Many wine and champagne lovers are looking for organic products. Of course among these amateurs, the purchase of wine is not limited to the organic label, but is well attached to the desire to preserve the quality of the wine, the vines and all that is linked to this eco-anxiety. emerging in all economic and social fields.
Wine is no exception to this demand for organic, natural. And that's good, because organic wine, or rather wine made from organically grown grapes, is in my opinion common sense to realize the damage caused by industrialization by the use of chemicals in our vines. For champagne, the stake is not simple, knowing that the region does not have a really favorable and optimal climate for the cultivation of organic wine, but enormous efforts are made by many attentive and experienced winegrowers.
100% organic champagne ?
I say "wine made from organically grown grapes", because for the moment, the organic label only takes this part into account. The mention which should also look good on the wine and champagne lists should appear clearer to us in order to understand that the wine is not totally organic, but only its grapes for a large part of the production of so-called “organic” wines. ".
To this end, the European Union has set up specifications (a new European regulation should come into force in July 2010) which aims to outlaw and therefore ban the use of treatment products and chemical fertilizers in elaboration of an organic wine. Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are an emblem in their fight, but the task is not easy for the whole industry to agree and for points of view to come together. But several houses already offer beautiful organic champagne cuvées : Champagne Alain Réaut, Champagne Ardinat, Champagne Beaufort, Champagne Bliart, Champagne Bruno Michel, Champagne David Léclapart, Champagne Duval-Leroy, Champagne Franck Pascal, Champagne Boulard et Fils, ...
In the field of viticulture, the prerogative is to favor biodiversity, but also to perpetuate and increase the choice of manual interventions, to make wine growers want to use only natural fertilizers. The fight is clearly to wipe out the consequences of the damage suffered by the vine and its environment. to do so, the vine must be a "friend" to grasses, floral plants and useful insects such as our beloved ladybugs (reduction in herbicide applications, permanent grassing with meadow bluegrass, etc.) as soon as the changes have occurred in this meaning throughout the chain, we can then talk about organic wine, for the moment it is only the grape.
New organic wine logo from July 2010
Personally, it is with a permanent enthusiasm that I seek to discover organic wines and champagnes, but with this awareness of “up to the point”, and by taking an interest in it, I realize that many winegrowers have worked for a long time in this respect. and these prerequisites for talking about organic wines. Some did not have the choice to work by hand and to use non-chemical products, either for economic reasons, for visceral vocation, for respect for tradition, to perpetuate the family tradition ... Finally to navigate the appellations, sustainable viticulture, organic viticulture, biodynamic viticulture, it is not always easy, and a new European logo makes it possible to better understand the differences. Chosen following a Pan-European competition (regulation n ° 271/2010 published in the Official Journal of March 31, 2010), the logo must be affixed on all prepackaged organic products produced in the Member States of the Union to as of July 1, 2010.
Choosing your organic champagne will therefore be a new, simpler and clearer step in the future? Finally, to stay current, I recently discovered a non-still wine from South Africa (you know the country of the 2010 FIFA World Cup, I'm kidding). This is the Maison Colmant and its Cap Classique, a cousin of champagne from African lands.
