In this week’s Marketing Tip, we’re giving you a green wine glossary: 5 common wine designations defined so you’ll wonder no longer.
 

Your Green Wine Glossary

Vegan

Not every wine fits a vegan lifestyle.

During the winemaking process, small particles can cause haziness or unwanted flavor properties. Winemakers can add a fining agent that will bind to these tiny particles and make them large enough to be filtered out.

Many fining agents are animal-based – for example: egg whites, casein, and gelatin. Wine that was fined with any of these materials cannot be considered vegan.

Vegan wines include those that were either fined with non-animal-based agents, like bentonite clay, or not fined at all (“unfined” wines).

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Natural

There is no official or regulated definition of natural wine.

That being said, most understand it as wine that was made through a minimal-intervention, no-additive approach.

Natural wines are fermented with native yeast versus added yeasts. They cannot be fined, nor can winemaking additives be used (except for a small amount of sulfur pre-bottling).

If you are told that the wine you’re drinking is natural, remember to ask what makes it so!

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Organic

Wine must meet several requirements in order to be labeled as “organic wine”:

• Vineyard must be certified Organic
• Winemaking process must be certified Organic
• Final product must contain:
  • At least 95% organic ingredients
  • No additives
  • No preservatives

Please note that wines “made with organic grapes” are not the same as organic wines. While this designation means that 100% of the grapes used were certified organic, other ingredients in the wine do not have to be organic (but, they cannot be genetically engineered).

Please also note that the organic distinction varies between countries.

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Biodynamic

The Biodynamic farming principle is guided by nature’s rhythms and the understanding that the vineyard is a self-contained ecosystem where all elements live and work together.

Like Organic, synthetic inputs are prohibited in biodynamic farming. But unlike any other program, the timing of biodynamic practices aligns with lunar and celestial cycles. This is because of the belief that moon phases and planetary positions affect the flow of sap and energy within the vines, and that there is value in keeping practices in synch with these forces.

Demeter International is the most-recognized certification body for biodynamic wines. For a wine to bear the seal, the grapes must be grown in adherence to biodynamic principles and the wine must be made through certified biodynamic processes.

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Sustainable

In agriculture, sustainability means adhering to practices that protect social and environmental health while enhancing economic vitality.

On the farm, sustainably-grown grapes are grown similarly to organic and biodynamic grapes: all programs seek to protect human and environmental health through reducing inputs and conserving and regenerating natural resources.

Where sustainability differs from all of the methods defined so far is that it looks beyond the farm and into the business itself. Worker safety, community relationships, continuing education, and accounting/budgeting are just a few of the areas that certifying bodies like SIP Certified address in their Standards.

Certification also extends from the vineyard and into the winery. 
 

Are Your Wines Sustainable?

Have you labeled your wine as SIP Certified Sustainable yet?

Any wine made with at least 85% SIP Certified fruit (estate or purchased) can apply to use the logo. Applications are always open!

Get started today so consumers know your wine was made through practices that protect people and the planet.