Funnies & Foodies

Wine Snobs & Organic Wines

Giggle: Blind Wine Tasting

“Taste mine! Damp, grassy, corked notes with hints of herbicide… 5 Stars!”

That Guy applied for membership in the Snooty Wine Society. But to be accepted he must first pass their blind tasting test. He knows nothing much about wine but pretends he does. So, he does not understand that at a blind tasting it is the bottles that are concealed, not his eyes.

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Gab: What’s in your wine?

There is an old saying that I live by, “Know where your food comes from.” But with wine it is more difficult. I cannot go to the farmers’ market or sign up for a CSA and buy directly from the source.

Other than the official USDA organic label, to quickly vet a wine, I am left to my own research of what regions abroad ban spraying chemicals. Many conventional wine growers use pesticides, including glyphosate weed killer to spray weeds alongside the wines. Organic or biodynamic grapes are used in making organic wines. And these grapes are grown in accordance with principles of organic farming, excluding the use of artificial chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides.

During second phase of winemaking, many different ingredients can be added to ferment and preserve the wine. The most common wine preservative is sulphur dioxide. In the practice of natural winemaking, native yeasts are used in the fermentation process and minimal or no sulfur dioxide is used in the winemaking process. The wine will also be unfined and unfiltered. Also, for organic wines made in the USA it must be without added sulfites. Whereas in Europe and Canada organic wines may contain added sulfites.

Goods: At Home, Dining Out

Piggly Wiggly Wine Departments are known for their wine selection, including special orders. And I am delighted to see local restaurants offering organic wines on their wine lists.

From his early years Chef Stitt catalyzed Birmingham into the food city, it is today, but also a wine, city with restaurant wine dinners and experiences. His wine lists provide an opportunity to discover new gems, lying like jewels among wines he has vetted. Among an impressive list of 15 bottles of bubbly, I find AT Roca Brut Rosat Reserva Penedes. Not your typical Cava. From Sant Sadurní d’Anoia, Catalonia, Spain, this certified organic wine is equal parts Macabeu and Garnatxa Negra. Winemaker Agustí Torello Roca hand-harvests and naturally ferments the wine in stainless steel, the wine is aged for over 20 months. The wine is made in the traditional Champagne method and is vintage dated. Creamy notes of raspberry, strawberry, and apple tickle the nose and please the palate. This vibrant sparkler is served at proper temp, bringing forth its integrated and sustained effervescence. Highly recommended!