Organic winemaking starts in the vineyard.

This region is ideal for achieving that perfect chemistry needed for good fruit and good wine, because it is so consistently windy and dry. As far as flavor profiles, there is a much stronger fruit presence and vibrancy to organic wine. During maceration, the temperature is kept lower, which helps preserve those varietal-specific characteristics. Although for most red wines, age ability is desirable, organic red wines walk the line between that naturally occurring youthfulness and fresh vibrancy and preserving the wine against that oxygen constraint.

Ingredients

- Certified Organically Grown Grapes and Yeast
- In order to carry the USDA Certified Organic Seal, the wine must also be made in an organically approved facility. Badger Mountain Inc, where all of our wines are made is a certified organic food processor. All wines which are made in our winery are made with these organic guidelines

No Additives or Preservatives

“No Sulfites Added” is a requirement of every USDA organic certified wine. Sulfites give longevity to wine, offsetting the effects of oxygen on wine. It is preferred for organic fruit, as use of sulfites can deplete the fruitiness, vibrancy and youth you get out of organic wines.

Difference between Organic & Conventional winemaking

Organic winemaking takes a lot more labor, time, attention and skill. With conventional wines, there are luxuries in your toolbox – you can expose a wine to oxygen to a certain extent, use sulfites, add chemicals to adjust the chemistry to where you want it and use barrels with time for ageing characteristics. With organic wine, the only tool you have is the fruit you bring in, your cellar team and your creativity. A lot more planning goes into it at the vineyard level too. The winemaker is almost required to start blending vineyard lots before he even brings in the fruit. For example, if there is a Riesling site that is high temperature and low pH, he might plan to combine it with a lot from a cooler site to bring the chemistry to a combination suitable for successful fermentations.

Challenges in Organic Winemaking

Weather impact on the vineyard are probably the main point of concern when thinking about beginning organic winemaking. The most vital things to watch for are most commonly humidity, mildew and moisture control. We have our own trellis system that is specific to our vineyard for those purposes. The vineyard is always your starting point. Once it come into the winery, oxygen exposure is the main concern. The fruit requires a higher attention to detail, the least possible amount of oxygen exposure, a gentle hand, and time. Jose says that you really have to start with the ideal chemistry in the fruit, so a lot depends on the vineyard conditions. That initial fruit chemistry is what will help the wines achieve longevity of flavors. With organic winemaking, you can’t reverse any actions or processes like you can at some points with conventional winemaking. You only get one shot at each wine, so timing and attention to detail are really where you want to put the focus.

Organic Red Aging

We age in stainless steel to eliminate oxygen exposure as much as possible and in order to control temperature. In barrels, these two factors can be very difficult to control, since they are porous containers. When you put organics in barrel, you also see a lot of problems managing dissolved CO2, which can help with a wine’s mouthfeel and structure.

Packaging

We bottle or box the certified organic’s like a brewery, as the safest place to store the wine is in our facility. As we receive orders from our wholesalers around the world, we then bottle what they have ordered, and we send it out. We always want to have fresh product being shipped out and consumed.