A snappy, certified organic Sauvignon Blanc

Veramonte Sauvignon Blanc “Reserva” Casablanca Valley, Chile

$12.99

13.5% alcohol

PLCB Item #97752

Sale price through Sunday; regularly $13.99

At the grocery store, organic produce costs more than normal produce. To be certified organic, fruit must be grown without synthetic substances like fertilizers, fungicides, or pesticides. Going green increases costs and reduces crop volume compared to conventional farming, leading to the higher prices we are used to paying for organic foods. The same pattern typically holds true at the wine store, but wines like this one from Chile can be a delicious exception to this rule thanks to quirks of this nation’s geography.

Chile’s coastal valleys are unusually dry and get almost all their rain in the vines’ dormant season. This means their vineyards are largely free of the mildew, rot, and insects that lead grape growers elsewhere to lean on chemical sprays to protect their crops. In the wine world, the choice to farm grapes organically is not simply about doing what’s best for the environment. It’s also the best way to make the best possible wine. Eliminating agricultural chemicals increases the quality of any fruit or vegetable. The difference can be hard to taste side by side in fresh apples or carrots though, and the same is true for fresh wine grapes. However, fermenting those grapes into wine amplifies the distinction by stripping away surface-level factors like sweetness to expose the greater complexity and individuality of flavor found in wines like this snappy little sauvignon blanc that are made from certified organic grapes. In this case, this dry, midweight, and unoaked white wine is vibrant in its flavors of lemons and nectarines, with herbal accents of verbena and a distinctive thread of cleansing minerality that can be hard to find in wines that are industrially farmed.

Also available at:

Kreston Wine & Spirits in Wilmington, $11.99

www.krestonwines.com/

Canal’s in Mt. Ephraim, $11.99

mycanals.com/