Organic Beer & Wine
Organic beer and wine are a delicious way to enjoy all the pleasures of life, without sacrificing taste, or you health. Although conventional beer and wine are much more prevalent in the market place, organics are taking more and more of the market share every day.
Here is a list of some nationally distributed organic beers, ask at your local liquor store or grocer if they carry these, or other organic beers:
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Green Valley Brewing Company, Fairfield, CA
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Butte Creek Brewing Co., Chico, CA
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St. Peters Brewery, Suffolk, U.K.
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Pinkus Muller, Munster, Germany
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Fish Brewing Co., Olympia, WA
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Lake Front Brewery, Milwaukee, WI
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Otter Creek, Middlebury, VA
While organic beer sales are still minuscule in the overall beer industry, they are rising fast. North American sales of organic beers grew from $9 million in 2003 to $19 million in 2005, according to the Organic Trade Association.
This may be what prompted Anheuser-Busch, Americas largest beer company, to enter the market with their Wild Hop Lager, and Stone Mill Pale Ale, both brewed by Green Valley Brewing Co. in Fairfield, CA. You won't find the words Anheuser-Busch on the label anywhere, as they are attempting to start anew with a separate organic brand, and this beer won't soon be made in St. Louis, MO, but as Cathy Strange of Whole Foods Markets said:
Anheuser-Busch's decision to launch organic beers "sends a clear message that there's marketability...They're a smart company and if they didn't feel that there was a backbone to it, they wouldn't market it."
"Spraying chemicals and pesticides on my grapes, cannot, and will not make my grapes taste better, there fore organic is my only natural conclusion"
More and more vineyards and wineries are becoming certified organic and biodynamic. The only trick is, many wine companies are resisting labeling their products with the USDA Organic label, for fear of looking gimmicky. as a Winery rep told us at Organic-Choices.com
"We feel that being organic, and biodynamic is our responsibility, however, we know that our wine has much more to offer than just sustainability, we offer flavor, texture, and an experience all it's own, we don't need to sell ourselfs on being organic, organic happens to be part of what makes our product great, and we intend to sell on those grounds... a great product."
So be sure to open up a dialog between yourself and your local wine seller, they should be able to tell you what wines are organic, biodynamic, and sustainable grown. When searching for a great organic wine, maybe you should look past the wine with the biggest organic label on the front, and find a wine with more subtly and class.
Questions? Comments?
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