Organic cultivation

The area under organic viticulture has more than tripled in the last ten years. Around 9,300 hectares of vineyards (2018) are cultivated organically, which is about 9% of the total vineyard area.

Facts

  • 9 %

    of the total area

Organic Viticulture in Germany

Organic viticulture has now become firmly established in Germany after almost 40 years. In 2021, around 12,500 hectares of vineyards were cultivated organically throughout the country. This corresponds to a fivefold increase in the organic area since 2004 and a share of around twelve percent of the total German vineyard area.

How does organic viticulture work?

Numerous wineries have noticed an improvement in the quality of their wines as a result of switching to organic wine production. Often the conversion to organic viticulture takes place on vineyards with the change of generations. However, many wineries do not publicise their organic cultivation methods - for example, through certification - because they take such practices for granted.

In organic viticulture, the goal is to maintain a balanced ecosystem in the vineyard and to promote biodiversity. To this end, the application of all synthetic chemical pesticides are excluded, as are artificially produced fertilisers and herbicides. As a result, no mineral fertilisers are used but only humus, compost or other organic nutrient sources, and for plant protection, only pure sulphur or baking powder (sodium bicarbonate) and copper are applied to treat powdery and downy mildew. In addition, attempts are made to increase the resistance of the vines with plant strengthening agents. Weeds in the vineyard are removed only mechanically, i.e. without chemical herbicides. In order to keep soil life and biodiversity in the vineyards as active as possible, all organically cultivated vineyards are also planted with a wide variety of plants between the rows of vines. The conversion phase from conventional to organic viticulture takes three years.

For some years now, there has been a trend in German viticulture towards biodynamic growing. It already has a share of about ten percent of organic viticulture. Biodynamic vineyards make even greater use of the forces of nature and are guided by the teachings of the anthroposophist Rudolf Steiner.

EU Regulation on Organic Wine

Since the 2012 vintage, an EU regulation has been in force that regulates not only the external management in the vineyard, but also the technical preparation of organic wines in the cellar. It specifies, for example, lower limits for the maximum sulphur content for organic wines compared to conventionally produced wines. In addition, some wine treatment products are banned, some must be of organic origin, and any genetic engineering, for example in the yeasts, is forbidden. Wines that have been produced according to these EU regulations by certified wineries can be called organic wineeco-wine, or bio-wine. They can be recognised by the EU Community logo.

About half of the certified organic wine producers are also members of one of the organic associations, some of which prescribe further criteria for their membership. The most important associations for organic viticulture are Ecovin, Bioland, Naturland, and for biodynamically working wineries, Demeter and Respekt Biodyn, whose logos can also be found on the label. Founded in 1985, Ecovin is the largest association of organic wineries in the world. In 2022, the approximately 250 member wineries cultivated more than 2,700 hectares of vineyards in twelve German winegrowing regions.

Environmentally friendly viticulture is standard in Germany

After being pioneers in viticulture for a long time, many methods of organic viticulture are now standard in conventional viticulture. These include, for example, the cultivation of fungus-resistant grape varieties (PiWis), the use of beneficial insects for pest control, the greening of the vine rows or the effort to maintain the ecological balance in the vineyard. Because organic viticulture places great emphasis on soil fertility and usually results in lower yields, organic wines often reflect quite well the characteristics of the soil and climate in which the grapes were grown. Nevertheless, they cannot be distinguished in terms of taste from wines of equivalent quality grown conventionally. Since many years, conventional viticulture has also incorporated concepts from organic viticulture, particularly in plant protection and fertilisation, according to the motto "as much as necessary, but as little as possible".

Pheromones

Pheromones are now used to control the grape berry moth on more than half of German vineyards - in both organic and conventional viticulture. These are sexual scents of the female grape berry moth that normally attract the males. The artificially produced, highly concentrated pheromones are hung out in ampoules in the vineyard and attract males according to the so-called "confusion method", so that they no longer find the female grape berry moth. In this way, the reproduction of the grape berry moth can be greatly reduced.

Do organic winegrowers use other grape varieties?

The range of grape varieties used by organic winegrowers does not differ significantly from that of other winegrowers. However, they more often use grape varieties that are resistant to fungal diseases. Every year, the area under cultivation of fungus-resistant grape varieties - PIWIs for short - increases in Germany. PIWIs include Cabernet Blanc, Solaris, Souvignier Gris, Muscaris, Regent, Cabernet Cortis, Calardis Blanc, Laurot, Satin Noir and Sauvignac. More about PIWIs.

Buying organic wine

Organic wines are now well distributed in Germany and have a firm place in consumers' shopping baskets. You can find them in organic specialist shops, of course, but also in general wine shops or supermarkets. Of course, they are also available directly from the winegrower or from some winegrowers' cooperatives that cultivate part of their vineyards organically. Because the taste of wine is the most important thing when buying wine, organic is often an added benefit that people are happy to take along with them in order to support environmentally friendly wine production.

Everything under control

Producers who want to label and market their agricultural products as organic have to undergo a control procedure according to the EU organic wine directive. All certified farms are inspected once a year by an independent inspection body to determine whether they have complied with the respective required conditions. If they belong to an organic winegrowers' association, they are also subject to a further inspection to ensure that they comply with the valid, even stricter guidelines of the association.

Who carries out more treatments with plant protection products - organic or conventional winegrowers?

The organic winemaker! The active ingredients act preventively and adhere only to grapes and leaves instead of penetrating the vine's system. This protective layer must be renewed frequently due to external influences.

Varietals

More recipe ideas

with apples and nuts Tarte flambée

with apples and nuts

  • 250 Gramm Weizen- oder Dinkelmehl
  • 150 Gramm Crème fraîche
  • 150 Gramm körniger Frischkäse
  • 2 säuerliche Äpfel
  • 1 - 2 Zwiebeln
  • 30 Gramm Walnüsse oder Haselnüsse
  • 15 Gramm Hefe
  • 1 EL Zucker
  • 2 EL Olivenöl
  • 2 Zweige frischer Thymian
  • Nach Bedarf Salz & Pfeffer
  • 200 ml warmes Wasser

For the yeast dough, sieve the flour into a bowl and make a well in it. Dissolve the yeast in a little warm water and pour into the well. Cover the bowl with a cloth and leave to rise for 10 minutes. Then knead the pre-dough with the dough hook of a hand mixer and gradually work in the warm water, the oil and a teaspoon of salt. Leave the kneaded dough to rise until it has doubled in volume (approx. half an hour, in a warm place).

 

Cut the onions into wedges. Roughly chop the nuts. Core the apples, cut into slices (the thicker the apple slices, the juicier the tarte flambée) and sprinkle with the sugar.

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<p>After resting, divide the dough and roll out each half on a baking tray lined with baking paper. Preheat the oven to 220 °C (top and bottom heat)

 

Spread the crème fraîche evenly over the tarte flambée and top with the apple slices and onion wedges. Spread the fresh cheese on top and sprinkle with the walnuts. Sprinkle with a little salt and pepper.

 

Bake on the lowest shelf for 12-15 minutes and sprinkle with the fresh thyme before serving.

  • Riesling (halbtrocken & feinherb)
  • Riesling (lieblich)

with ribbon noodles Coq au Riesling

with ribbon noodles

  • 1 ganzes Huhn
  • 0,4 Liter Riesling
  • 0,2 Liter Sahne
  • 1 kl. Glas Cognac
  • 2 Stück Schalotten
  • 1 Stück Knoblauchzehe
  • 1 Stück Eigelb
  • 1/2 Bund Petersilie
  • 1 EL Mehl
  • 50 Gramm Butter
  • 1 EL Olivenöl
  • nach Belieben Salz & Pfeffer

Carve the chicken. Heat approx. 50 g butter with 2 tbsp olive oil in a large frying pan and fry the chicken pieces until light brown (without the lid). Season lightly with salt.

 

Finely chop the shallots, peel and finely chop the garlic. Chop the parsley and add everything to the meat. Sauté briefly with the pan closed. Pour the cognac over the meat and light it (flambé). Deglaze with 1/3 litre of Riesling and leave to simmer for half an hour over a low heat. If necessary, add a little more wine and simmer for a further 10 minutes.

 

Remove the chicken pieces and keep warm for a short time. Mix 1 tbsp of flour with 1 egg yolk and the cream and whisk into the sauce. Flavour with salt and pepper. Return the chicken pieces to the pan. Serve immediately.

 

This goes well with tagliatelle.

 

Variant:Fry 150 g fresh mushrooms in 50 g butter and add.

  • Riesling (trocken)

with wild mushrooms Cream of potato soup

with wild mushrooms

  • 300 Gramm geschälte Kartoffeln
  • 100 Gramm Wurzelgemüse
  • 100 Gramm Waldpilze
  • 1 ganze Zwiebel
  • 1 ganze Knoblauchzehe
  • 30 Gramm Speckwürfel
  • 40 Gramm Margarine
  • 750 ml Brühe
  • 200 ml Sahne
  • 1 Zweig Thymian
  • nach Belieben Petersilie, Butter, Salz, Pfeffer, Muskat

Clean, wash and finely dice the root vegetables. Finely dice the onion and garlic clove and finely chop the thyme. Sauté the diced bacon with the margarine in a pan until lightly browned, add the diced onion, garlic, root vegetables and thyme. Sauté, add the stock and cook for 2 minutes.


Finely grate the potatoes, add to the soup and cook for a further 5 minutes, add the cream, season and flavour. Clean, wash and chop the mushrooms and sauté in a pan with butter. Season with salt and pepper, sprinkle with chopped parsley and pour over the soup when serving.

  • Riesling (trocken)
  • Riesling (halbtrocken & feinherb)

with honey and thyme Goat's cheese tower

with honey and thyme

  • 1 großer Apfel
  • 1 Rolle Ziegenkäse
  • 4 Scheiben Bacon
  • 4 TL Honig
  • 1 TL Thymian
  • 4 Blätter Eichblattsalat
  • frische Zweige Thymian zum Garnieren
  • nach Belieben Salz & Pfeffer

Preheat the grill to the highest setting.

 

Fry the bacon slices without fat in a non-stick frying pan until crispy and drain on a piece of kitchen paper. Leave the rendered fat in the pan.

 

Wash the apple, core it with a corer and then cut it into four, approx. 1 cm thick slices. Slowly fry the apple slices in the remaining bacon fat until just cooked, using the tip of a knife to check the doneness. Place the apple slices in a lightly greased baking dish, sprinkle with thyme and place a crispy fried bacon slice on top of each one.

 

Divide the goat's cheese into 4 thalers and place one thaler on each apple slice, sprinkle with thyme again and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of honey.

 

Bake under the grill until the cheese is lightly browned.

 

Serve the goat's cheese and apple tartlets on a lettuce leaf or, if you prefer, on a bed of lettuce (add a honey-flavoured dressing)

  • Dornfelder (halbtrocken & feinherb)