Why Drinking Natural Wines is Kinder to You and the Environment

19 November 2012

How Drinking Natural Wines is Kinder to You and the Environment

Natural Wine is well-known for its holistic advantages and for containing an abundance of health benefits for the individual drinker. People often forget that drinking natural wines is actually kinder to the environment and if more people switched to having natural wine as their tipple of choice then our planet would be a lot better off in the long run.

Are Natural Organic Wines the Same?

A lot of consumers are deceived into purchasing organic wines believing that they are of a natural wine standard, and most importantly contain a reduced amount of harmful sulphites that can cause allergic reactions. Consumers also believe that organic wines contain no added chemicals other than those that are made in the natural wine process. The only real credentials that organic wine can boast about is that the grapes are grown organically and do not contain a cocktail of chemicals compared to average bottle of wine in the supermarket.

Natural and Organic Wines are produced in a similar way and you can be forgiven for thinking that they are actually of the same standard and composition. They are both more expensive than your average bottle of wine because the vineyards use specialist techniques to farm the land and crops and as a result lower crop yields are created. However, Natural wines have a lower sulphite concentration than organic wines in the wine making process so it is best to be aware and check the label if you see the label “organic”; especially if you are allergic to sulphites.

How Mass Produced Wines Damage the Environment

Mass produced wines have a very different journey to the supermarket shelf. When the grapes are produced in the vineyard they are often sprayed with harmful pesticides that damage the environment and destroy habitats. The Pesticide Action Network released shocking data a few years ago saying that after testing 40 bottles of wine purchased in the European Union they found that 34 bottles contained traces of pesticides and one bottle contained 10 different pesticides! It is not just the environment that is under threat here it is your own health!

The difference between the conditions in a vineyard producing mass-produced wine and natural wine can be very different. The industrial vineyard often has polluted groundwater from all of the pesticide chemicals sprayed on the crops creating unhealthy vines that produce grapes that are in turn used in your bottle of wine! Natural wine vineyards only use grapes that are in full health in their wine production process and you can be rest assured that there is minimum disruption to the environment and eco-systems in the area, as no chemicals or harmful techniques are used.

Organic wine can offer health benefits as the production process involves basic fermentation but there are still sulphites in the wine, although it is in a reduced amount. Natural wines differ in that they are made in the most natural way and you can be rest assured that no pesticides sprayed on the crops or chemicals are added in the fermentation process.

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19 November 2012

How Drinking Natural Wines is Kinder to You and the Environment