ORGANIC WINE
Italy, Europe’s top grower of organic grapes
by Elvira Ackermann: According to the latest IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Associations) report, Italy is the major grower of organic grapes in Europe.
As a matter of fact, the country of “la dolce vita” boasts 34.000 hectares (84.015 acres) of land dedicated to organic wine growing. Italy is followed by France with 19.000 hectares (46.950 acres) and Spain with 16.000 hectares (39.537 acres). They represent the three major growers of organic grapes in Europe. Germany, being the fourth producer of the old continent, includes only 4.000 hectares (9.885 acres) of land planted with organic grapes.
Italy maintains also an excellent position in the general ranking of organic wine producing countries worldwide earning the fifth position with 1.147 hectares (2.834 acres) of organic vineyard land. The first four positions are being maintained by countries that are way larger than Italy, i.e. Australia, Argentina, China and the U.S. The above statistics show an outstanding organic grape growth in the Italian wine world thanks to an increasing market penetration of organic and biodynamic wine in Italy and Europe.
Note 1: la dolce vita = literally “the sweet life,” indicates the pleasant Italian life style including sunshine, beaches, fine wine and food, fancy cars, fashion, friendly people……
Note 2: biodynamic wine = At its most basic, the biodynamic approach to grape-growing sees the vineyard as an ecological whole: not just rows of grapevines, but the soil beneath them—an organism in its own right—and the other flora and fauna in the area, growing together interdependently.
Where biodynamics differs from other forms of organic or sustainable agriculture is in its idea that farming can be attuned to the spiritual forces of the cosmos. This might mean linking sowing and harvesting to the phases of the moon or the positions of the planets; it also might mean burying cow manure in a cow’s horn over the winter, unearthing it in the spring, diluting a minute amount of the substance in 34 liters of water, “dynamizing” it by stirring it by hand in alternating directions for an hour or so and then spraying the mixture over one’s vineyard.