Wine 101: Natural, vegan, LIVE, organic, biodynamic, and ROC wines [infographic]

The general consensus agrees that natural wines should have minimal intervention, which usually means fewer additives, less manipulation, less oak, etc. However, there are no regulations or third parties that certify any wines labeled as natural. This means anyone can put the word natural on their wine label, website or sales literature, regardless of how the wine was actually made. Buyer beware… you just might be surprised by what you learn. Without a regulatory body monitoring natural wines, I suggest searching for more information on why the wine is labeled natural.

At its essence, vegan wine should not contain any animal products nor have harmed any animals in the making. It’s hard to believe but it was once quite common for wineries to use animal products such as casein (derived from milk), egg whites, honey, gelatin or isinglass (fish bladders) in manufacturing or during the filtration process. Even today, some types of corks contain milk-based binders. Beeswax– which to some people might provide an elegant look– is made by bees, and therefore not vegan either.

It might also surprise you to learn that an FDA-approved extract called carmine is sometimes used to color wine. Carmine, also known as cochineal dye, is ground-up insects… female cochineal bugs, to be exact. These insects feed exclusively on the juice of prickly pears– bright, raspberry purple cacti fruit. That juice dyes the insides of their bodies and the Aztec and Mayan people made this discovery back in the second century B.C. Since then, people have been harvesting the insects, which are then killed, dried and ground into a red powder. The powder is mixed with water to produce the carmine extract. Please note that this additive should not be confused with the carmine wine grape, named for its rich, red color.

Until recently, vegan wines were self-reported. Lists can be found all over the internet, developed by wine drinkers seeking out vegan wines. An individual asks a winery if their wines used any animal products during the winemaking process, the person then submits the winery’s answers to one of these various lists. The most comprehensive list I’ve seen is www.barnivore.com/wine but there is really no way of confirming its accuracy. Over the last decade or so, a few vegan certification processes have popped up but they are not all the same. If you see a vegan certification logo on a wine label, I encourage you to do your homework as to how rigorous the certification process is and who’s doing the verifying.

This certification was developed in Oregon’s Willamette Valley back in 1999. Since then, it’s spread throughout Oregon, Washington, and Idaho. Internationally accredited, LIVE supports environmentally and socially responsible winegrowing. Taking a sustainable, holistic view, with the goal of ensuring minimal environmental impact throughout the entire wine production process, both vineyards and wineries can become LIVE-certified. Habitat preservation, good neighbor policies, and worker health and safety standards are all factors that are evaluated during the LIVE certification process. While not organic– since minimal chemicals and fertilizers are allowed– LIVE-certified is a step toward that direction.

LIVE certification automatically earns a Salmon-safe certification as well. Salmon-safe’s goal is to protect water quality, maintain watershed health and restore habitat with a focus on reducing water runoff, water quality protection, and enhancement of native biodiversity on vineyard and winery sites. Salmon-safe logos can also be found on many products beyond wine.

When I was in wine school over a decade ago, I recall hearing a statistic that 40% of Oregon’s vineyards were LIVE-certified. Sadly, that is no longer the case. As of February 2022, only 327 vineyards and 40 wineries in the Pacific Northwest are LIVE-certified. With just a fraction of Oregon’s 1000 wineries and 1300 vineyards certified, LIVE still has quite a bit of low-hanging fruit to grab. And this doesn’t include all the vineyards and wineries in Washington and Idaho that aren’t yet LIVE-certified either. Hopefully, more folks will jump on the sustainable bandwagon and join LIVE. If your favorite Northwest winery isn’t yet certified, ask why they’re not. If wine drinkers start talking more about sustainability and buying wine from producers who are taking steps to be more environmentally aware, don’t you think the world would be a better place?

Follow these links to learn more and see if your favorite wineries are members (many of mine are!):

LIVE-certified

LIVE-certified member list

Salmon-safe

Organically grown grapes are farmed without any synthetic pesticides. A vineyard must be certified organic by the USDA-accredited certifier before using the term “made with organically grown grapes” on a wine bottle label. When you consider that grapes always make the “dirty dozen” list, seeking out wines made with organically grown grapes is a great way to avoid ingesting unwanted pesticides. Additionally, wine made with organically grown grapes can contain added sulfites, GMO yeast and other non-organic products so don’t assume that everything else in the bottle is organic too.

If you’re looking for wine with no added sulfites, instead reach for a wine with one of these designations:

• USDA Organic symbol
• Demeter-certified Biodynamic
• Regenerative Organic Certified

The USDA Organic seal means that everything in the bottle is certified organic, the same as any other food labeled organic. The wine won’t contain any non-GMOs, synthetic pesticides, nor added sulfites. You can rest assured of that!

A word of caution with organically wines… because they have no added sulfites, which act as a preservative, their drinking window is much shorter. Don’t expect them to age as well as bottles that do have some added sulfites.

Biodynamically grown grapes are even rarer than organically grown fruit. That’s because biodynamic farming is next-level organic. Developed in 1924 by Austrian scientist Dr. Rudolf Steiner, according to the Demeter website, biodynamic farming embraces a “view of nature as an interconnected whole, a totality, an organism endowed with archetypal rhythm. In day-to-day practice the goal is to create a farm system that is minimally dependent on imported materials, and instead meets its needs from the living dynamics of the farm itself. It is the biodiversity of the farm, organized so that the waste of one part of the farm becomes the energy for another, that results in an increase in the farm’s capacity for self-renewal and ultimately makes the farm sustainable.”

This philosophy sees the farm as part of an entire ecosystem, one that doesn’t stop at the property line. Follow this link to search for biodynamic farms and products.

Demeter-certified biodynamic wines can only be made within a Demeter-certified winery, using biodynamic grapes, native yeast, no added sugars or acid and with minimal sulfites. Biodynamic farming practices must be used in the vineyard, which include Dr. Rudolf Steiner’s philosophies on treating the entire farm as a living entity with a variety of symbiotic ecosystems in harmony with one another. Insectaries, wetlands, forested areas and riparian corridors all contribute to a healthy, happy, and holistic estate in which plants, animals and people thrive.

Special preparations are used to encourage soil and plant health, and administered following the biodynamic calendar. It rec­og­nizes how the cos­mos’ forces affect four ele­ments on this plan­et: earth, air, water, and fire. The timing of planting, pruning, and even picking are dictated by root (earth), flower (air), fruit (fire) and leaf (water) days, each best for specific tasks. For example, new grapevines should be planted on root days, when the maximum energy is directed into the plant’s root system. The vineyard should be left alone on flower days and harvest is best done on fruit days.

Animal welfare is also a part of biodynamic farming– whether it’s keeping chickens, sheep, goats, pigs, cattle or other critters– and farmers must follow specific animal care guidelines. Animals must be provided areas in which to roam, fresh water and food, along with shelter from the elements. Cruel practices such as debeaking and tail cutting are strictly prohibited as well.

Regularly applying material that was previously composted increases soil fertility. Every single biodynamic vineyard I have ever visited has proudly boasted to me about their compost piles! Disease prevention and insect control are done by encouraging soil and plant health. Just like healthy people, plants in good health are less susceptible to disease and insects.

I have only scratched the surface of what is entailed in process of producing biodynamic wines. There are many more guidelines within the biodynamic philosophy. Click here if you want to read more.

Follow this link to search for biodynamic farms and products.

Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC) embraces an agricultural philosophy that goes beyond sustainable. Farms practicing regenerative agriculture do so by following a “virtuous cycle of healthier soil, healthier plants, healthier people and healthier ecosystems,” with the goal of leaving the world a better place. The three pillars of regenerative agriculture are:

1. Soil health and land management
2. Animal welfare
3. Farmer and worker fairness

The first focuses on increasing biodiversity and soil health by outlining how best to use cover crops, achieving minimal soil disruption (low-to-no tilling), using no synthetic fertilizers or chemical pesticides, and implementing carbon sequestration (the process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide) to reduce global climate change.

The second mandates that all animals raised on ROC farms are guaranteed access to fresh water, comfortable shelters and a healthy diet. They are raised and killed humanely too.

Lastly, regenerative organic farms must treat their workers with dignity and respect, as well as pay them a living wage. Employees have safe working conditions, free of harassment and discrimination, with the right to collective bargaining.

Regenerative Organic Certification makes it easy for vineyards and wineries that are already following organic and biodynamic farming practices to become ROC as well. If you see the ROC designation, just know that the vineyard or winery is organic or biodynamic too.

You won’t find many wineries that are regenerative organic certified yet since the certification is so new. In fact, as of March 2022, I know of just three:

• Troon Vineyard
• Fetzer Vineyards
• Tablas Creek Vineyard

This is not a comprehensive list as there are many more classifications, farming practices, beliefs and winemaking styles being used around the world. I decided to focus on the certification types most commonly found in the United States, and more specifically in the Northwest. There are many more around the world and I encourage you to read up on them too if you drink globally.