Organic Wine
Many Australians prefer to drink wine over beer and other alcoholic beverages. While binge drinking can be a serious problem, drinking moderate amounts of red wine can actually be beneficial to your health. This isn’t to say you should take up drinking if you’ve never touched the stuff or that you should increase how often or how much you drink but if you are going to have alcohol then consider making it a glass of red.
When choosing what bottle to buy, you will probably be considering an organic wine (or why else would you be reading this). Of course I think this is a great choice and the healthiest choice. Organic wines are made from grapes grown without the use of pesticides, fertilisers, herbicides, fungicides, and other harmful chemicals. Only naturally occurring sulphur is used in the winemaking process which is required to preserve the wine. It is the sulphur which causes a small number of people to suffer negative side effects after drinking wine with the most serious side effect being migraines. Organic wine is a good choice for people who normally can’t tolerate wine as organic wines are naturally lower in sulphur.
Are organic wines worth the money? Well, I think so. Conventionally grown grapes are one of the most heavily sprayed crops. More than 15 different pesticides and herbicides are used in their production, some of which are highly toxic. Residues of these chemicals end up in the wine by two ways. Firstly, due to residues which are left directly on the skin of the grapes and secondly, from chemicals which are absorbed by the roots of the vine. The latter occurs when herbicides are sprayed directly on the ground to control weeds.
If you are not concerned about small amount of pesticide residues in your wine (which if you drink regularly will build up in your system over years) then think of the people who work in vineyards. People who spray the crops with these dangerous chemicals face serious health risks. Protective clothing and masks may not be enough as residues remain on the plant and on the soil.
The other danger of convention grape growing is the danger to the environment. The use of pesticides and herbicides is particularly damaging to the soil and nearby waterways. The use of these chemicals results in a reduction of biodiversity in the soil. This means there is a loss of beneficial insects such as spiders and mites. The damage to waterways is obvious as chemicals will enter rivers, dams, and streams, poisoning the water as well as what lives in it.
If more people buy organic wine then more producers will convert their vineyards to organic. This can only be beneficial to all concerned. If you want to save a little money and buy online you can try Winemakers Choice. Otherwise there are plenty of organic wines available from bottle shops and specialist wine shops.
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