What Makes a Wine 'Green?'

 HIGHLIGHTS 
 There is no single "right" way to farm. 
 Sustainable growing practices are as old as organic and Biodynamic farming.

We are entering a very exciting time in the wine industry. Consumer interest 
seems to be growing rapidly for wines made from grapes grown with organic,
Biodynamic or sustainable methods. Growers and winemakers are attending
educational meetings addressing these farming paradigms, and many articles are
being written about them. The first green wine competition was convened last May
(greenwinecomp.info). The Green Wine Summit will be held Dec. 1-2 at the Hyatt
Vineyard Creek in Santa Rosa, Calif. (winesymposium.com).

Along with the excitement, I find myself frustrated at times when I read certain
articles written about organic, Biodynamic or sustainably produced food and
wine, because it is clear that some authors do not understand these farming
systems. Furthermore, I have encountered a few restaurateurs and caterers who
feature organic, Biodynamic or sustainably grown food and/or wine but also fail
to understand the basics of these farming systems.

I guess I should not be surprised by this, because although these farming
systems are nothing new, they are a novelty to many of the people talking and
writing about them. Many of the people writing about them do not have a
biological sciences background, so they are not familiar with the language used
to describe these farming systems, and they do not understand the ecological
theories that underpin them.

What I hope to accomplish with this column is to start a dialogue that we all
can engage in, so that at some point in the future we can all be on the same
page when discussing these three important farming systems.

I will start it off by asking the question, "What is a green wine?" This will
serve as a vehicle to bring out points for readers to consider as they answer
the question for themselves. I will provide an answer to this question based on
my view of the world, but do not consider it "the" answer. It is my contribution
to the dialogue.

Most will agree that a green wine is one made from grapes grown organically or
Biodynamically. Purists will argue that a green wine is also one where the
winemaking is organic or Biodynamic. I will leave it to others to debate this
point. Where disagreement is likely to occur is whether a green wine is one
where the grapes have been grown using sustainable farming methods. This is due
largely to the fact that sustainable farming methods have not yet been codified.

Passionate disagreement

My biggest source of frustration is reading or hearing someone say that
sustainable farming is something being practiced by a grower who is
transitioning to either organic or Biodynamic methods. Some authors have written
that sustainable farming is done by growers who are not ready to make the
commitment to organic or Biodynamic farming.

In my opinion, people who make these statements do not understand what
sustainable farming is, or they are so passionate about organic and/or
Biodynamic farming that they are unwilling to consider farming in any other
form. There is nothing wrong with passion, unless it gets in the way of
considering other options that are also valid.

Farming systems are influenced by the important issues of the time period in
which they were established. Organic and Biodynamic farming evolved during the
1920s-50s, when there were great concerns about the environmental impact of farm
inputs such as pesticides and fertilizers, and a reduction in genetic diversity
of crops as a result of breeding programs focused on high-yielding varieties.

They developed as alternative farming paradigms to what many termed "industrial
agriculture," recognizing the farm as a living, dynamic system that needed to be
treated as such. Synthetic inputs were viewed as much less desirable than
naturally derived ones.

Although it was a challenge to convince the research community to work in this
area, the work that was done gave credence to this view. To add credibility to
these systems, farming practices were codified and certification programs
developed. While the requirements to achieve organic and Biodynamic
certification in the United States differ in some significant ways, both allow
only the use of naturally derived materials that are approved by the National
Organic Standards Board.

Sustainable agriculture traces its roots to the same period as organic and
Biodynamic farming, but it has never been codified. Codification can be a good
thing, but can also have its downsides. One positive aspect is that when a food
or wine is labeled organic or Biodynamic, a consumer knows exactly what
practices were used to produce it. Since sustainable farming has not been
codified, if a consumer buys food or wine labeled as produced with sustainable
methods, he or she may not be certain which methods were used. The exception is
where a product bearing a sustainable label is certified by a third party that
has published its approved practices, such as food or wine certified by
Protected Harvest (protectedharvest.org), Food Alliance (foodalliance.org) and
Oregon LIVE (liveinc.org).

One downside of codification is that as times change and new environmental and
social issues emerge, the system has no rules to address them. Adding new
farming standards to these systems to address new issues is extremely difficult.

Emerging agriculture issues

There are many new issues impacting U.S. agriculture. While the environmental
impact of inputs is still important, ot her issues have taken center stage.
Climate change as a result of greenhouse gas production is probably the
biggest--not only how to respond to the changing climate in terms of long-term
planning for the farm, but how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to slow the
rate of climate change.

Energy use has become a huge issue, particularly with the rapid increase in oil
prices. Water availability is a critical issue for regions such as California.
Given the amount of specialty crops grown in this state--lettuce, vegetables,
fruits, nuts and wine, table and raisin grapes--this is an important issue for
America's food security. The impact of farming on air quality also has become a
major issue in California and is the subject of new regulations. And finally,
human resources issues have come to the fore.

Since sustainable farming is not yet codified, it can focus on these new issues,
because no governing body exists whose approval must be obtained to develop
farming standards addressing them. As a result, sustainable farming programs
that have developed so far do address issues like human resources, wildlife
habitat, water use and energy consumption, as well as inputs such as fertilizers
and pesticides. It is for this reason that sustainable farming is not a
transition to organic or Biodynamic farming. Sustainable farming is able to
address more issues than the other two systems.

Must you choose?

We now have arrived at a point in our dialogue where we need to ask if a farmer
can be considered sustainable without being certified organic or Biodynamic.
Some will say yes, while others will say no. Because sustainable farming is not
codified, this question has no official answer as of yet.

Personally, I feel that a grower can be sustainable and not be certified organic
or Biodynamic. This is due in part to the fact that there are many very
efficacious synthetic pesticides with the same or less environmental impact as
most organically approved pesticides. Interestingly, the development of these
low-impact pesticides in part can be attributed to the organic and Biodynamic
movement bringing to society's attention the damaging effects that many of the
older synthetic pesticides had on the environment and people. There are also
some synthetic fertilizers, particularly micronutrients, that when judiciously
used have minimal environmental impact.

While on the topic of pesticides, I will digress to discuss something that I
find particularly frustrating that indicates a lack of understanding by some
people. How often do you see signs at the farmers market where food is labeled
"No pesticides used" or even worse, "No chemicals used?"

This language also appears in some marketing messages or in articles about
organic winegrowing. If one puts anything on his crop, whether it is water, fish
emulsion, urea, pesticides, compost tea or something else, he is applying
chemicals. It is impossible to grow winegrapes without chemicals, whether they
are added by the farmer or by nature.

What has happened is that for many people the words "chemical" and "pesticide"
have become synonymous. Over time the word "chemical" has become a word that
implies nasty things. Because of this confusion, when many people see the word
organic, they assume no pesticides have been used.

All pesticides are chemicals, but not all chemicals are pesticides. A pesticide
is a chemical that kills a pest--or, in the case of plant diseases, prevents a
disease agent such as a fungus from infecting a plant. By law, if a company
wants to make a commercial claim that a particular chemical kills a pest, then
it must undergo a rigorous federal and state registration process. It is then
considered a pesticide.

There are synthetic pesticides, and there are naturally derived pesticides that
are approved from use in organic or Biodynamic programs. They are all
pesticides. In reality, I think it is very rare when a crop is grown without the
use of any pesticides, and it is impossible to grow a crop without chemicals.

So what makes a wine "green?" In my opinion it is one where the grapes have been
grown using either organic, Biodynamic or sustainable farming methods. None of
these three systems is a transition to something else. They are all
environmentally sound ways to farm. The choice of which to practice will depend
on what your goals are.

Some people may disagree with this, but that is what makes the debate
interesting. However, if we are going to debate, let's try and gain as thorough
an understanding as possible about each system and discuss them based on this
understanding. My frustration level would surely go down if people would stop
marketing food and wine with the phrase "grown without chemicals."