Bonterra Viognier 2012

Bonterra Viognier 2012 Mendocino County, CA

This organic vineryard, Bonterra Viognier offers golden color with white peach, citrus blossom and hint of nutty aroma. On the palate, ripe peaches, apricot and little tangy aftertaste. Its full-bodied and well made Viognier. As it stated on the label this Bonterra winery makes their wine from only organic grapes. They’ve been making organic wine long before “organic was cool”. Nowadays, we seems more and more organic wines. But what is organic wines by the way? Are they grow naturally? Are they hand picked? Are there any rules or certified?

For a wine to be labeled “Organic” and bear the USDA organic seal, it must be made from organically grown grapes and give information about who the certifying agency is. A wine in this category cannot have any added sulfites. It may have naturally occurring sulfites, but the total sulfite level must be less than 20 parts per million.

Basically, organic wine is made from grapes that have been grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides. That’s pretty straight forward.

If winery was certified by CCOF (California Certified Organic Farmers), they are allowed to use “organic” on their labels. According to Bonterra website their first vineyards were certified by CCOF in 1990. That means they are producing organic wines for more than two decades.

If you are interested in organic wine check out Organic Wine journal. They offer hand full information about organic wines.

Bonterra Organic Vineyards website: bonterra.com