Perhaps you’ve seen them on labels, or in print, or on our website: "sustainable," "biodynamic," "organic," and the list goes on. But what do these words mean? And what do they have to do with wine?

For many years, Oregon’s agricultural and viticultural industries have incorporated sustainable techniques into their farming practices. From the vine to the bottle, many of these practices range from environmentally friendly (such as not using chemical pesticides on the grapes) to using holistic methods to encourage vine growth.

In the U.S., sustainability, in terms of wine and spirits, is a relatively new concept. So, it’s easy to understand why terms such as biodynamic and salmon-safe can confuse even the most ardent of oenophiles.

Here’s a quick primer of some of the key words and concepts when it comes to "green" wine.

Sustainable wine growing is defined as environmentally friendly, socially equitable and economically feasible, and uses practices such as recycling, conserving energy and water, protecting air and water quality, reducing pesticide use, composting, and other methods to preserve biological diversity.

Biodynamic agriculture methods are based on principles developed in the 1920s, which are now gaining in popularity in the U.S. Biodynamic wine growing is a holistic science, utilizing natural remedies, and planting, harvesting and bottling in accordance with the positions of the planets and lunar phases.  Natural animal and vegetable matter is applied to soil to strengthen it, and various homeopathic herbal and mineral preparations are added to help the soil maximize light and heat for photosynthesis. 

Organic wine grapes must be made with grapes that are grown without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, herbicides or fungicides for a period of at least three years with third-party inspection.  Wines that are recognized as organic do not have added sulfites to sustain prolonged shelf life, and must have laboratory certification.  

L.I.V.E. (or Low Input Viticulture and Enology) certified wine is grown from vineyards that limit the amount of raw materials (such as pesticides, fertilizer, water, chemicals, fuel, etc.) used in vineyard and winery production.

Salmon-Safe wines are produced from wineries that are committed to protecting water quality and wild salmon in their local watersheds. Erosion and run-off from vineyards can deliver silt into streams, thus threatening native wild salmon. Some of the ways vineyards help protect and restore the important salmon habitat include planting trees on streams, growing cover crops and using natural pest and weed control methods. 

Sources:

Sustainable: Oregon Certified Sustainable Wine, http://ocsw.org

Biodynamic: Demeter, http://www.demeter-usa.org

Organic: Oregon Tilth, http://tilth.org

L.I.V.E. Certified: Low Input Viticulture and Enology, Inc., http://www.liveinc.org

Salmon Safe: http://www.salmonsafe.org

For more about Oregon’s sustainable wine industry, visit: http://www.oregonwine.org/Discover_Oregon_Wine/Sustainability