Organic doesn’t mean the wine doesn’t have additives in it. All wines will have various chemically-produced fining agents such as egg whites, skim-milk powder, diatemaceous earth and cultured yeasts added to the wines.

An organic wine is a wine made from grapes that have been grown without the use of artificial or synthetic chemicals, such as herbicides and pesticides. Organic farmers work with nature to improve the vineyard’s biodiversity. Cover crops are planted such as marigolds which provide a habitat for beneficial insects that are the natural enemy of problem species, or have small sheep graze between the vine rows to keep the grass and weeds in trim. In this way, the vineyard becomes a self-regulating, natural ecosystem which operates without the need for artificial or toxic chemicals.

The dilemma with organic wines (and what sets them apart from other organic foods) is the importance of sulphur-dioxide (SO2) in the winemaking process. 

Organic wines must not add sulfites, which in most scenarios greatly reduces a wine’s shelf life and in some cases, can substantially change the flavour. A difficult task for winemakers who take the time to grow grapes organically and then have to add SO2 in the winemaking process to prevent oxidation.

The addition of SO2 is registered on wine labels as “220”. The minimum allowed in winemaking is 300 parts per million (ppm). For Australian certified organic wine it’s 150 ppm. Most dry wines usually won’t exceed 200 ppm while dried fruit could contain anywhere between 500 and 3000 ppm. If you are overly sensitive to SO2, then drinking organic wines could prevent you feeling any pain the next day.