Spectator Mini-Bar Offer | 5 July 2006

Organic wine is increasingly popular, in spite of the fact that few people know what the term actually means. The rules seem to be strict but variable, work differently from country to country, and are monitored by a bewildering number of autonomous organisations. Some of these allow a handful of additions, such as preservatives. But others ban certain physical processes, even if these don’t involve chemicals at all. If the word has any useful meaning, I suppose it’s something like: ‘made from vines to which almost nothing artificial has been added’, and for some people that is very important. Does it affect the taste of the wine? I’ve come to think it does, though I’d be surprised if many experts could detect, say, six organic wines out of a choice of a dozen. My sense is that organic wine has a smoother, cleaner taste, and the flavour of the fruit comes through with greater purity and intensity.