The
terms organic, sustainable and biodynamic seem to be all the hype
whether we’re talking about food or wine. Every brand that is certified
under these labels boast proudly their practices for all to know.
So what is the difference between organic and biodynamic wines?
The laws vary from country to country, but in Italy organic wines
relate to what each winery is doing within the vineyard themselves
pertaining to the grapes and the vines. Overall it includes no use of
artificial or chemical herbicides, pesticides or fertilizers as well as
no GMO’s.
Biodynamic
wines on the other hand go deeper into not only involving the aspects
of what organic wines do on the front end, but also include what takes
place within the winery and the production of the wines themselves as
well as the larger ecosphere. It is meant for the wineries to intervene
at a minimum with altering the natural characteristics of a wine being
produced including adding yeasts or added sulfites. It gets a lot more
complex as well, but we’re not going to get too technical here today.
It’s
interesting that many wineries within Italy aren’t labeled as certified
“organic” or “biodynamic”, but take part in these practices. It
could be for a number of reasons that they don’t pursue these
certifications with money and time being some of the larger factors. In the US many folks live by these labels, but in countries like Italy this has been their way of life for years.
Personally, I have great respect for the wineries that honor their land
and these practices, but I feel it’s also about the end product and I
do believe some wineries use this as a marketing technique.
The Winery
Today I’m featuring La Valentina from the wine region of Abruzzo located in central Italy. Abruzzo is a land dominated by rugged mountains, the Gran Sasso, and hills occupying 2/3 of the region’s land with the rest consisting of plains along the Adriatic.
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| La Valentina vineyards - copyright of La Valentina |
- No herbicides used and reduced additives
- Organic fertilizer used
- No genetically modified vines, all newer vines used are sourced from their own vineyards
Even though their goal is produce quality wines,
they care most about being authentic and showing to others their
expression of the land. They adhere to the rules of sustainability and
make sure that it is encouraged in every aspect of production and care
for the land and the grapes.
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| Sabatino, Andrea and Roberto Di Properzio - Copyright of La Valentina |
La Valentina works with many of Abruzzo’s indigenous grapes: montepulciano, trebbiano and pecorino. Montepulciano is a highly recognizable red grape found on the market, but there are plenty of low quality montepulciano
out there as well. Some wineries, including La Valentina, have tried
to turn that perception around by producing wines like the ones I’m
sharing with you today that allow this grape to shine when produced in
the right hands. This grape is not to be confused with the town of
Montepulciano located in Tuscany that produces Vino Nobile di
Montepulciano not even made from montepulciano, but a clone of sangiovese.
It’s deep in color almost purple at times. A dry, medium bodied wine
with rather soft tannins and ripe, juicy fruit. Some of the best, more
complex fuller bodied montepulciano come from the northern part in Teramo.
Pecorino on the other hand is a white grape with it’s home found in the Le Marche and Abruzzo wine regions. Mike Madaio shares a great story on Palette Press that the pecorino grape was almost extinct until vintner Guido Grifoni of Le Marche rediscovered the grape and experimented with the vine cuttings locally. He then located others in Abruzzo that believed in the potential when others back in Le Marche had turned their heads at Guido. Known for its high acidity and aromatic notes pecorino is
a wine that pairs well with the local cuisine of seafood and softer
sheep cheeses. Pecorino after all is mentioned to stem from the word pecora, meaning sheep, that graze the lands.
The Wines
2015 La Valentina Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC
Made of 100% montepulciano.
Deep ruby in color. Lots of black fruit on the nose: blackberries,
blueberries and black cherry, almost Dr. Pepper like. Medium to fuller
bodied with juicy dark fruits on the palette. A crisp, mouthwatering
acidity with firm tannin and toasty vanilla with a moderate finish. For
an SRP of $14 this wine is a really good value.
2015 La Valentina “Spelt” Montepulciano d’Abruzzo Riserva DOC
Made of 100% montepulciano
as well this wine was deep ruby in color. On the nose there were rich
forest berries with cherry and black cherry/cola with a hint of licorice
and chocolate. Dry, medium to full bodied with blackberries, elegant
tannins and vanilla on the finish. SRP $21
2017 La Valentina Pecorino Colline Pescaresi IGT
Made of 100% pecorino. Displaying tropical fruits and peach with some citrus notes. Feeling round in the mouth with fresh acidity. SRP $16
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| Wine cellar of La Valentina - Copyright of La Valentina |
-
- Jill Barth of L’Occasion: "Gravner: 'Nature As A Source Of Thought'"
- Camilla M. Mann: "Dinner in Testosterone Land: Braised Short Ribs + 2016 Nuova Cappelletta Barbera del Monferrato" on Culinary Adventures with Camilla
- Wendy Klik: "Brasato al Vino Rosso with Montefalco" on A Day in the Life on the Farm
- Jeff Burrows: "Looking Beyond Biodynamic Certification at Cantina di Filippo" at Food Wine Click!
- Lauren Walsh, The Swirling Dervish: "The Wines of Alois Lageder: Cultivating Nature as a Habitat of Life."
- Nicole Ruiz Hudson is Cooking to the Wine: "Arianna Occhipinti SP68 Sicilia Rosso with Creamy Eggplant and Tomato Zoodles"
- Susannah Gold of Avvinare: “Chianti without sulfites- the wines of Fattoria Lavacchio”
- David Crowley of Cooking Chat: "Mushroom and Short Rib Ragu with Sono Montenidoli"
- Lynne Gowdy of Savor the Harvest: The Important Thing You Don’t Know About Italian Wine Labels
- Host Gwendolyn Alley the Wine Predator: "La Maliosa Biodynamic Procanico and a Pasta Bar with Uni and Mussels"
*These wines were provided as samples, but opinions are always my own.
Spot on, Jen! I do feel that, in many other countries, organic and biodynamic are just the way they do it. I think we definitely need to do out due diligence and track down wines (as all ingestibles really) and make the best choices for our bodies and our planets. I explaining 'organic' to a friend who just moved here from Ecuador. She was stunned. "All of our food is organic," she said. "Pesticides are TOO expensive to use and silly when you have natural ways to do all of those same things." So true!
ReplyDeleteIt's amazing how different we operate than other countries. I was just reading yesterday how Italy is the 2nd healthiest country in the world. Everything is simple eating, pure fresh products.....it's not surprise.
DeleteI especially enjoyed your post because you featured the wines of Abruzzo, which I don't think receive enough coverage. The first time I tasted Pecorino I thought I had gone to heaven! Going to have to check my local shop to see if they've got any La Valentina offerings in stock.
ReplyDeleteVery true Lauren that Abruzzo isn't featured enough. If it is it's mostly montepulciano, but there is so much more.
DeleteI know organic and biodynamic are used by some as a marketing technique, it seems much more likely to be authentic when it's a smaller family run winery. It's too much work just for marketing!
ReplyDeleteI totally appreciate the efforts of these wineries to put the attention into their vineyards and that bare the cost to do so.
DeleteLove La Valentina wines! Your comment about many folks in the US living by organic or biodynamic labels seems true. I recently read an article discussing people who may not know much about wine but they won't purchase it unless it says organic or bio on the label. The challenges of marketing for those who have done it that way with all along. This was a great topic!
ReplyDeleteI'm always reading labels as I don't trust many of these companies now-a-days unfortunately.
DeleteI find that supporting these small family run operations is the way to go with both food and wine purchases. So much loving, tender care in their products.
ReplyDeleteSupporting the little people is so important.
DeleteWe often read of siblings working together in family wineries but not often do three brothers start a winery together! Cool story!
ReplyDeleteI love the generations of families that are involved in the wineries in Italy.
DeleteI am not a wine expert although I do drink a lot of wine ! But a friend of mine who is in the know tends to turn up her nose at wines labelled 'organic' in Italy because, says she, it does not really say anything about the wine per se, only about how the grapes are cultivated etc. Besides, the Italian vinification and wine making regulations are so prescriptive (much stricter than they are in other European countries and elsewhere) that the organic add-on does not always really 'add' to the drinkability of the wine itself. This is not to knock organic farming methods, by all means! On the contrary. It's just to echo your thoughts on how the label 'organic' can be misconstrued as a marketing tool.
ReplyDeleteEven though everyone has a formal certification process to go through to earn the title of producing organic wines I feel it's different in Italy than it is here in the US since so many farmers in Italy have been doing this long before it became "a thing".
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