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Let me start by saying, I rarely drink wine (or any alcohol for that matter), but when I do I want to make sure it is clean wine. Just like everything else I put in on or on my body, I want to insure there are no harmful chemicals whenever possible.
Did you know the wine industry is unregulated and there are no labeling requirements? The term natural wine, can be meaningless, as natural wines can still contain additives. We know that grapes are one of the dirty dozen, they are one of the fruits that are the most sprayed with pesticides. Since grape skins are thin and permeable, the chemicals can go directly into the fruit. Many people do not eat fruit or vegetables that are heavily sprayed, but do not think about their wine the same way. Even if you are drinking organic wine, that does not cut the whole spectrum (it does not stop at chemical free farming), but it is certainly an important first step. There is an entire process that happens after the grapes are brought into the cellar and before it ends up in the bottle. The vintner can still add a lot of potentially toxic ingredients and manipulation can change the chemistry of the wine. The FDA allows up to 250 additives and chemicals to be added to wine like ferrocyanide, ammonium phosphate, copper sulfate, mega purple, GMO ingredients, just to name a few.
What's missing
The missing ingredient here, label transparency. There is no required ingredient label so you have no idea what's in there.
If you are assuming that it is just grape juice, you are wrong, there are potentially many unnatural substances in the wine you're drinking. There are approximately ninety-five ingredients that are allowed in wine, but again you would have no idea because there is no label.
What is in your wine?
There are various animal by-products that are allowed, used to finely filter the wine. Including egg whites, fish bladder (called isinglass), and casein. Other common additives include tartaric acid, sugars, coloring, flavoring, and various things to stabilize, preserve, and minimize the bacteria growth. Velcorin is one example. If you are someone who enjoys drinking wine, these additives could be building up in your system.
Yeast
And then there is the yeast. Often winemakers will add a commercial yeast that is made from a genetically modified yeast strain.
Two levels of organic certification
There is wine that is labeled "made with organic grapes", and that pertains to how the grapes are farmed. It also sets a limit of one hundred parts per million of sulfites that can be added. Then there is wine that is labeled "certified organic", and that is made with organically grown grapes and cannot have any sulfites (it can only contain naturally occurring sulfites).
Sulfites
There’s very little organic certified wine, because even some of the very conscientious natural producers might add a trace amount of sulfur if they feel like the wine needs that. And that would mean it would not be allowed to be certified organic. These rules are according to the FDA and just in the US. Just for reference, conventional wine is allowed up to 350 parts per million of added sulfites.
Sulfites are used for different reasons during many steps in the winemaking process. Sulfur is a preservative and also a toxic agent that kills bacteria. So if you want to kill a bacterial strain or a native yeast to control the flavors produced in the fermentation, you would use sulfur. If you want to freeze the wine’s production or the wine’s evolution, you could add sulfites. It basically kills anything living in the wine.
You will see on most wine labels that the wine contains sulfites, which can mean that they are naturally occurring or that they were added. Again, it is about needing more label transparency.
One way of getting sulfites out of your wine is by using this Ullo Wine Purifier. I bought this a few years ago because we have family members who are allergic to sulfites.
Clean wine
There are a few options I have come across in my research for clean crafted wine. One is wine subscription service and online shop (started by a former wine sommelier), called Rock Juice, where you can get natural, unadulterated wines from around the globe. A friend of mine recently told me about a winery she visited with really good clean-crafted wine. It is called Arterra Wines, and is located in Delaplane, Virginia. I definitely plan on checking it out.
Scout and Cellar
Another great option is Scout and Cellar, a company dedicated to making clean crafted wine.
Scout and Cellar is very particular about the vineyards their grapes come from. The farms have to be sustainable, organic and/or biodynamically farmed. All of the vines are tended by actual people, and not mass produced by industrial agricultural methods. All of their wine is very low in sulfites with ZERO added chemicals.... so the ingredient list in your bottle of wine is pretty short.... grapes.
An average bottle of mass produced wine has 16 grams of sugar (and a lot of empty calories). Scout & Cellar wine has ZERO grams of added sugar. So what that means is your glass of wine is low carb and low calorie. A bottle of moscato (sweet wine) on average has 64 grams of sugar in the bottle. Their wines have significantly less calories than mass produced wines.
Scout and Cellar wines are always keto and paleo friendly, Gluten Free (not all wine is), vegan (many wines use animal by-products to preserve the wine), organic, non-GMO, no chemicals, no added sugar, no pesticides, and low sulfites.
I do not know nearly enough about wine to help anyone make their selections, but I have a friend that sells their wine and she helped me stock up for special occasions. My favorite so far is a red called Hushkeeper. If you are interested in learning more about Scout and Cellar wines, her website is www.winingwithlinda.com. Here is a link to her Scout and Cellar Facebook page.
Shelf Life
Scout & Cellar’s wines are meant for consumption not storage so don’t put in your cellar with the intention of opening it in a few years. Scout and Cellar wines last just as long as other wines once opened.
It is best to store your wine in a wine fridge or a cool, dark place, on their side.
