Organic Wine

Going green is a popular trend which has impacted peoples' lifestyles and the wines they buy. However, some wine companies find when their bottles are marked as "organic" they are automatically grouped with other wines of a different caliber. "Frogs Leap" for example prides itself on being a sustainable winery since they started, however it will never say so on their bottles. If you take a look at its website (http://www.frogsleap.com/flash/intro.html), there are many segments dedicated to their belief in sustainable wine making practices.

Here at Harry's we have a wide variety of organic and sustainably farmed wines at a range of prices. Anytime you see a green label on the wine rack, it means the wine comes from an organic winery. Generally speaking, those customers looking for organic wine head to the corner of the store where one can find kosher, half bottles, and non-alcoholic wine however we have many of our organic wines all over the store depending on where they are from.

Depending on the origin of any given wine, there may be different regulations in place before a wine can be called organic. For example, in Canada, if a wine label says "100% organic" it means the wine is produced with grapes that are 100% organically grown and do not have any sulfur dioxide added. Additionally, if a wine label says "organic" (and it's from Canada) it means that 95% of the wine comes from organic grapes with a very low level of sulfur dioxide added. Yes, a small difference in labels, but it can be a big difference to a consumer. The list continues with specific regulations (which you can read on winesofcanada.com/organic) in order for a wine to receive the prestigious organic wine certification. It is important to recognize that just because a wine is organic, it does not necessarily mean it is completely sulfite free, so if you are unsure, simply ask on of our wine people!

Many international wineries have had trouble getting certification from the United States NOP (National Organic Program) because the regulations required in the US are more strict than in many other countries. Essentially, what is organic in Argentina for example may not be perceived as such in the United States which makes it tricky for many small international wineries to export their organic wines. For them the easy solution to this is for companies to simply going without putting the name "organic" on the label and hope for the best, which is what many have done. Mostly, it is the big name international wineries that can afford to make the label changes that are required by the US standards.

Here are some of the vineyards carried at Harry's that deemed organic:
Frog's Leap, Benzinger, Grgich Hills, Urban, Argiolas, Tilia, Kaesler, Parducci, Gruet, Heartland, and Calera.

-Georgina Heasman