Why vintners avoid organic winemaking

Buzz: Hey Marnie, I saw a wine bottle in the store yesterday that said it was made from organic grapes. Why not call it organic wine?

Marnie: Because they mean different things, Buzz. Grapes grown naturally, without chemicals like fertilizers and pesticides, have been shown to make better wine. They have an inherent advantage in quality potential, flavor and a wine's ability to age gracefully.

Organic winemaking is far more problematic; it creates a major quality control issue that leads to an inconsistent product and premature spoilage. Most vintners who go organic choose not to certify the wine itself as organic because doing so would require them to skip an essential winemaking step: adding sulfur to prevent oxidation and spoilage.

Buzz: Sulfur? Who came up with that idea? Some big chemical company, no doubt.

Marnie: Sulfur is a naturally occurring mineral, and its use in winemaking dates back centuries, Buzz. Sulfur is an effective antioxidant that also suppresses bacteria, but it spares winemaking yeast. The amount used in fine wine is so small that it is measured in parts per million.

Most organic growers feel it's perfectly consistent with their values to choose not to practice organic winemaking. Doing so would require them to lower the quality and reduce the shelf life of the wine they sell.

Buzz: But sulfur can't be good for you, right? The label warns about sulfites because they cause headaches and stuff.

Marnie: Well, that's a little misleading, too. A lot of people assume the reactions they have to wine - from flushing to headaches - are due to sulfites, but they're usually not connected.

A small number of asthmatics experience breathing problems when they encounter sulfites. Raisins have a lot more sulfites than wine. If you can eat those without an adverse reaction, you don't have a sulfite problem.

Buzz: So why do I get a headache drinking red wine?

Marnie: I don't know. Maybe you're drinking too much.

Buzz: I never have more than a bottle and a half at a sitting.

highest-profile sommelier. She has

designed wine lists for restaurants

like Parc and Bar Ferdinand. Her

latest book, "Wine Secrets," is a

collection of wine advice shared by

top wine professionals. Marnie

consults for the Pennsylvania

Liquor Control Board and is an

adviser to the beverage trade.

Check out her blog at

sauceblog.marnieold.com. Buzz's

musings are interpreted by Daily

News City Editor Gar Joseph.