Organic Wines Are Higher Quality, But Are Still Seen As Inferior
March 6, 2010
Organic Wines Taste Better Than Conventional, But Still Seen as Inferior ‘Hippy Wine’
Organic produce and textiles may fetch a premium compared to their non-organic counterparts, are certainly better for the planet and your health, and often proudly proclaim their eco-friendly status. But when it comes to wine a new UCLA study finds that even though organic wines fare better in tastings than non-organic, if you label them such they actually command lower prices. Here’s why:
One Third Organic Winemakers Hide That Fact
Environmental economist Magali Delmas and colleagues looked over 13,400 wines from nearly 1500 California wineries, covering 30 varietals, 25 appellations, with vintages from 1998 though 2005.
They correlated these with each wine’s rating in Wine Spectator, whether it was certified organic, and whether it was actually labelled on the bottle or the winemakers chose to not label their product as organic. In total only one-third of winemakers using third-party certified organic grapes advertised this on their bottles.
