We don’t drink Low Intervention wine, sometimes called natural wine, because it’s trendy. We drink and we enjoy low intervention because for us it is the greater expression of the vineyard, the vintage and the art of winemaking.
Of course, we’re going to say it does. We’ve tasted many organic wines prior to and in the setup of Wine Revolution, but regardless of our day job, we prefer to drink organic. It matches our lifestyle and concern for the long-term health of our planet. Our anecdotal experience says organic tastes better. Research confirms we’re correct.
A recent study conducted by the University of California, ‘Does Organic Wine Taste Better? An Analysis of Experts’ Ratings’ (published in the Journal of Wine Economics, Vol. 11, No. 3, 2016), aimed to understand the link between product quality and organic or eco-certification in the US.
The research studied the ratings of 74,148 wines of over 30 grape varieties from 3,842 California wineries. The wine ratings of three leading global wine publications – ‘Wine Advocate’, ‘Wine Enthusiast’, and ‘Wine Spectator’ – all whom blind taste and rate wines out of a possible 100 points, were compared.
The research results indicated that organic is associated with a statistically significant increase in ratings. In fact, these wines scored on average 4.1 points higher than conventional wines. The results overwhelmingly support a link between better tasting wine and organic practices.
The domestic and global organic wine market may be niche, but it’s not a new wine category; indeed, it’s been around for millennia.
Changing consumer sentiment is increasing demand and demand is growing fast.[i] Sentiment towards organics is positive and buying organic is becoming top of mind in purchasing decisions. So, what are the main drivers of this new zeitgeist?