used in organic wines? If so, which ones, please? http://www.ghorganics.com/Page44.html Also, if you know that a certain vineyard doesn't use specific natural pesticides or herbicides, it may help me to try wines from that vineyard to see if I can tolerate the one or two other pesticides that may be used.
Thank you for you help.

Mary H.

........................................
Hi Mary,

Indeed Rotenone is a plant extract therefore not considered to be synthetic. It is toxic to some animals (fish) and is used in vineyards to get rid of specific worms that attack the fruit early in the season. However its efficient life is very short as it degrades in the sun fairly quickly and therefore should certainly not be present as such on the grapes you eat.
I assume BT on your list is Bacillus Thuringiensis, a bacteria used to combat caterpillar/butterflies. Could not really be counted as a chemical! And there is no known toxicity.
Pyrethrin and its derived products are also a seed extract, easily biodegraded in the sun with low or no toxicity to humans. It is commonly used as an insecticide when needed.
Essential oils can be used too without any known possible harm to humans.

To tell you which winery is using or not a specific product is a real trick as conditions change every year and what is true now may not be next year. So many factors come into play: quantity used, time of spraying, repetition, climatic conditions, nature of soil, type of grapes and then harvest conditions, the winemaking style etc it's a very complex assessment!

On the other hand if you are eating grapes I do not know what is permitted to use as a conservative since this is a different story than wine grapes (few varietals are accepted and growing requirements are different). Usually SO2 (sulfurous gas) is used to keep fruits from rotting.
I hope this helps you!

Dr Mic

2007-10-19T22:54:00.000-07:00

Could you please verify that your organic wines are indeed pesticide-free? I've been doing some research in dealing with allergies and have found that a product being organic does not mean that it is pesticide-free, as there are several pesticides that are certified for use by certified organic farmers. I happen to have allergies to a couple of those pesticides.
Thank you in advance for your response.
Mrs. Hitt
........................

As far as I know there are no synthetic chemicals authorized for use in organic growing in France. In the case of vineyards we are allowed to use Sulfur and Copper Sulfate which are 2 ancient mined products that do not qualify as "chemicals". Moreover they are working by contact which means they are carried away by the wind and washed out by rain. Do you have any specific name in mind?There are up to 300 products that can be chosen from in the conventional winemaking process and those could also create problems. With organic production you have none of that.
Dr Mic

2007-09-08T09:27:00.000-07:00

Hello,
Early this week I received a shipment of six bottles of wine. When I opened the box, the bottles were hot to the touch. Will this cause any issues with or damage to the wine? I was planning on storing the wine in my wine cellar for a couple of years. Will heating the bottles decrease the shelf-life of the wine?

Thank you,
Peter, AZ
.......................
Hi Peter,

While this is not the best thing to wish for, if the bottle gets warmed up it quickly shows: the cork is being pushed out by the expansion of the wine in the bottle!
As long as the wine has not sipped out and created a way out (and therefore a way in for the oxygen), you can always push the cork back in and the incident should be of no consequence.
Generally speaking rapid variations of temperature are not good for wine but it’s only one of many factors in its life expectancy!

Dr Mic

2007-08-26T19:22:00.000-07:00

Hi,

The fermentation process produces approximately .9 lbs of carbon dioxide for
each pound of ethanol.

What happens to the carbon dioxide? Is it vented to the atmosphere?

Sincerely.
Sy
....................
Most of it is released during fermentation (that's why it is dangerous to lean over open casks and people die each year doing that). Depending on the amount of freshness the winemaker wants in the final product, he will arrange to stop the fermentation and keep more or less dissolved CO2 in the wine. 400 to 600mg/l in red wines, 800 to 1,200 in rosés, 1,200 to 1,500 in white wines and even more in sparkling wines obviously since the famous bubbles are made of CO2!

Dr Mic

2007-08-20T08:21:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Wonderful site you have!

We are interested in the monthly wine club - we live in N.J. - how are the wines packed to ensure freshness & no damage from the seasonal heat, or cold, when the order arrives?

Thank you.

Olivia

...................

We use recycled cardboard boxes most of the times and Styrofoam containers in times of extreme heat or cold. It generally takes 6 to 8 days delivery time.
Damage to the wine is extremely rare and, when assessed, refunded.

Thank you for your interest in the wine club. It's still a small one but our people seem to enjoy it. I rotate wines from different vintages so you never have the same bottle twice (well, exceptionally!). See you there sometime?

Michel

2007-08-20T08:16:00.000-07:00

I always have to bring your messages from the "spam filter" file and move to my inbox. Not sure what can be done about that but I definitely want your emails. Is there something I need to do with my filter folks at GCI?

Also, if not for the cost of shipping, I would be ordering you wines. Sure wish you could use USPS.

Hope all is going well and please give my best to Veronique,
Caroline
........................

Hi Caroline,

Indeed it is illegal to ship wine with USPS! Have you looked up our free shipping offers?
The best way to beat the system is to order a full case for which you get the (relatively speaking) best price per bottle. And you can always make me an offer!

Generally spam filters have a feature like a white list where you can enter email addresses that you want to accept as senders. See if you can find that! The one I use for my newsletters is michel@theorganicwinecompany.com
Also filters often take out emails with HTML (code) content and/or images. Those are settings that you should be able to turn on and off to see what actually goes through. I have no spam filter beyond what my server does and I simply put in the junk folder the addresses I don’t want and that’s enough…

2007-07-08T10:43:00.000-07:00

Dear Friends:

Greetings from San Francisco! In recent months, we have received an increased number of requests for information about organic wines. These requests emanate both from the public and the media. Questions we thought we had answered continue to be asked over and over again. "Why should consumers care about organic wines?" We are truly delighted with this steadily growing interest in what we do and why we do it, and therefore it is with much pleasure that we update you as to the status of organic wines.

For starters, what do we mean by an Organic Wine? First and foremost, it's a wine made from certified organically grown grapes. The fundamental idea behind organic wine is that making wine from grapes grown without pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers is clearly better for our planet AND therefore, in all likelihood, better for you, the wine drinker.

"Why should consumers care about & choose organic wines?" Well, let's take a look at the alternative. Conventional wines are the result of conventional agricultural practices. These were adopted in large part after the last World War and rely heavily on chemicals. The problem with that approach is that these chemicals damage the soil, the vine, the air, the water, the farmers, and, in all likelihood, all of us down the road. Not only that, this approach triggers a destructive circle of poison. Pesticides, herbicides and fungicides throw the natural harmony of the vineyard completely off balance. Chemical fertilizers strip the soil of minerals essential to its health, thus necessitating an ever-increasing reliance on artificial inputs to restore what has been lost.

There is an enormous amount of scientific evidence, which we will review in more details for you at a later date, documenting how pesticides, weed killers, fungicides and other chemical substances damage the soil and the plant, its fruits and everyone else in their path. Grapes are no exception and wine is merely liquid grapes. Make no mistake, grapes are one of the most heavily sprayed crops around. When pesticides are sprayed on the grape skins to protect them from disease, they end up as residue in the wine (by being washed from the grapes as they are pressed or put in the vat). And then there are the systemic pesticides which are sprayed on the ground, absorbed by the vine roots, end up in the grape pulp, and therefore inevitably as residue in the wine.

Thankfully, there is the sustainable approach, namely, organic farming. There is absolutely no question that organic farming methods are better for the earth and all of its inhabitants. They are based on traditional, common sense farming methods which are not harmful to people or the environment. Like the Chinese acupuncturist, the organic farmer's primary objective is balance, and his other mandate is the Hippocratic Oath: "First do no harm." The key to the success of organic farming is maintaining a balanced, fertile soil. Why? Because a healthy soil is likely to produce a healthy plant capable of fighting off disease. How is that achieved without the use of heavy-duty chemicals? Well, let's bear in mind that our forefathers did manage to reap some fruits from their land before the advent of Malathion & RoundUp.

Let's briefly review some of the organic techniques & tools. "First do no harm," said Hippocrates, the father of medicine. That is our motto as well. Therefore, instead of chemical fertilizers, we spread manure or algae in the vineyards. Instead of spraying pesticides, we promote biodiversity. That means we grow plants other than vines in and around the vineyard. Why? Because biodiversity helps regulate the vineyard soil by attracting beneficial flora and fauna into the vineyards, such as insects, spiders and predatory mites. Cover crops provide shelter and food (pollen, nectar) to "beneficial bugs" which decreases/replaces the need for insecticides or pesticides.

What cannot be fully controlled through biodiversity can still be managed organically, through the use of naturally occurring plant or mineral extracts, which leave no residues in the soil. As for weeds, we let them grow, and we mow periodically so that the cut weeds rot back into the ground, thus providing organic fertilizer. Needless to say this approach is much more labor-intensive than the conventional quick fixes. In fact, it costs on average 20% more per unit, and the yield will be less. In our opinion the costs are more than worth the outcome by any measure you want to use.

All right, all right, you say, organic viticulture is better for the earth and probably for me, but are the wines any good? That's what I want to know. Well, what would be the point of producing something, organic or otherwise, that no one can drink? Relax, nowadays many organic wines are every bit as good as their conventional counterpart, and as affordable and varied. Some feel that organic wines are actually better, and that they taste more flavorful and "cleaner." That's what we hear most often. Of course, it's always a matter of personal opinion. However, more and more, consumers AND critics are beginning to think that they do taste better.
One theory is that since organic vineyards have more natural resistance to poor weather or pestilence, they tend to perform better in poor vintages than non-organic ones. Additionally, many organic vineyards harvest by hand, rather than using mechanical pickers. This allows only the ripest and healthiest bunches to be picked, with the minimum amount of stress to the vine, fruit or soil.

In short, why do we encourage you to choose organic wines? Well, because they're very good, because they are very affordable, and because when you do, you help us break the "circle of poison." There is absolutely no question that organic agriculture is the way OF the future and the way TO our future, therefore we should all support it wherever and whenever we can.

'Till Next Time...

Warmly,Véronique Raskin

President & Founder

2007-05-19T00:02:00.000-07:00

Dear Customer Service,

I wanted to let you know that my shipment arrived on the exact date I requested. Your new selective shipping date service works. Thank you!

There is something I would like to ask about the Bordeaux. When I opened it the cork had a stale smell. The wine also seemed to have the same, faint odor. Since I am hardly an expert on wine, even less so with organic wine, I wanted to know if this is typical for this particular wine. The taste of the wine was quite nice, though, (obviously the odor did not prevent me from trying the wine!) and it is mainly curiosity that causes me to inquire.

The shipment occurred during our brief heat wave and when it was delivered the box was warm and had most likely been riding around in a hot delivery truck all day. I don't know if this might have had an effect on the wine or not.

I haven't tried the white wine yet but will let you know when I do.

It's wonderful that you are promoting an organic product. As a consumer who chooses organic whenever possible, I am glad to have a resource for good wine.

Sincerely,
Cindy

Hello Cindy,

It is obviously a little difficult to talk about smells through an email but let’s see! The smell of the cork is not really indicative of the quality of the wine unless it is so off that the wine will probably be not good! Sometimes it has been wet on the outside part and may have molded a bit without affecting the wine. However the wine itself should definitely have a pleasant smell though it is possible that it needs a bit of time (hence the decanting) to open up and ‘relax’, particularly with wines having aged in oak barrels as is the case here. It is not infrequent that a wine smells and tastes better the following day! If the wine was pleasant on the palate it makes me think that this was the case here. A bottle would need to rest after a long trip (as we do) and to take its time to reveal itself (like a good conversation). It’s like you don’t rush on your visitor with questions after they just got through the door! Bordeaux Capucine ’03 is a great vintage and should be really satisfying. Anything less could be a bad bottle, you be the judge.

Your comment on the temperature refers to what I am saying above, the wine is not really changed, but a bit disturbed probably.

All the best in your future enjoyment.

DrMic

Dr. Mic,

Thank you for the mini lesson on the care and handling of wine. The Chateau Moulin de Peyronin '03 was delightful to the last drop! I would not hesitate to recommend the wine and your service to others.

Again, thank you for your help and for providing a resource for organic wine.

Sincerely,

Cindy

2007-02-17T21:05:00.000-08:00

Hello:

I am allergic to the sulfites in red wine. Are the wines low in sulfites, and are they sulfite free? I am pure Italian and grew up with wine at the dinner table every night. As you know, wine goes hand in hand with delicious Italian food.

If so, can you please recommend a bottle I can try.

Janine

All our wines have a minimal amount of sulfites in them as it is very difficult to do completely without !
We have a Muscadet without Sulfites and a dessert wine Cartagene also. And we have recently found a good red in France that wil be there in a few months.
However most sensitive people are very happy with our wines and discover that it is probably something else that bothers them in conventional wines! In any event we have thousand of clients in your case (my sister is highly sensitive too) and the consensus is there! Give them a try and I will refund you if you don’t find your happiness in our line! It is really up to your taste, you can find pleasure with the Venbtoux at $10, the Veronique at $14, the Cotes du Rhone Pouizin at $16, a Syrah Janiny at $19 etc.

Our wines are meant for the table and this is how we enjoy them ourselves!
All the best

Dr Mic

2007-02-10T10:28:00.000-08:00

Hello Michel,

What wonderful wines!! I have a couple of severe gastro intestinal problems. Your organic wines do not cause me any distress whatsoever. I find they are “clean” on the tongue and leave no after effects such as headaches or stomach upsets. Since I prefer the red wines, this has been a totally new experience. I simply cannot drink regular red wine and, consequently, am very pleased to have happened upon your products. My congratulations to the producers of the wines and to you for making them available at such good prices!

Mary Jo Yack

2007-02-07T08:21:00.000-08:00

I recently ordered several wines from you. Among them was a bottle of Domaine de Caillan Viognier 2003. When I opened this bottle, I was surprised to find it almost amber in color with a stronger, more unusual flavor than expected from a viognier. Is this common for this particular wine? I'm concerned that the bottle has started to turn, and don't really know what to do with it.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Maggie, NJ

I had the same experience with this vintage recently which means that it is starting to oxidize. It is definitely your call, was it drinkable and ok or simply past its time? These wines are meant to be drunk with a couple of years of their bottling and can last more ..or not, depending in part on the quality of their cork .
It seems that yours was gone, in which case we’ll be happy to replace it with a 2004 at the next opportunity. (We are actually drinking the last bottles of 2003 ourselves and my mother loves it, when it’s good!)

Dr Mic

2007-01-16T20:57:00.000-08:00

Do you sell red wine in small bottles? I am looking for smaller bottles because I plan to use the wine as a daily medicine. It has been pointed out to me that the resveratrol in wine evaporates or oxidizes quickly after opening.. and this is the substance I'm after. I have been treating breast cancer naturally for three years with good results and would like to add this to my regimen. Thanks, Victoria

Hi Victoria,

We have no small bottles available at the moment. However there is an easy way around your request: purchase a $10 canister of neutral gas (Nitrogen) sold in wine shops to preserve wine. This is the gas also used in big wineries when they have open or unfilled casks. 2 or 3 whiffs of gas in the bottle after usage will preserve the wine almost indefinitely and avoid spoiling or losing any of it. Under the gas there is no oxidation possible therefore the degradation of resveratrol will be kept to a minimum.

Dr Mic

2007-01-13T15:12:00.000-08:00

I wanted to know what BIODYNAMIC means?
Also I am looking for a sweet organic red wine, do you have any? Most red are not sweet for some reason.
Thank you,
Joni

Hi Joni,

You can find the meaning of biodynamic in our info pages at
http://www.theorganicwinecompany.com/biodynamics.php

There are no sweet red wines in our line, they are all dry, meaning with less than 3 grams per liter of sugar. The reason is that the legal definition of a wine is the result of the complete alcoholic fermentation of grape juice, therefore there should not be any residual sugar in a finished wine!
If you mean fruity that is another matter and you can look at our Beaujolais or Cotes du Rhone Villages Visan for instance.

Sincerely

Dr Mic

2007-01-11T01:43:00.000-08:00

Hello. I am a die hard Cabernet Sauvignon Lover , particularly the California, Napa and Sonoma wines. Recently, I have developed allergies after drinking these reds. All brands. I never had this problem until after menopause so I know it's related. My question is, would organic make a difference in this regard? Have you ever heard of someone being allergic to wine and not so with organic wine?

Regards, Dr. Nancy G
Doctor of Chiropractic
Certified Classical Homeopath

Dear Nancy,
Thank you for contacting me on this matter. I happen to be somewhat your colleague, having been an Advanced Rolfer/movement teacher for 30 years (oops! What a thought!)
and having been trained in homeopathy by my late stepfather, Dr Joly, a renowned homeopath and teacher in his time.

Indeed your situation is not unique, except that I never realized the possible link with menopause, a worthy path to explore. I could almost say that not a day goes by without hearing about one story of hypersensitivity/intolerance/allergy to some or all wines and a question from some wine lover eager to find an alternative! It has become my ‘cause célèbre’ or my “cheval de bataille” to use some French expressions!

This is actually a widespread phenomenon, very little talked about (certainly by the wine industry and one can understand why!) because of the ‘healthy’ image carried by wine these days.

Therefore nobody I meet, including health professionals like you, ever blames the product. Rather they take it on themselves finding reasons for their intolerance among genetics, old age or hormonal balance in your case, chemical poisoning or intolerance, weak liver, general poor health or plain bad luck! The product itself is never questioned!

The truth of the matter is that wine is indeed a very healthy food, taken in moderation to process the alcohol content AND provided it comes from organic sources or at a minimum made without chemicals in the process. Given that, 99% of people who claim negative side effects from wine consumption realize they can happily enjoy their favorite glass of wine with their meal and feel perfectly fine right afterward and the following day! Intolerance is in my view a very HEALTHY response of your organism who says: “There is something wrong in this product that I don’t want inside, please!”. Only seriously sick people (asthmatic or actual allergic sufferers) will not tolerate even organic wines because of their histamine, tannic or sulfite content.

Therefore my answer is an unequivocal YES, it will make a difference and is certainly worth trying if you do not suffer from any major illness. We need prominent voices to expose this dirty little secret. It is my contention that the decrease in wine consumption in old time wine growing nations is due more to the millions of people silently turning away from a drink that hurts them than to the appeal of modern concoctions. Make a poll around you to 10 to 20 people and you will be amazed by the percentage who has stopped drinking wine altogether or restricted consumption due to its ill after effects. I guarantee it!

In the meantime I will be happy to see you try our best Cab, the Mas de Janiny 02 and tell me what you think.

Michel Ginoulhac, M.D.
Wine Selection

Dear Michel,
I always enjoy a serendipitous meeting such as this one! I never expected to hear back from such an renowned expert as yourself in so many areas. Indeed, all that you say is true. From my prospective as a practitioner and menopausal woman , I can tell you that 90% of my women have had to give up red wine due to its propensity to increase hot flashes and histamine reaction. I, for one, adore Cabs, as I mentioned and, while I humbly accept the passing of my taut skin,and toned muscles, I really must rebel against giving up my wine!

I would love to try your Cab and I would love to interview you further for an article I will write about this very subject. On Friday, this week, I will be addressing a local garden club about natural health opportunities into the "golden years". I will use the health giving aspects of red wine as an example. Resveratrol to the rescue!

Thanking you for your kindness
Dr. Nancy

2007-01-05T02:18:00.000-08:00

Hello,
I just turned 21. I am not a heavy drinker, but wine every now and then is very relaxing. My teeth are overly sensitive meaning that I don't eat sugar. Sugar-free and diet everything. I have heard distinctions between sulfite-free and organic wine. Your website is very helpful. I have asked this question to many people that told me organic "is" sulfite-free, but it's not. I don't know when fermentation is or S02. Bottom-line......I need to know of wine(s) that are very very low in sugar. No one else has responded to my emails, so maybe they don't know the answer. I hope you reply to me with some help. I am in need of it. I don't trust most of what I read on the net or hear from others. How much sugar is in wine? Also, can I get any decent tasting wine that is sugarless or very low in sugar?

Thank you for your time

Hi Adam,

Sorry to hear about your difficulties. I hope you find a way to balance your body that would be more permanent and less annoying. I am pretty sure there are natural ways to help you achieve that and I can point to a few if you need.
As far as wine is concerned you should know that, unless a wine is left intentionally unfinished to keep some sweetness to it, a finished wine is "dry", meaning it contains less than 3 to 4 grams per liter of sugar (and it is fructose). In most cases and certainly in the wines we carry, the analysis finds less than 1 g/l, almost undetectable! Therefore sugar in itself should not be a concern to you. Most people are wary of the alcohol content that gets transformed in the liver and has obvious and well known detrimental effects when taken in abundance, since the liver has the capacity to handle a few grams a day just like it does with meats. Always a question of balance!
As far as labeling is concerned, unfortunately the FDA has ruled to label Organic only the wines without SO2 (sulfites) added and therefore under 10ppm.
This is the source of a lot of confusion because most 'organic' wines are made with the addition of SO2 therefore the world of official Organic Wines is restricted to a half dozen products that usually do not respond to people's expectations, not to say worse things about them!
The reality is that the bulk of organically grown wines which are made with some addition of SO2 are perfectly assimilated by even a sensitive organism and that nobody except the seriously ill should have concerns with them in reasonable amounts.
Needless to say you can certainly find better than decent wines in our portfolio of 50+ wines!
All the best
Dr Mic

2006-12-29T13:57:00.000-08:00

Sulfites Allergy and Diabetes

Hello,

I am trying to obtain as much information as I can in reference to organic wine and sulfites. I am a diabetic and I am also allergic to sulfites. I have not been able to get any sound information on the subject. I would like to know if organic wine has any of it's own natural sulfites. It would be great to have an occasional glass of wine but I am afraid to attempt it until I can get a better definition about the sulfites. I am allergic to sulfur in medication which is how I found out that was my problem with having alcoholic drinks. I look forward to hearing from you. And thank you for your time.

CR

Hi there,

You can find some information on sulfites in our own website
http://www.theorganicwinecompany.com/sulfites.php
or in the attachment provided. Other organic wine websites provide useful information too if you search through Google.
It's all a matter of balance and sensitivity so it is impossible to know in advance what can be your response but I know from experience that most of the sensitive people who contact us and try our wines are very happy to discover that they can enjoy them without any negative side effects.
In most cases, other less known or talked about chemicals are involved. Our wines still use a certain amount of sulfites for stability but in such dosage and balance that they are perfectly accepted. I can only wish it would be the same experience for you! You need to give it a (prudent) try!

2007 could then be indeed a very Happy New Year!

Dr Mic

2006-09-19T18:57:00.000-07:00

Please make wine without alcohol in it. The type of alcohol is Ethanol and is a carcinogen. It causes cancer. It destroys good bacteria and enzymes in the digestive tract. It is addictive and does not promote a healthy lifestyle. While there are great qualities about wine, leave the ethanol out of it. It can be done.
Thanks
David

Hello David,

Thank you for your concern. First of all, even though I have been a winemaker myself, I am not involved in that part any longer. Secondly, there have been numerous attempts to make wine without alcohol, which actually means that it has to be taken out at the end of the process since there would be no wine without alcohol! The results have been consistently bad apart from one notable exception, giving people no incentive to explore the idea further. Lastly, your note on ethanol probably refers to studies made on the isolated product, ignoring the fact that there are hundreds of components in a wine that act in synergy and allow its digestion by normally healthy people provided that the quantities involve do not exceed those that the digestive tract can process per unit of time. Same thing applies with animal products, fats etc. Long term studies on large groups of people have shown the positive effects on overall health of the regular consumption of small quantities of wines by men and women alike (1 to 2 glasses per day depending of body mass).
Beware of scientific conclusions drawn from one study to another field without considering the context! In this example a few thousands of years of experience with a product have more weight than a study on an isolated part of it.

Best regards

DrMic

2006-09-05T08:57:00.000-07:00

What is the typical alcohol content of organic wine. I am considering ordering the Chateau Bousquette 2001. I am not very familiar with organic wines but am interested in learning more.

Thanks

Cathy

Hello Cathy,

You can find the alcohol content of each wine in the Product Detail page accessible by clicking on each label or link (on the left side) of the shopping cart.
Most of our wines contain 12.5% alcohol which is kind of ideal. The difference is not due to organic growing but to the climate/soil combination between Europe and most of the US. Domestic wines and particularly Californian easily reach 14% if not 15%, which is not necessary nor desirable for the wine nor the drinker!

DrMic

2006-07-09T10:13:00.000-07:00

Hello,

on the last order I received the bottle of "NV Cartagene Prestige Vin de liqueur Bourguet" The cork was half way out (from pressure?) when I opened the box and some had spilled onto the other bottles and box. The other two bottles were perfect, just sticky. Please let me know, I assume I should not drink it.... What is the situation?

Thanks,

Marty

Hi Marty,

This is not an unusual situation in hot temperature weather. The wine simply expands and if there is little air space between the wine and the cork (which depends on the bottle format, the cork and the bottling) the pressure pushes the cork out. There is usually no bad consequence for the wine unless, of course, the cork has gone out completely! In the case of the Cartagene particularly, since there is a higher alcohol content, I would not worry at all, it should be as good as new!

DrMic
Organic WIne Company

2006-05-30T14:04:00.000-07:00

From: Robyn Garside Sunday, May 21, 2006
Subject: Shelf LIfe

Hi, Can you please let me know what is the shelf life of organic wine? And is there a preferred way to store the wine to maximise shelf life.
Thanks for your help.
Robyn Garside

PS. We really enjoyed our sample bottles of wine! Looking forward to receiving our next shipment.

A:
There is no real difference between conventional and organic wine regarding their shelf like as long as they contain some added sulfites. Look in the Details of each Product on the website where I indicate the probable best time to consume each wine.
The type and style of wine, the varietal and vintage are more important factors in deciding when is the best time to drink a wine.
After opening the bottle though, a wine stopper which allows you to pump the air out will extend the consumption for a few days.
Another option is to use a few puffs of Nitrogen, a neutral gas that you can purchase in canisters in any decent wine store.
This will prevent the oxidation by separating the liquid from the oxygen in the air and can theoretically extend the life of the wine… for a long time. Putting the bottle in a cool place is fine, but the fridge will tend to flatten the remaining flavors! I personally keep my bottles in sight and I never throw away any for turning bad (I may do if I don’t like the wine though!)

DrMic
Customer Care
Organic WIne Company

2005-08-31T10:25:00.000-07:00

Welcome to The Organic Wine BLOG. There's a lot that goes into the making of wines, and especially those that use Organic grapes. Our family has been in the wine business for more than 200 years. My Sister and I own The Organic Wine Company, nestled into the hills above the San Francisco Bay.

We love wine, it's our passion, and so is bringing it to you for your palette to savor and enjoy every single drop from every bottle we produce.

This blog is being put together so that we may share our experiences with Wine, our vision for what we'd like to do for the planet as a whole, and many other thoughts and verses of our lives as healers that we want you to know about and share with your friends.

We hope that you'll come back here many times to read and give your feedback to us about this novella that we begin today on the Internet. We love to write, so this could be long in nature, but we hope and trust that you will enjoy what you read.

We invite you to go to our website located at: http://www.theorganicwinecompany.com/ and view our selection of wines. We have many to choose from and the prices are quite attractive for any budget. Also, if there's a special event that you need a wine recommendation for, please send us an email at cs@theorganicwinecompany.com and we'll be happy to recommend a bottle from our cellar.

Best wishes,

Michel Ginoulhac & Veronique Raskin
The Organic Wine Company