Organic Grape Growing: Tips from the Pros

Growing grapes organically, like any other crop, is often more work than using synthetic fertilizers, solutions and sprays. But in the end, many winemakers who embrace organic growing believe the resulting wines display the purity of the fruit the way that Mother Nature intended. Joy Andersen is a pioneer of the modern-day Washington State wine industry. Joy earned a chemistry degree from the University of Washington and was a fruit researcher for the U.S. Department of Agriculture before joining the wine industry. She began her winemaking career at Chateau Ste. Michelle. Many producers believe organically grown wine grapes and the wines made from them are of superior quality to standard production and display a purer expression of what Mother Nature intended. Intuitively, many believe that the more “natural” or “unadulterated” the production, the better the quality.  No doubt growing grapes organically and vinting those grapes organically requires more hands-on attention than in standard production, and I believe it is this “extra” attention that results in better quality. It is my belief that taking good care of vineyards and the local environment