Organic wine is vino produced by viticulturists and winemakers who eschew the use of artificial and synthetic chemicals, such as fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, and herbicides in their vineyards. They are also highly selective about what they add to wine during the fermentation and winemaking process, using only a limited number of natural substances.
There’s growing evidence that many, if not all, synthetic chemicals are hazardous to the welfare and longevity of human beings and have become dangerously pervasive in our food chain and environment, as well as in our bodies.
This issue is making organic food the fastest growing market category currently. Reflecting this trend, the number of organic vineyards globally almost tripled from 2004 to 2011, according to ProWein magazine. While the trend is growing globally, roughly 89 percent of organic vineyards currently are in Europe, and Austria can boast almost 10 percent of its vineyards are organic.