20 percent organic production? Back in 1990, when less than 50 hectares in Switzerland were farmed organically by a few "brave" people, this was certainly unimaginable. Yet in 2024, the organic vineyard areas of Switzerland covered exactly 2818 hectares, a record that clearly shows organic viticulture is no longer a niche. Especially not among top producers, who often work according to organic guidelines nowadays.
Studies have repeatedly investigated whether wines made from organically grown grapes taste better than those made from conventional grapes. Two studies by Magali Delmas, environmental economist at the UCLA Anderson School of Management in California, and Olivier Gergaud, economist at the KEDGE Business School in Bordeaux, show that organically produced wines are rated higher on average than conventionally produced wines.
In a California study published in 2016, Delmas and Gergaud examined 74 000 wines rated by critics like Robert Parker (Wine Advocate), Wine Enthusiast, and Wine Spectator. The results showed that organic wines received an average of 4.1 percent better ratings than conventional wines.
In a subsequent study in 2021, a total of 128,000 French wines were analyzed, this time evaluated by the renowned wine guides Gault Millau, Gilbert & Gaillard and Bettane+Desseauve. Here, too, wines from organic or biodynamic cultivation outperformed their conventional counterparts – they were rated an average of 6.2 percent higher. Wines from vintners who work with, rather than against, nature have also received top marks in Falstaff tastings for some time now.
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