Our ancestors made wine only from natural ingredients. Of course, that wasn’t the wine as we know it, but it didn’t include conventional practices of adding herbicides, pesticides, and other chemicals to grow grapes. They didn’t use artificial colouring, added sugar, or GMO ingredients.
Today, winemakers worldwide have gone back to the basics to provide natural wine, free of potentially harmful ingredients. They even use sustainable, organic farming practices to protect the environment and promote biodiversity.
If you’re interested in trying organic red wine, read on to explore some of the key reasons it’s better than conventional wine.
No Chemicals and Synthetic Additives
Pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and other chemicals are commonly used in conventional winemaking. Although their chemical residues are minuscule, you still end up consuming them.
Organic winemakers don’t use them at all. Thanks to organic farming practices, which exclude the use of artificial fertilisers and other chemicals, they grow organic grapes. The result is Vegan Wine that’s much healthier than any of its conventional counterparts.
Moreover, your teeth and gums won’t turn purple after a glass or two of organic red wine. Did you think that’s a natural side effect of drinking red wine? That’s a side effect of artificial colouring agents.
Organic red wine doesn’t contain food dyes or other synthetic additives that enhance the colour and improve the “mouth feel”. It doesn’t even contain flavour enhancers and other unnecessary additives. It’s natural and pure, which is all you want from a quality red wine.
No GMOs
Yeast is a necessary element in winemaking that helps convert sugar into alcohol and carbon dioxide during the fermentation process. However, conventional, lab-produced yeast can contain GMOs.
That isn’t the case with organic wines. Most organic winemakers use native or wild yeast from the grape skin. When they start crushing the grapes, their skin releases natural yeast and starts the fermentation process.
Non-organic grapes have barely any native yeast because they destroy pesticides, herbicides, and fungicides. That’s why commercial yeast contains synthetic additives and, often, GMOs. Organic farming practices prohibit GMOs, so this is a huge reason to try organic red wine.
No Added Sugar
Although grapes contain natural fructose and glucose, most non-organic winemakers add more sugar to enhance the sweetness.
Many of them add extra sugar to mask the taste of low-quality grapes. Added sugars can help hide various flavour imperfections, which means that you may not even know if you’re drinking poor-quality wine.
Organic wines contain no added sugar or artificial sweeteners, making them much better for your health. And since native yeast eats up nearly all of the natural sugars from grapes, you can significantly reduce your sugar and calorie intake if you opt for a glass of organic red wine.
Lower Alcohol Content
One of the main reasons non-organic winemakers add extra sugar when producing wine is to increase the alcohol content – the sweeter they make the wine, the higher its alcohol content.
Adding sugar during the alcoholic fermentation process can lead to wines with up to 15% alcohol. Organic wines tend to have less than 11% alcohol.
This may not be a huge difference, but it’s certainly a factor to consider if you don’t want to compromise on your health. If you enjoy a couple of glasses of red wine at dinner, it’s better to opt for lower alcohol wine that won’t negatively affect your health and potentially cause a splitting headache the next day.
Fewer Sulphites
Sulphites occur naturally in grapes and play a vital role in the fermentation process of winemaking. That’s because they have antimicrobial and antibacterial properties.
However, grapes contain enough sulphites to produce high-quality wines free of harmful bacteria and microbes, so there’s no need to add more.
Still, most conventional winemakers add extra sulphites to keep the wine fresh and preserve the flavour. Sulphites in wine can be great preservatives, but they can also lead to many potential side effects, including headaches, stomach pain, diarrhoea, and low blood pressure. They can even cause an allergic reaction that leads to hives and, in rare cases, anaphylaxis.
Health Benefits
Numerous scientific studies have found that red wine can benefit your health.
It can help protect your cardiovascular health, fight inflammation, it also may prevent oxidative stress, various eye diseases, and cognitive decline.
It can help you maintain healthy blood sugar levels and reduce the risk of diabetes. Polyphenols in red wine can improve your gut microbiota, together with other compounds that act as prebiotics.
One of those polyphenols is resveratrol, an antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties. It naturally occurs in the grape skin – much more in red grapes than white grapes. Since organic winemakers use native yeast from the grape skin, organic red wines are particularly rich in resveratrol.
Add to this the apparent benefits of less alcohol, no additives, and fewer sulphites, and you get a much healthier alternative to conventional wines.
Of course, that doesn’t mean you should start chugging organic red wine like water. Drinking in moderation is the only way to experience these health benefits.
Protecting the Environment
Switching to organic red wine is a no-brainer if you care about protecting the environment. Organic winemakers follow organic, sustainable farming practices that don’t hurt the environment.
Some of those include using cover crops, animal manures, crop rotations, renewable resources, and drip irrigation, all of which preserve the ecosystem.
Ready to Switch to Organic Red Wine?
The moment you do, you’ll start enjoying a wide range of benefits. Give it a try, awaken your taste buds, and improve your overall well-being.
