Organic, Biodynamic and Natural Wines

There is a diverse approach to viticulture and winemaking, including increasing environmental considerations.  There are many opinions and philosophies at play and many terms used, such as organic (certified or practicing), sustainable farming, biodynamic (certified or practicing) and natural winemaking (native yeast, limited to no added SO2).  The french use a term we like called “lute raisonnée” translated as “a reasonable fight” or “supervised control.”  This is considered a more pragmatic approach to farming where biodiversity in the vineyards is encouraged through the use of cover-crops, use of manures and natural composts to fertilize the vines. These organic methodologies can offer a happy medium to official governmental certification which can present unwanted financial or bureaucratic challenges to the small winery or vigneron.