Organic Wine

This opinion article addresses the implications of recent EU regulations on alcoholic drinks labeling for regional development. In March 2017, the European Commission released a report requiring the mandatory labeling of ingredients and nutritional information for alcoholic beverages within 1 year, putting an end to the exceptionality of this sector compared to other foodstuffs, and responding to pressing demands by European consumer associations and other actors. Pressure from the alcohol sector had delayed EU legislation on the matter and managed to avoid a mandatory labeling provision, instead generating the possibility of making its own regulation proposal within a year. The Commission will assess this proposal in March 2018 and could review or reject it if found to be unsatisfactory. Here, we want to examine the controversy elicited by this new regulation, analyzing the consequences of labeling (or not) in the particular case of wine regions. It shows how the lack of labeling regulations harms winemakers oriented towards the production of quality wines and generates important information asymmetries that can lead to an overall decrease of wine quality. Ultimately, it highlights the relevance of a regional perspective on EU sectoral policies, as these can have unintended effects and lead to contradictory outcomes. The example of wine regions is used to emphasize this issue by showing the need to harmonize regional cohesion and CAP policies with industrial, environmental and consumer protection policies.

We tested the hypothesis that individuals may act differently when buying a bottle of wine for themselves than they do when buying wine as a gift. Using a between-subject design, we estimated the differences in consumer preference for these two occasions. We conducted a choice experiment on 618 Italian wine consumers and included the attributes of price, geographical indication (i.e. IGT, DOC, or DOCG), organic claim, and brand (i.e. famous producer or a non-famous producer). By applying an error component random parameters logit model, we detected relevant differences between the two scenarios in terms of the relative importance of the studied attributes. The gift-giving scenario was further investigated using a latent class model, which identified three segments of consumers; we profiled these according to personal attitudes and wine knowledge. Our results show a relevant heterogeneity among consumers’ preferences for the gift-giving scenario, with geographical indication having a low impact and brand and organic claim playing a pivotal role. This study provides relevant insights for winemakers and retailers regarding diversifying marketing strategies.

This working paper examines the history of organic wine which provides a case study of failed category creation. The modern organic wine industry emerged during the 1970s in the United States and western Europe, but it struggled to gain traction compared to other organic food and drink products, including organic tea. Early experiments performed by less-savvy winemakers created a negative reputation for organic wine which proved a challenge to overcome. Early organic winemakers were often derided for their efforts, as conventional winemakers felt threatened by their claims to be more “natural” or healthful than conventional wines. Making matters more difficult, organic winemaking required a sophisticated understanding of complex environmental and chemical processes in the vineyard and winery, and organic wines typically did not command a premium in the marketplace despite their often higher costs of production. The development of organic wine in countries with different winemaking traditions resulted in little common agreement regarding the definition of “organic” wine. After heated debate regarding the use of sulfites, differing organic wine standards emerged. In the United States organic certification schemes excluded the use of sulfites, while in Europe some use was permitted. For winemakers, distributors and retailers, navigating the complex layers of regulations regarding organic wine was enormously time-intensive.  Many winemakers chose to forego organic certification so as to avoid the perceived financial and time costs. Organic wine finally attained niche popularity in the 2010s, mainly in northwest Europe and in cosmopolitan global cities elsewhere, as fine-dining restaurants like Noma sought wines with clear terroir. Organic wine remained a tiny percentage of the world wine market. There remained huge differences between countries in consumption of organic wine. The market for organic wine was far larger in Sweden, a country with 9 million inhabitants, than in the United States, with 326 million.

The surface and output of organic agriculture is growing steadily in recent years, being generally seen as a healthier, safer and more sustainable alternative to conventional agriculture. Comparisons between organic and conventional products are nonetheless scarce in the literature, especially in the case of wine. The aim of this study was to compare sulphite content and pesticide residues in both soils and wines under organic and conventional production. Fourteen samples of organic and conventional wines and vineyard soils were collected in pairs for each of the seven wine-producing islands of the Canary Islands. A QuEChERS-based method was employed to detect 218 pesticides and 49 POPs. Sulphites were measured by potentiometric titration with a double electrode. On average, higher levels of sulphites were found in conventional wines. Similarly, conventional wines presented higher numbers and concentrations of pesticide residues both in soils and wines than their organic counterparts. The overall pesticide concentrations in our sample was 4.2 µg/kg. Conventional wines presented a considerably higher average concentration than organic wines (8.2 against 0.25 µg/kg). In turn, concentrations in conventional soils averaged 8.7 against 2.8 µg/kg in organic soils, a 68.19 % lower residue concentration. The analytes most commonly found were PCB 28, p,p ′-DDE, tebuconazole and the metabolite 4,4 ′dichlorobenzophenone in soils and mefenoxam, tebuconazole, fluopyram and boscalid in wines. No single wine exceeded the 10 % of the MRLs established by the European Union for wine grapes. However, the presence of low levels of pesticides in organic wines should be monitored.

The organic wine market is rapidly growing worldwide, both in terms of production and consumption. However, the scientific literature is not conclusive regarding differences in the elemental composition of wines according to their production method, including both major and trace elements. Minerals can be present in wine as a result of both anthropogenic and environmental factors. To date, this has not been evaluated in volcanic contexts, neither has the emergent issue of rare earths and other minority elements as potential sources of food contamination. This study using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry (ICP-MS) analyses organic and conventional wines produced in the Canary Islands (Spain), an archipelago of volcanic origin, to compare their content of 49 elements, including rare earths and minority elements. Our results showed that organic wines presented lower potential toxic element content on average than their conventional counterparts, but differences were not significant. Geographical origin of the wine samples (island) was the only significant variable differentiating wine samples by their composition profiles. By comparing our data with the literature, no agreement was found in terms of differences between organic and conventionally-produced wines. This confirms that other factors prevail over elemental composition when considering differences between wine production methods. Regarding the toxicological profile of the wines, five samples (three organic and two conventional) exceeded the maximum limits established by international legislation. This highlights the need for stricter analytical monitoring in the Canary Islands, with a particular focus on Cu and Ni concentration, and potentially in other volcanic areas.

Orgánico, ecológico, biodinámico, vegano… ¿cómo es un vino natural?  Ante cualquier producto alimentario, el consumidor puede conocer mediante el etiquetado sus valores nutricionales, ingredientes, fecha de caducidad o envasado y origen. Excepto uno. El vino puede contener decenas de ingredientes y aditivos legales no etiquetados, además de residuos de pesticidas y metales pesados. Ante esta realidad, el vino natural se postula como una alternativa rompedora. Se produce a partir de la fermentación de la uva sin residuos químicos de síntesis, procedimientos agresivos y como único ingrediente optativo el sulfuroso a bajas dosis. Pese a los distintos informes europeos evidenciando el interés del consumidor de obtener más información sobre el vino, el debate sobre la regulación del etiquetado en la UE sigue estancado y sin visos de ofrecer una salida satisfactoria para el consumidor. Logo del Vino Método Naturaleza recién aprobado en Francia. Syndicat de Defense du Vin Naturel Ante esta situación, el movimiento del vino natural ha conseguido recientemente ser reconocido en Francia. Ya pueden etiquetar sus vinos como "vino método naturaleza" (está prohibido el etiquetado como "natural"). Cuestionan así los dogmas de la enología contemporánea y la industria vitivinícola y reivindican la recuperación de vinificaciones tradicionales, artesanales y del patrimonio vitícola local. Vino natural: ¿realidad o ficción? Llevamos al menos desde el 8 000 a. e. c. bebiendo vino. Si preguntamos a los abuelos de cualquier región vinícola ibérica cómo se hacía tradicionalmente el vino, es fácil que la respuesta más común sea que, simplemente, se dejaba la uva fermentar naturalmente. Añadiendo quizás algo de alcohol o una mecha de azufre a las barricas. Poco más. Aunque el azufre lleva utilizándose mucho tiempo, su uso no es generalizado.

[Context]
Naming a product is giving it an identity (Lobin, 2016); when it comes to wines it is offering them, the possibility to be easily discriminated and to catch the clients’ attention. This contribution aims at analyzing the naming of organic wines in two countries: France and Germany. If naming generic wines has already been investigated especially from a lexical point of view (Herling, 2015), wine names from the organic wine industry have for the time being been left aside.
In the meantime, previous studies based on authentic materials have underlined, since Lehrer, 1975, some specificities in the wine language like resorting to prototypes (Gautier & Bach, 2017b), being based on emotions and experience (Bach, 2018) and laying on strong cultural traits (Gautier & Bach, sub.).

[Research Question]
Within this context, the validity of these findings for wine naming will be checked and cognitive patterns will be identified by examining the role of cultural background and the ties between the product itself, the terroir and the conceptualization thereof. The focus on organic wines enables to go beyond the mere source domain of winespeak tradition by integrating the source domain of organic universes and their corresponding frames.

[Corpus]
Like previously stated, the only functioning way to analyze sensory-based discourses is to rely on situated (Condamines & Narcy-Combes, 2015) corpora (Gautier, 2018), that allows to enter into the language reality. The multimodal French-German corpus used for this contribution is based on a previous one presented in Gautier & Bach, 2017a, which has been extended for the needs of this contribution. This corpus will offer the possibility to analyze names of organic wines of France and Germany sold by French and German online sellers.

[Discussion]
The frames' semantic paradigm (Ziem, 2008; Busse, 2012) will be followed here in order to understand how names can enhance values of organic wineries or values of organic production that are not compulsory mentioned, but evoked by the names instantiating the frames (default values). More specifically, it will be discussed what segments of knowledge are activated by names (Kalverkämper, 2006: 26). The contribution will also seek to isolate patterns in wine naming either on a semantic (Dobrovol'skij & Piirainen, 2005) or on a cultural basis (Sharifian, 2017). To do so, a systematic manual analysis has been carried out, and different levels of granularity in patterns will be established to offer a better look at the conceptual spreading after the activation of more or less specific knowledge.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are among the most relevant and dangerous contaminants in soil, from where they can be transferred to crops. Additionally, livestock animals may inadvertently consume relatively high amounts of soil attached to the roots of the vegetables while grazing, leading to indirect exposure to humans. Therefore, periodic monitoring of soils is crucial; thus, simple, robust, and powerful methods are needed. In this study, we have tested and validated an easy QuEChERS-based method for the extraction of 49 POPs (8 PBDEs, 12 OCPs, 11 PAHs, and 18 PCBs) in soils and their analysis by GC-MS/MS. The method was validated in terms of linearity, precision, and accuracy, and a matrix effect study was performed. The limits of detection (LOD) were established between 0.048 and 3.125 ng g−1 and the limits of quantification (LOQ) were between 0.5 and 20 ng g−1, except for naphthalene (50 ng g−1). Then, to verify the applicability of the validated method, we applied it to a series of 81 soil samples from  arms dedicated to mixed vegetablecultivation and vineyards in the Canary Islands, both from two modes of production (organic vs. conventional) where residues of OCPs, PCBs, and PAHs were found.

This commentary argues for strengthening the dialogue between the social and natural  sciences as part of a more comprehensive sustainable approach to ecological farming practices that go beyond a focus on specific labels and certifications. It nuances the approach provided by Home et al. in their study of Swiss farms converting to organic agriculture, in emphasizing the need to deepen the study of such farming practices by including a broad vision of global value chains and a pragmatic approach to innovation and the different stakeholders involved. Ultimately, it calls for a more complex approach to eco-agriculture in its widest sense, that goes beyond dichotomies about conversion, certification and labeling. This would provide alternatives for researchers and other actors to move forward in theory and practice.