Some of you prefer organic food, but have you tried organic wine?
I had a great experience at a red wine tasting at Badger Mountain Organic Vineyard and Powers Winery. Mickey Dunne, winery Owner and Sales Director, was my host. I was delighted by the Badger Mountain Organic NSA wines. It all made perfect sense. Rejoice because these are top-notch wines, big on flavor and modest on price.
No stranger to the Badger Mountain Organic NSA Chardonnay*, for some reason I was surprised at the quality of their Organic NSA red wines. Curious about shelf life, I learned that Organic NSA red wines have a longer shelf life than Organic NSA white wines - up to three years. Good to know.
2009 Organic NSA Merlot – Badger Mountain
We began with the Organic, NSA Merlot. What a beautiful color, vibrant, deep plum-purple. Swirling the just opened wine, I was greeted by a gorgeous nose of lively dark fruit and very soft spice. How does this Organic NSA wine taste? The palate was incredibly smooth, round, ripe and concentrated with deep rich fruit, the tannins are very supple. $15 from the winery.
Blend: 100% Certified Organic Merlot, 80% Badger Mountain Vineyard Estate Merlot, Columbia Valley + 20% Pleasant Vineyard Merlot, Columbia Valley. Four months in older French oak, bottled late May 2010, released on June 1, 2010.
2009 Organic NSA Cabernet Sauvignon – Badger Mountain
The 2009 Organic, NSA Cabernet Sauvignon was next. The luscious dried fruit on the palate was quite mouth filling, and smooth, with supple tannins and lots of fruit. The finish still shows firm, fine tannins, but the fruit slightly dominates them. A very good finish, it was very long with nice integration. $15 from the winery.
Blend: 100% Certified Organic Merlot, 97% Badger Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, 3% Arete Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Wahluke Slope. Once the wine was blended, it was transferred to neutral French oak for approximately 8 months. The wine was bottled in August 2010 and released November 2010.
This was a great tasting experience and really opened my eyes to how good organic red wines can be. We are very fortunate to have these delectable, locally produced, affordable wines. These are wines with structure, character and personality. Strongly Recommended!
I will not say that Organic and NSA Organic wines are better for you, or for the environment (that's up to you). What I am saying is, you have two really good Organic NSA red wine options when it comes to choosing the wines you want to drink: Badger Mountain Organic NSA Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Cheers!
Badger Mountain Vineyard and Powers Winery
1106 North Jurupa St.
Kennewick, WA 99338
1-800-643-WINE
Website: http://www.badgermtnvineyard.com/
*What exactly is an organic wine?
Wines labeled Organic are produced using organically grown grapes. No pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, chemical fertilizers, or synthetic chemicals of any kind are allowed on the vines or in the soil. Strict rules govern the winemaking process and storage conditions for wines that acquire certification. Moreover, organic winemakers often avoid many of the chemical substances used to stabilize conventional wines.
Certified Organic Wines will have the USDA organic seal emblazoned on them.
Certified Organic Wines Must contain at least 95% USDA organic certified (BadgerMountain NSA wines). Wines made from organic grapes must contain at least 70% organically grown grapes (Badger Mountain VES wines). To carry the USDA certified organic seal the wine must also be made in an organically approved facility. Badger Mountain Inc is a certified organic food processor.
Badger Mountain Vineyard has been using organic farming methods since 1988, and was the first certified organic winegrape vineyard in the state of Washington in 1990.
No Sulfite Added Wines (NSA wines) are produced without preservative and are made by only a few winemakers in the United States. If you get headaches after drinking wine and cannot tolerate sulfites, try an Organic NSA wine (it's possible you may be asthmatic-I know two people who are sulfite sensitive and asthmatic).
*Related posts:
Video review: 2010 Badger Mountain NSA Organic Chardonnay.
2009 Badger Mountain NSA Organic Chardonnay Review
2008 Badger Mountain NSA Organic Chardonnay Review
I had a great experience at a red wine tasting at Badger Mountain Organic Vineyard and Powers Winery. Mickey Dunne, winery Owner and Sales Director, was my host. I was delighted by the Badger Mountain Organic NSA wines. It all made perfect sense. Rejoice because these are top-notch wines, big on flavor and modest on price.
No stranger to the Badger Mountain Organic NSA Chardonnay*, for some reason I was surprised at the quality of their Organic NSA red wines. Curious about shelf life, I learned that Organic NSA red wines have a longer shelf life than Organic NSA white wines - up to three years. Good to know.
 |
| Badger Mountain 2009 Organic NSA Merlot. |
We began with the Organic, NSA Merlot. What a beautiful color, vibrant, deep plum-purple. Swirling the just opened wine, I was greeted by a gorgeous nose of lively dark fruit and very soft spice. How does this Organic NSA wine taste? The palate was incredibly smooth, round, ripe and concentrated with deep rich fruit, the tannins are very supple. $15 from the winery.
Blend: 100% Certified Organic Merlot, 80% Badger Mountain Vineyard Estate Merlot, Columbia Valley + 20% Pleasant Vineyard Merlot, Columbia Valley. Four months in older French oak, bottled late May 2010, released on June 1, 2010.
 |
| Badger Mountain 2009 Organic NSA Cabernet Sauvignon. |
The 2009 Organic, NSA Cabernet Sauvignon was next. The luscious dried fruit on the palate was quite mouth filling, and smooth, with supple tannins and lots of fruit. The finish still shows firm, fine tannins, but the fruit slightly dominates them. A very good finish, it was very long with nice integration. $15 from the winery.
Blend: 100% Certified Organic Merlot, 97% Badger Mountain Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, 3% Arete Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, Wahluke Slope. Once the wine was blended, it was transferred to neutral French oak for approximately 8 months. The wine was bottled in August 2010 and released November 2010.
This was a great tasting experience and really opened my eyes to how good organic red wines can be. We are very fortunate to have these delectable, locally produced, affordable wines. These are wines with structure, character and personality. Strongly Recommended!
I will not say that Organic and NSA Organic wines are better for you, or for the environment (that's up to you). What I am saying is, you have two really good Organic NSA red wine options when it comes to choosing the wines you want to drink: Badger Mountain Organic NSA Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Cheers!
Badger Mountain Vineyard and Powers Winery
1106 North Jurupa St.
Kennewick, WA 99338
1-800-643-WINE
Website: http://www.badgermtnvineyard.com/
*What exactly is an organic wine?
Wines labeled Organic are produced using organically grown grapes. No pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, chemical fertilizers, or synthetic chemicals of any kind are allowed on the vines or in the soil. Strict rules govern the winemaking process and storage conditions for wines that acquire certification. Moreover, organic winemakers often avoid many of the chemical substances used to stabilize conventional wines.
Certified Organic Wines will have the USDA organic seal emblazoned on them.
Certified Organic Wines Must contain at least 95% USDA organic certified (BadgerMountain NSA wines). Wines made from organic grapes must contain at least 70% organically grown grapes (Badger Mountain VES wines). To carry the USDA certified organic seal the wine must also be made in an organically approved facility. Badger Mountain Inc is a certified organic food processor.
Badger Mountain Vineyard has been using organic farming methods since 1988, and was the first certified organic winegrape vineyard in the state of Washington in 1990.
No Sulfite Added Wines (NSA wines) are produced without preservative and are made by only a few winemakers in the United States. If you get headaches after drinking wine and cannot tolerate sulfites, try an Organic NSA wine (it's possible you may be asthmatic-I know two people who are sulfite sensitive and asthmatic).
*Related posts:
Video review: 2010 Badger Mountain NSA Organic Chardonnay.
2009 Badger Mountain NSA Organic Chardonnay Review
2008 Badger Mountain NSA Organic Chardonnay Review