Been working on a comprehensive list of organic Cali wines for a few weeks, but the pressure not to miss a single winery’s driving me to drink.
Thus, I’m posting an admittedly incomplete list, to be updated further with the help of your comments and recommendations –
Also, feel free to, um, send me wine, if you’re interested in getting more “green LA girl’s take”s.
Barra of Mendocino. Organically grown grapes.
Barra of Mendocino’s grapes are grown organically at the Redwood Valley Vineyards, and are certified by the California Certified Organic Farmers.
Cost: $15-$24 a bottle via the online store. Mendocino. 707.485.8771.
Benziger Winery. Certified biodynamic.
This 85-acre certified Biodynamic vineyard is “committed to grower and consumer education.” Thanks to Kristen for the tip!
Cost: $22-$54 a bottle via the online store. Glen Ellen. 888.490.2739.
Bonterra Vineyards. All organic.
Owned by Fetzer, whose impressive eco-friendly plans I wrote about before.
Cost: $19-22 via the web store, but much cheaper in your local supermarket, esp. Trader Joe’s. Mendocino County. 800.846.8637.
green LA girl’s take: I’ve only had the chardonnay, and I’m really a red wine girl. Will reserve opinions for now…
Ca’del Solo. Organic, on its way to certification. Biodynamic.
Owned by Bonny Doon Vineyard, which has a cute and whimsical website, including a long, forum discussion on their use of screwcaps for their wine bottles –
Cost: $10-15 via the web store. Santa Cruz.
green LA girl’s take: I was a lil skeptical of the screwcap, but the Big House Red wine was tasty, esp. considering its price.
Casa Barranca Winery. Organic. Some wines with no sulfites.
This certified organic winery also offers an estate and vacation rental. Sounds like a nice place to spend a summer, drinking organic wine and working on a dissertion. If only I could get a Guggenheim to finance me…
Cost: $15-$25 a bottle via the online store. Ojai.
Coturri Winery. Certified organic.
This organic winery’s certified by the CCOF but prefers to leave the word organic off its bottles.
Cost: $25-$35 for most bottles. Glen Ellen.
Eco Vin Organics. Certified organic.
This zinfandel’s produced by Topolos at Russian River Vineyards.
Cost: $13.99 a bottle at Co-opportunity in Santa Monica. Forestville.
Fitzpatrick Winery and Lodge. Organic.
Fitzpatrick wines are bottled in recycled glass and with natural untreated corks. The owners, innkeepers, and winemaker are Brian or Diana Fitzpatrick.
Cost: $9.50-$21 a bottle, via the online store. Fair Play. 800.245.9166.
Five Hills Blue. Organic.
Another wine brand by Fetzer, all organic, made specifically for Trader Joe’s.
green LA girl’s take: It’s yum, esp. for the price. More details here.
Cost: $5.99 at Trader Joe’s.
Frey Vineyards. All Organic. Some biodynamic. No added sulfites. Vegan.
Frey Vineyards is the oldest 100% organic winery in the US.
Cost: $7-$13 a bottle via the online store. You can also get it at Co-opportunity. Redwood Valley. 800.760.3739.
green LA girl’s take: I drank like a vat of this stuff during the lovely evening I spent with lawyerboy2, though I can’t say it’s my fave wine. Due to my lack of wine tasting vocab, I’ll say I found the wine “flat.”
Frog’s Leap Winery. All organic, partially biodynamic with cover crops.
In addition to its organic, biodynamic, and cover crop commitments, this winery, hands down, has the cutest website, including a “Organics 101″ section for the eco-wine-curious.
Cost: $12-65 a bottle. Rutherford. 800.959.4704.
Grgich Hills. Organic, and 2/3 biodynamic.
This winery does some really cool stuff. Mike, who started and still oversees the place, works with Roots of Peace, an organization dedicated to eradicating mine fields and returning land to productive agricultural use.
Cost: $24 - $135 a bottle via the online store. Rutherford. 800.532.3057.
Heartswork Winery. Organic and Sulfite-free. (Update, 2/4/06)
According to Heartswork Winery, Well Re(a)d wine’s “a blend of Grenache, Sangiovese and a kiss of Syrah.”
Cost: Avaliable at your local Trader Joe’s for a mere $5.99.
green LA girl’s take: Honestly, I find all no-sulfites wine a little odd-tasting. For the lack of a better wine vocab, I’ll describe it as a strange bright, twinkling flavor… (more review deets here)
Kathryn Kennedy Winery. NOT organic certified, but committed to sustainability.
Cost: $19 to several hundred bucks via the online store.
Kaz Winery. Some organic wines with low sulfites.
Reader Jessica recommends the reds, but not the chardonnay.
Cost: $16-65 via the web store.
LaRocca Vineyards. 100% certified organic. No sulfites.
This family-farmed and operated winery proudly offers sulfite and pesticide-free wines.
Cost: $8-$50 a bottle via the online store. Forest Ranch. 800.808.9463.
green LA girl’s take: I tried the 2004 Zinfandel, which was WAY too sweet for me, but I really am a dry wine gal. This might be a good choice for those with a sweet tooth.
Madonna Estate. Organic.
This winery’s family owned and operated by the Bartoluccis, who grow 100% organic grapes.
Cost: $19.50-55 a bottle via the online store. Napa. 866.724.2993.
Nevada County Wine Guild. Organic and sulfite-free. (Update, 2/4/06)
Nevada here refers to Nevada County, CA :)
NCWG’s Our Daily Red is avaliable at a bunch of supermarkets, including Whole Foods. The winery also offers a zin, syrah, and merlot.
Cost: No option to buy online :(
Orleans Hills. Organic and sulfite-free. (Update, 2/4/06)
Affiliated with Nevada County Wine Guild, Orleans Hills offers six different wines, all organic and sulfite-free.
Cost: No option to buy online :(
Patianna Organic Vineyards. Organic and biodynamic.
This organic and biodynamic winery’s recommended by reader bradley, who found it at Greenblatt’s on Sunset :)
Cost: $18-30 a bottle via the online store. Hopland. 707.468.5730.
Quintessa. Biodynamic.
This winery fully converted to biodynamic in 2005.
Rutherford.
Robert Sinskey Vineyards. Organic and biodynamic.
This organic and biodynamic winery has a v. classy black-and-white website.
Cost: $24-90 a bottle via the online store. Napa. 800.869.2030.
Sanford Winery. Organic status unclear.
They got the lumber for their winery by recycling a building in Washington state! Said winery’s also energy efficient. If you watched Sideways, you’ll find the tasting room eerily familiar.
Cost: $13-50 a bottle via the online store. Buellton. 800.426.WINE.
Sunstone Vineyards.
According to the website, “The Rice Family farms their 78 acre vineyards in an organic, bio-sustainable manner, meeting all California Certified Organic Farmer standards.”
Cost: $20-46 a bottle by phone order, though I’ve bought a syrah at Vin! in Oakland, Calif. for around $18. Also avaliable for $9 a glass at JiRaffe in Santa Monica. Santa Ynez. 800-313-9463 x234.
Yorkville Cellars.
An organic wine farm owned by the Wallos.
Cost: $18-30 a bottle via the online store. Yorkville. 707.894.9177.
I recently added Benziger to my list of gourmet recommendations as their main 85 acre farm in the Sonoma wine country is biodynamicaly grown and certified. For Benziger it is a subtle message inherent in their farming practices and not a marketing statement. Check out what they have to say about it:
http://www.benziger.com/vineyards/biodynamics.php
-Kristen
Comment by Kristen Andersen — January 13, 2006 @ 11:02 am
definitely be on the look out for Cali wines that are Certified Organic and ones that aren’t but come from sustainably run vinyards/wineries. as organic standards evolve for winegrowing/making, not everyone is going to be part of the plan. take J for example. they make incredible sparking wine-one of my favorites-delicious, creamy, yet slightly crispy and well-balanced vintage bubbly. all the grapes they source aren’t organic, BUT, they’re part of the the Association of Bay Area Governments “Green Business” program. i’ve actually read J’s sustainability report and they do amazing things to reduce water usage, energy, packaging, etc. a great model for all Cali vinyards. and no, i don’t have any relation to the winery, i just LOVE their sparkling wine.
Comment by bay area fair trade dude — January 13, 2006 @ 11:27 am
Thanks guys — I added Benziger, but I can’t find any info on J Vineyards about its commitment to organic/sustainability — EXCEPT for a mention in the list of green businesses at the ABAG website. Which is cool, but there are like 50 wineries listed there for Sonoma County alone, and I feel like if I added J, I’d need to add all of them…
Comment by Siel — January 13, 2006 @ 4:54 pm
I just got back from my local Trader Joe’s where I asked for organic wines. The first person who helped me didn’t know whether they had any, and the second one couldn’t fine any on the shelf. I finally found Bonterra, which is not my personal favorite. I asked specifically about Five Hills Blue and mentioned that west coast TJ’s are carrying it and it’s a great price. He had never heard of it. Looks like I need to write another letter to TJs. Us east coasters need to have affordable organic wine options too!
Comment by lauren — January 14, 2006 @ 12:04 pm
Wow. Nice. As an asthmatic this list is awesome. Gives me hope for the future. Definitely a bookmarked page. Thanks.
Comment by Norris McDonald — January 21, 2006 @ 6:30 am
Ah — So you’re one of the no-sulfites people? I was wondering — Do you taste a difference in the no sulfites added wine? Or is that just my imagination?
Comment by Siel — January 23, 2006 @ 4:06 pm
I guess there is a slight difference, but I don’t know if I attribute that to the lack of additional sulfites or just other aspects of the fermentation process. Or the fermenting container. Oak? etc.
Let people know that Sinulair eliminates the reaction to sulfites in wines by asthmatics. Hurray for modern medicine.
Comment by Norris McDonald — January 26, 2006 @ 3:03 pm
looking for vegan wines. is frey the only one? help
Comment by Nancy Shuman — November 30, 2006 @ 8:55 am
Hey Nancy — Here’s a nice big list of vegan wines :)
Comment by Siel — November 30, 2006 @ 9:48 pm
This is a great list! I just came across it looking for wineries to visit on a trip to SLO next week. One more winery I’d like to add to your list is Kaz Winery (www.kazwinery.com) located north of Sonoma (there’s a great campground just up the road, too!). They offer some organic wines, but I don’t beleive all of their wines are. Great reds (and mustards), not fond of their Chard which is the only white I’ve tried.
Comment by Jessica — August 6, 2007 @ 9:28 pm
Thanks Jessica — I just added Kaz to the list :)
Comment by Siel — August 7, 2007 @ 9:23 pm
Hey!…Man i love reading your blog, interesting posts ! it was a great Friday .
Comment by Rachelle Leah — December 28, 2007 @ 4:58 pm
Thank you for providing this list!!!
Comment by Larry Saltzman — February 18, 2008 @ 5:37 pm