Putting the 'oh' in organics

Have you ever stopped to think about what you put in your body? With the rise of heart disease and cancer at surprisingly scary levels in the past decade, is it any wonder that, with all the shakes and bacon- wrapped steaks topped with butter, we might be underplaying the benefits of fresh fruits and vegetables?

I can’t help but think that eventually, it must have some sort of ancillary effect. This week I have paid closer attention to which foods are organic and which aren’t. I have to say, I was quite shocked to discover that organics can be found “anywhere.”

As I was finishing my usual stroll down the wine aisle at Trader Joe’s, I began eavesdropping on an older woman asking an employee if the story had any organic wines. I smugly laughed a bit to myself – organic wine, what a bunch of bologna.

But then, I had a thought: maybe this old bird was onto something. I overheard something about how Trader Joe’s marks all their organic wines with a green frame around the product label.

So I waited until she was gone and grabbed the wine the Trader Joe’s associate had recommended. When I got home that night I skeptically opened the bottle expecting that old mildew or unpleasant gym bag smell. To my surprise, this organic wine was great.

I was so impressed that I started researching why an organic wine is called organic. I found one thing right off the bat: Most organic wines are not able to be called this because they use sulfites to bottle the wines. So even if a wine is 99.9 percent organic, it can only say it’s wine is made out of “Organically Grown Grapes.”

What’s more confusing is that you might assume a wine that’s advertised as “sulfite-free” is organic, though wine that isn’t necessarily organic, though in actuality there may be no “organic” grapes used at all. To be organically labeled, a winery must have all organic grapes and use no sulfur.

Then there is the confusion of several more labels. If you pick up a bottle that states it is “transitional,” you might be pressed for an explanation of what that means. The winery must wait three years to “transition” from a conventional growing system to a purely organic one.

Then you have your “sustainable agriculture” and “low-impact farming,” which have no legal ramifications but refer to the use of more “green” techniques, like using owl boxes to keep rodents out of the vineyard or adding cover crops to increase soil nutrition. “Bio-Dynamically Grown” means that the grower used a method of incorporating the grapes with the moon and sun in order to connect the grapes to a higher power.

It’s a lot to take in – I’m not even going to lie. But the truth is, most wineries converting to organic are doing so because many wine buyers are weary of chemical-laden products – even wine. Since the organically grown grape is produced without insecticides, fumigants and herbicides, the organic wine provides no toxic chemical residuals.

On the other hand, conventional growing requires that the previously discussed methods are used at least 17 times during the average crop season.

In 1989, the organic wine market has grown quite popular over the years. The United States had only 200 organic grape acres planted. Then in 2002, voila, nearly 14,000 acres. Recently, bigger players such as Mondavi, Kendall-Jackson, Gallo and Beringer are all beginning to take steps toward becoming more “sustainable,” banning pesticides, using live yeast for fermentation and beginning to move to organic production.

The wine I selected today is Fetzer’s organic brand, Five Hills Blue 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon (Trader Joe’s $4.99). With a picture of a ladybug, one of the biggest helpers in a solely organic vineyard, the label helps to educate the buyer about organic farming. I found the wine to have a pleasant bouquet with hints of blueberry, raspberry and mint. It was sweet and smooth.

As I finished it, I was quite content with the fact that I had bought something that wouldn’t inadvertently kill me. Those things that may inadvertently kill me, I save for the weekend.

Lauren Jeter is a 2005 wine and viticulture graduate and is pursuing a master’s degree in agribusiness.

Feel free to submit any recommendations, favorite wines or recipes to laurenjeter@gmail.com