More resources on organic wines

Here are resources and links to sites to find more about certification, labeling and good organic wines.

GOOD WINES:

The Consumers Green Wine Shopping List: Winners from the first-ever International Green Wine Competition in Santa Rosa, Calif.

www.greenwinecomp.info

Organic Wine Journal

www.organicwinejournal.com

BOOK:

"Oregon's Eco-Friendly Wine: Leading the World in 'Green' Wine," Wine Appreciation Guild, 2007, $40.

MORE ON WINE LABELING:

U.S. Department of Agriculture

The USDA provides the guidelines for its two labels, "organic" and "made with organic grapes," and authorizes third parties, including nonprofits, farming associations, businesses and government agencies, to inspect and certify farms and vineyards for the designations. The rules governing organic wines are hard to follow on this difficult-to-navigate site, though.

Washington State Department of Agriculture

www.agr.wa.gov/FoodAnimal/Organic

In Washington state, the state department of agriculture is the primary certifier of organic wines for the USDA.

Biodynamic Farming and Gardening Association

www.biodynamics.com

More about biodynamic wines and the worldwide biodynamic movement, which is said to predate organic agriculture as a modern nonchemical agricultural movement by some 20 years. Biodynamism started as a series of eight agricultural lectures given in 1924 in Germany by the philosopher Rudolf Steiner, who was also founder of Waldorf education.

"A biodynamic farm is managed as a living organism and farming practices are guided by the six principles of: plant diversity, crop rotation, composting, homeopathic fertilizers, animal life and seasonal and planetary cycles," according to a wine-industry research paper by the U.C. Santa Barbara School of Environmental Science and Management.

Demeter, U.S.A.

www.demeter-usa.org,

The Demeter organization is in charge of biodynamic certification. This site provides more info on biodynamic-agricultural practices.

Oregon Tilth

www.tilth.org

Salem-based nonprofit that's Oregon's primary USDA organic certifier. Promotes "biologically sound and socially equitable agriculture through education, research, advocacy and certification ... and provides organic certification services to organic growers, processors and handlers internationally."

Food Alliance

www.foodalliance.org

Portland-based group that's been in existence more than a decade and is a well-regarded certifier of "sustainable" wine, meaning it "promotes sustainable agriculture by recognizing and rewarding farmers who produce food in environmentally friendly and socially responsible ways."

VINEA, The Walla Walla Valley Winegrowers' Sustainable Trust

www.vineatrust.com

Walla Walla winegrowers pledged to "environmental, economic and social sustainability."

LIVE (Low Input Viticulture & Enology)

www.liveinc.org

Oregon nonprofit "provides education and certification for vineyards using international standards of sustainable viticulture practices in wine-grape production."Among other things, LIVE vineyards "reduce reliance on synthetic chemicals and fertilizers with the goal of protecting the farmer, the environment and communities at large."

Salmon Safe

www.salmonsafe.orgPortland-based nonprofit "devoted to restoring agricultural and urban watersheds so that salmon can spawn and thrive." Started almost a decade ago in Oregon's Willamette Valley to certify fish-friendly farms, now a leading regional eco label with more than 50,000 acres of farm and urban lands certified.