Organic wine: Uncorking a purer pleasure

What is the difference between an organic carrot and an organic grape? Both should be grown according to certain well-established principles, without the use of chemical fertilisers and so forth.

With the carrot, pretty much what you see is what you eat. But an organic grape being turned into wine undergoes a range of processes, which, when it comes to the taste, demand an entirely different set of criteria.

The acknowledged success of organic foods, which, according to the latest research are good for our health, has led consumers to expect similar standards in wine. Unfortunately, many organic wines are produced with scant regard to the reason why we buy the stuff in the first place - that it should taste nice. As an organic carrot does.

Nevertheless, driven by demand, there are a growing number of organic wines available. Many are now also Fairtrade, while the new biodynamic wines take organic principles even further - in which the phases of the moon and planetary constellations are used to dictate when to plant, prune and prepare the soil. And while certification by the national bodies (the Soil Association in Britain) guarantees organic standards and should be clear on the labels, many organic wine producers, particularly in France, refuse to sign up because of what they maintain are unrealistic standards of cultivation.

So what is it that we should expect from an organic wine? Perhaps it has to be an intense expression of what the French term terroir - the idea that the wine is in itself an expression of the very soil in which is it grown.

To help the consumer track down the best organic wines, there are now also specialist mail order organic-only wine merchants, from the well-established Vineremos in Leeds, to newcomers such as Festival Wines in Brighton and Ethical Fine Wines, a venture by Susan McCraith, a former senior buyer for Waitrose, and a master of wine.

So why does she advocate organic? "It is not easy to make good-quality wine from organically grown grapes - you need to be highly selective, more so than usual. But when the winemaker gets it right, the results can be stunning. Many of my favourites are biodynamic. When the soil is alive, the wine is alive and has a vibrancy about it.'' Not only does she insist on organic standards from her wine producers, she asks them what their environmental and social policies are, too.

So far, so ethically sound. We can feel good about drinking these organic wines, but how many are actually worth it? On behalf of Independent readers, I assembled a small team of dedicated amateur wine consumers to try a selection. This is what we found out...

Sparkling

"It tastes like a pair of nylon socks,'' said Darran Rees, a solicitor, "that have been left in the dirty washing basket for weeks.'' I won't reveal which sparkling wine we were drinking. But there are several good organic champagnes around, as well as cavas from Spain and even a sparkling wine from Moldova, the Cuvée Aleksandr, (£9.33, Laithwaites). Best of the bunch was the delicious strawberries-and-cream-flavoured Fleury Rose, (£34.99, M&S -right) from the first champagne house to convert to biodynamic production in 1989. Fleury also does a good non-vintage brut champagne (£23.74, Waitrose). Everyone loved the effervescent Can Vendrell Cava Brut (£8.99, Festival Wines).

White

With one unfortunate exception - "Bicycle inner tubes!'' - announced Darran - few whites stood out. The best premium whites were Domaine de la Boissonneuse, (£12.99, Adnams) and Les Domaines Brocard (£12, M&S - right). Both are bone-dry, steely, classic chablis, and are a perfect pairing for seafood. The Endrizzi Pinot Grigio 2005 (£7.99, Adnams) was also very good: lusciously aromatic from a grape often derided as insipid. At the budget end, my Australian friend Cathy, who knows about big chardonnays,glugged down the lightly oaked Organic One (£4.55, Tesco). It's full of tropical fruit flavours, and a bargain. An honourable mention goes to two English whites, the fruity Limney Horsmonden 2005 and crisper Sedlescombe Dry White (£6.58 and £8.38, Vinceremos).

Red

Here, one might expect to find, in rustic, earthy wines, the best opportunity for expressions of "terroir plus". And so it proved, with two sensational Spanish wines. "This is the real deal, a seriously big mouthful,'' exclaimed Darran of the Aroa Gorena 2002 (£10.59, Festival Wines - right), while the Casa de la Ermita (£6.99, Oddbins) a lip-smacking wine from Jumilla made from monastrell grapes. Giving them a good run for their money was the Caligiore malbec (£6.08, Vinceremos), an intense wine, with tastes of bitter chocolate and raisins. All three would combine well with Middle Eastern food. The lighter, elegant, Murdoch James Martinborough pinot noir, (£11.49, Oddbins) would be great with simpler dishes. Tesco's Australian Red (£4.79) impressed Cathy. And finally, two spicy warming wines from the Rhône: the Le Bosquet de la Dame 2005 (£6.99, M&S) and the Chapoutier Côtes du Rhône 2005 (£6.64, Waitrose).

Rosé

Rosés have been a real growth area. They should be unpretentious, easy-drinking wines. Space prevents me from mentioning them all, but the pick of a generally decent bunch were the Château de Caraguilhes, (£7.59, Waitrose - right), an elegant, dry wine full of strawberry flavours, the lighter, cherry-tinged Domaine du Jas de'Esclans (£6.88, Vinceremos), and the Stellar Organics Shiraz Rosé (£4.99, Sainsbury's), a fruity Fairtrade wine from South Africa.

Conclusions

Most of the wines we tasted did speak to us, with only a couple of duds and some indifferent ones. But nobody expressed an immediate conversion to organic wines, and everyone raised the issue of whether consumers should be prepared to pay the premium prices often demanded by organic producers just for feeling warm and cuddly about their products. Julia Rees, Darran's sister, a breast-feeding mother who is also a doctor, and therefore someone who thinks very carefully about what she consumes, says: "While I really liked some of these wines, I'd be worried about people thinking that just because it was organic, it somehow allowed you to drink more. It's still alcohol. I feel a bit more confident about, say, organic vegetables than wines, because its easier to know where you are with them.'' In other words, it's the carrot factor again....