Organic wine is wine made from certified organic grapes and vinified under organic rules, which limit what can be added in the cellar. In the US, a wine labeled “organic” has no added sulfites, and one labeled “made with organic grapes” can have up to 100 parts per million. In the EU, organic wine can contain added sulfites, at lower limits than conventional wine.
The grapes come from vineyards farmed without synthetic fertilizers and with only approved products against pests and disease. A certifier inspects the vineyard and the winery at least once a year.
Etna: red
Rhône: white
France: rosé
How organic wine is defined
Unlike natural wine, organic wine has a legal definition, set by the USDA National Organic Program in the US and by EU regulations in Europe. Both start in the vineyard:
- The vines are farmed under organic rules for 3 years before the first harvest that can be sold as organic.
- Fertility comes from cover crops, crop rotation, compost and plant or animal materials. US rules ban fertilizers that contain synthetic substances not on the approved National List. EU rules ban mineral nitrogen fertilizers.
- Pests and disease are handled by prevention first. Approved products, such as copper and sulfur against mildew, come in only when prevention fails.
- A certifier inspects every operation at least once a year.
The two systems then differ in the cellar, most of all on sulfites. The sections below cover each one.
Organic wine labels in the US
Scroll the table sideways to see every column
| Organic | Made with organic grapes | Organic in the ingredients only | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Grapes | All certified organic | All certified organic | A mix of organic and non-organic grapes |
| Yeast | Certified organic, unless the strain is not sold in organic form | Need not be organic | No rule |
| Added sulfites | None | Sulfur dioxide only, total sulfites up to 100 ppm | No organic limit |
| USDA organic seal | Allowed | Not allowed | Not allowed |
| What the label can say | “Organic wine” and “Certified organic by” the certifier | “Made with organic grapes” and “Certified organic by” the certifier | Organic only in the ingredient list |
The US has 3 label categories for wine. Only a wine with no added sulfites can say “organic” and carry the green USDA seal. A wine with added sulfur dioxide, up to 100 parts per million, can say “made with organic grapes” on the front label, with no seal. Other forms of sulfite, such as potassium metabisulfite, are not allowed in either category.
Both labels must name the certifier with the words “Certified organic by,” and the certifier approves the label before the bottler or importer files it with the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).
Organic wine rules in the EU
The EU has had organic winemaking rules since August 1, 2012. Before that date, a wine could only be called “wine made from organic grapes” and could not carry the EU organic logo. The current rules are in Regulation (EU) 2018/848 and Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1165.
- The grapes and every agricultural ingredient must be organic.
- Five techniques are banned: partial concentration of the must by cooling, removing sulfur dioxide by physical processes, partial dealcoholization, electrodialysis and cation exchangers (the last two are used to stop tartrate crystals).
- Heat treatment is allowed up to 167°F (75°C), and filtration down to pores of 0.2 micrometers.
- Only additives on a fixed list can be used. The list includes yeast (organic if available), tannins, oak pieces, gum arabic, bentonite clay and fining agents such as gelatine, egg albumin, casein and isinglass.
- Sulfur dioxide is capped at 100 mg/L for dry reds and 150 mg/L for dry whites and rosés. Every other wine gets the general EU limit minus 30 mg/L.
The label must show the EU organic logo, a green leaf made of stars, with the code of the control body that certified the wine (in the format IT-BIO-999, where the letters give the country) and where the grapes were farmed (“EU Agriculture” or “non-EU Agriculture”).
A study the EU cited when it wrote these rules, the Orwine project, found that organic producers already used less sulfur dioxide than the conventional maximum, so the EU set a lower organic limit.
European organic wine sold in the US
The US and the EU have recognized each other’s organic rules since June 1, 2012, with one exception for wine. An EU organic wine can be sold as “organic” in the US, with the USDA seal, only if it has no added sulfites. A European organic wine with added sulfur dioxide, up to 100 ppm, can be sold here as “made with organic grapes,” without the EU leaf or the USDA seal.
Organic wine compared with conventional wine
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| US organic | US made with organic grapes | EU organic | Conventional (EU) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grapes | Certified organic | Certified organic | Certified organic | No farming rule |
| Yeast | Organic if available | Any yeast not made by genetic engineering | Organic if available | Any authorized yeast |
| Additives | Non-agricultural ingredients from the National List, 5% at most combined | Non-agricultural ingredients from the National List | A fixed list, including tannins, gum arabic, gelatine and oak pieces | A longer list, including sugar, acid and the treatments organic rules ban |
| Cellar techniques | No added sulfites | Sulfur dioxide is the only sulfite allowed | No cold concentration, physical sulfite removal, electrodialysis, partial dealcoholization or cation exchangers. Heat up to 167°F (75°C), filters down to 0.2 micrometers | All authorized techniques |
| Sulfite limit | None added | 100 ppm total | Dry red 100 mg/L, dry white and rosé 150 mg/L, other wines 30 mg/L under the general limit | Dry red 150 mg/L, dry white and rosé 200 mg/L |
| Logo | USDA organic seal | No seal | EU green leaf, with the certifier’s code | None |
One milligram per liter (mg/L) equals one part per million (ppm). The EU limits apply to wines with less than 2 grams of sugar per liter. The general EU limits for sweeter wines run higher, up to 400 mg/L for Trockenbeerenauslese and Eiswein, and the organic limit stays 30 mg/L below each of them.
Copper and sulfur in organic vineyards
Organic growers cannot use synthetic fungicides, so they rely on copper and sulfur against downy and powdery mildew. EU rules cap copper at 28 kilograms per hectare over 7 years, about 25 pounds per acre. That cap applies to every vineyard in the EU, organic or not. US rules set no number and require copper to be used in a way that keeps it from building up in the soil.
A 2019 review of organic and biodynamic viticulture studies found that most of them measured no more copper in organic vineyard soils than in conventional ones. One Italian study did.
Organic, natural and biodynamic wine
- Organic
- Certified organic farming plus organic cellar rules, set by law. Cultured yeast, a list of additives and filtration are allowed.
- Biodynamic
- Organic farming plus biodynamic preparations and practices, certified by private bodies such as Demeter. Demeter’s wine rules are stricter than organic rules in the cellar. See the biodynamic wine guide.
- Natural
- No legal definition. The French Vin Méthode Nature charter requires organic or biodynamic grapes, native yeast and nothing added except, at most, a small dose of sulfites. See the natural wine guide.
What organic wine tastes like
Organic covers every grape, region and color, so it has no single taste. A 2019 review of studies comparing organic and conventional vineyards found no overall difference in the quality of the grapes or the wine. These 4 tasting notes appear more often than any others across the organic wines we list.
Cherry
Ripe red cherry fruit
Lemon peel
The zest and pith of citrus, with a slightly bitter edge
Pear
Fresh, juicy orchard fruit
Flower
A light floral scent
What the research says about organic vineyards
- Yield: a 2019 meta-analysis in the American Journal of Enology and Viticulture found 18% lower yields and 21% less vine growth under organic and biodynamic farming than under conventional farming.
- Biodiversity: 17 of the 24 studies in the same review found more biodiversity in organic vineyards. Some single studies found the opposite for certain species, such as grasshoppers in Switzerland and a predatory mite hurt by frequent sulfur sprays.
- Pesticide residues: a 2021 study tested 49 grape and wine samples for 406 pesticides. Most organic samples had no residues, or only residues of organic-approved products. 3 of 21 organic wines had small amounts of non-approved pesticides, from 0.001 to 0.011 mg/kg.
Why some organic wines don’t say organic
A certified organic wine does not always say so. A study of 13,426 California wines found that only a third of wineries using certified organic grapes said so on the label. Above $25 a bottle, wines labeled “made from organically grown grapes” sold for 7% less than conventional wines, and certified wines without the label sold for 13% more.
Organic vineyards made up 7.8% of the world’s grape area in 2023, and 14.1% of the EU’s, according to FiBL, a Swiss organic research institute. Spain, France and Italy have the most organic vineyard land.
Common questions about organic wine
- What is organic wine?
- Wine made from certified organic grapes and vinified under organic rules, which limit additives and sulfites. In the US, “organic” wine has no added sulfites; in the EU, organic wine can contain some.
- Is organic wine sulfite-free?
- No. Yeast produces sulfites during fermentation, so every wine contains some. A US wine with 10 parts per million or more must say “Contains sulfites,” even when it is organic.
- What is the difference between organic wine and made with organic grapes?
- Both use only certified organic grapes. “Organic” wine has no added sulfites and can carry the USDA seal. “Made with organic grapes” can contain added sulfur dioxide up to 100 ppm and cannot carry the seal.
- Is organic wine vegan?
- Not always. EU organic rules allow fining with gelatine, isinglass, casein and egg albumin. Check with the producer or look for a vegan claim on the label.
- Is organic wine the same as natural wine?
- No. Organic rules allow cultured yeast, a list of additives and filtration. Natural wine starts from organic or biodynamic grapes and adds nothing in the cellar beyond, at most, a small dose of sulfites.
- How do I know if a wine is organic?
- In the US, look for the USDA organic seal or the words “made with organic grapes,” with “Certified organic by” and the certifier’s name. On European labels, look for the green EU leaf and the certifier’s code, in the format IT-BIO-999.
Sources
- US: 7 CFR part 205, the National Organic Program rules
- US: 7 CFR 205.605, sulfur dioxide in wine made with organic grapes
- USDA: organic wine oversight, labeling and trade
- TTB and USDA: labeling organic wine
- USDA: the US-EU organic equivalence arrangement
- US: 27 CFR 4.32, sulfite declaration
- EU: Regulation (EU) 2018/848 on organic production
- EU: Implementing Regulation (EU) 2021/1165, authorized products and sulfite limits
- EU: Regulation (EU) 203/2012, the first organic winemaking rules
- EU: Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/934, general sulfite limits
- EU: Implementing Regulation (EU) 2018/1981, copper limits
- Döring et al. (2019): organic and biodynamic viticulture, a meta-analysis
- Schusterova et al. (2021): pesticide residues in organic and conventional grapes and wine
- UCLA: Delmas and Grant on organic labels and wine prices
- FiBL and IFOAM: The World of Organic Agriculture 2025
- Syndicat de défense des vins naturels: FAQ
Keep reading
The organic wine collection lists the organic wines we carry. The biodynamic and natural wine guides cover what those labels add on top of organic rules.
Shop organic wine Read the biodynamic wine guide Read the natural wine guide Read the sulfites guide
