Wines made with organically grown grapes: are not designated as "organic wine" because sulphur has been added before or during bottling to preserve freshness and to inhibit growth of microbes or yeast in the bottle. Wine that contains solely grapes grown in a vineyard that is certified as organic may use the designation "made with organically grown grapes" on its label, under regulations set by the United States Department of Agriculture's National Organic Program (www.ams.usda.gov/nop).
Organic wines: are made in compliance with guidelines established under the USDA's National Organic Program, requiring the wine grapes to be organically grown and prohibiting the winery's use of sulphur.
Wines made with biodynamically grown grapes: are the product of strict viticulture methods established by Demeter (www.demeter-usa.org), an international certification agency. These grapes must be cultivated according to specific homeopathic methods that prescribe "preparations" of composted material and also take into account the phases of the moon and other circadian rhythms.
Biodynamic wines: are made in accordance with Demeter's grape cultivation requirements and, in addition, must be made with native or noncommercial yeasts and must contain a maximum of 100 parts per million of added sulphur.
Salmon-safe wines: are certified by the Portland-based organization Salmon-Safe (www.salmonsafe.org), which requires that vineyards adhere to practices that preserve the health of watersheds. Some of these practices include growing cover crops to control erosion and to reduce runoff, promoting native bio-diversty in vineyards and applying natural methods to control weeds and pests.
LIVE wines: are certified by the Salem-based organization Low Input Viticulture and Enology (www.liveinc.org). At least 97 percent of the grapes used in LIVE wines must originate from one of the organization's certified vineyards and the wine must meet other requirements of sustainability established by the International Organization for Biological Control.
