Earth Friendly Wines

For those of you who are seeking out environmentally conscious wines, we have created "Earth Friendly Wine" tags that show a wine's "green" status. This is a basic reference for each category for your convenience and is partially sourced from Wine Spectator's June 30, 2007 issue. You may seek further information and augmentation to these descriptions by searching any of these keyword categories on the Internet.

Certified Organic

• Made from grapes from certified organic vineyards in a winemaking facility that is also certified organic.
• Must contain at least 95% organic ingredients.
• No added sulfites as a preservative during the production process.
• Finished wines must contain less than 10 parts per million of sulfites.

Sustainable Practices/Organically Grown Grapes

• Agricultural practices are ecologically sound, economically viable and socially responsible.
• Wines generally made with a high percentage of certified organic grapes.
• Uses recycling, energy conservation and renewable resources when possible.
• Minimal use of chemical products.
• Use of ground cover crops and compost.
• Controls pests with native birds and beneficial insects.

Biodynamic

• Holistic approach looks at the wine estate as a self-sustaining, self-regulating ecosystem.
• Combines organic farming's elimination of chemicals and genetically modified organisms (GMOs) with the tenets of homeopathy.
• Follows the nature rhythms of the earth and seeks a spiritual connection with the land, with existing animals, birds and insects.