{"id":36280,"date":"2023-11-07T11:53:41","date_gmt":"2023-11-07T14:53:41","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/domainebousquet.com\/?p=36280"},"modified":"2023-11-07T11:53:41","modified_gmt":"2023-11-07T14:53:41","slug":"review-virgen-organic-red-blend","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/domainebousquet.com\/en\/review-virgen-organic-red-blend\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: Virgen, Organic Red Blend"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It\u2019s interesting to think about the idea of organic products when you look at it through the history of time. 100 years ago, most things that you could buy in a supermarket would be considered organic, by current standards, but they weren\u2019t marketed that way because it wasn\u2019t something people thought about at the time.<\/p>\n
What is currently referred to as \u201cconventional agriculture\u201d (i.e., relying on the use of chemical inputs and genetically modified seeds) didn\u2019t even exist back then. Today\u2019s \u201cconventional agriculture\u201d was largely born after World War II, and much of the original science behind it was developed as a part of the war effort. If it\u2019s not even 100 years old, how is it considered conventional?<\/p>\n
Most consumers, including myself, have only a basic understanding of farming practices. I would venture to guess that most consumers who are aware of organic farming think of it in binary terms \u2014 either you use chemical inputs or you don\u2019t. But it\u2019s not that simple.<\/p>\n
In organic farming, there are often some chemical inputs, but those inputs are considered less toxic and are approved for organic production. There are also additional practices that can be applied but aren\u2019t necessarily required for products to be considered organic. Some examples are conservation agriculture, which incorporates crop rotation and minimal soil disturbance, or regenerative agriculture, which focuses heavily on soil health by keeping live roots in the grounds all year and adding biodiversity, including grazing animals.<\/p>\n
It fascinates me that in less than 100 years, humans reinvented agriculture and now it\u2019s almost considered revolutionary to go back to the old ways of doing things. And again, most people don\u2019t have a deep understanding of it.<\/p>\n
Over the past 15 years that I\u2019ve been writing about wine, I\u2019ve noticed more and more wine brands embracing organic production practices. It used to be difficult to find wine made from organically grown grapes, but it\u2019s more and more common today.<\/p>\n
Even though it\u2019s become easier to find wine made from organically grown grapes, it\u2019s still less common to find wine labeled as \u201corganic wine.\u201d That\u2019s because USDA organic labeling guidelines require that \u201corganic wine\u201d is not only made from organically grown grapes, but is also produced without the addition of sulfites in the winemaking process.<\/p>\n
All wine, even organic wine, has some sulfites in it. But most winemakers add additional sulfites in order to give the wine a longer shelf life and to protect it from spoilage. It takes extreme care to create a shelf stable wine without the addition of sulfites. This is yet another thing a lot of consumers likely don\u2019t fully understand.<\/p>\n
Starting a few years ago,\u00a0Domaine Bousquet<\/a>\u00a0took on the challenge of creating USDA certified organic wines, sold under their Virgen brand.<\/p>\n Organic farming practices were employed at Domaine Bousquet from the time their vineyards were first established in 1997. Their vineyards are located in a high desert region in Alto Gualtallary, a subregion of Tupungato in Mendoza, Argentina. The dry conditions and sandy soils here lend themselves well to organic farming.<\/p>\n