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Is organic wine better?

Updated: Nov 11

Michael Cooper’s Listener column (27 July) provided a useful list rating some organic New Zealand wines. He concludes from the studies he has looked at that the jury is still out as to whether organic wine tastes better.


There is a helpful 2017 French study to counter this conclusion. The study found that 77% of 71 professionals rated organic wine better in a blind tasting. The study carefully matched 16 organic wines with conventional ones in regard to soil, climate, year and varietal.  Of the non-organic wines 89% contained pesticides. Most of the 11 pesticides detected have been classified as potential or actual endocrine or nervous disruptors, or carcinogens.


A unique feature of this French study is that it had experts compare water containing pesticides to mineral water in a blind test. Eleven pesticides detected in the non-organic wines were added to water at the same levels as in the wine samples. 85% of the experts detected at least one pesticide, describing the most commonly detected pesticide, folpet, as “alcohol, medical drug, drying, bitterness”, and iprodione (found in NZ wine) as “irritant, bleach, old burned plastic”. This study is the first time experts have attempted to describe the taste of pesticides, demonstrating an ability to detect levels well below those typically found in non-organic wine. Indeed, some experts can taste distinctive natural compounds at the low level of 0.07 ppb. Boscalid and folpet were found in this study to be present in some bottles at levels up to 9,000 times higher.


Another study in 2021, assessing the quality of 128,182 French wines, with experts using blind and semi-blind tasting, rated organic wines 6.2% higher, and biodynamic wines (organic, following the principles of Rudolf Steiner) even higher at 11.7% than non-organic wines. Interestingly, this study pointed out:

“The world’s most sought-after, awarded, and expensive bottles of wine are biodynamic.”

In the last 2016 NZ Total Diet Study, 5 pesticides (almost all fungicides) were found in 16 wines. The most frequently detected fungicide was iprodione, a known carcinogen and suspected endocrine or hormonal disruptor. No safe level has been scientifically established for carcinogens and endocrine disruptors.


An increasing number of consumers around the world want organic wine, and it is a premium export for NZ, as research shows.


Non-organic viticulture applies pesticides made from fossil fuel, thus contributing to climate change. Industrial agriculture in general with its use of pesticides and artificial fertilisers pollutes our water, soil and air. Apart from the taste, there are plenty of reasons to buy organic wine!



 

References

Séralini, G. E. (2017). Douzelet (2017) The Taste of Pesticides in Wines. Food Nutr J: FDNJ-161. DOI, 10, 2575-7091.

Delmas, M. A., & Gergaud, O. (2021). Sustainable practices and product quality: Is there value in eco-label certification? The case of wine. Ecological Economics, 183, 106953.

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