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Why It's Good:
Wine experts believe organic wines are more flavorful: Because the soil hasn't been treated with so many chemicals, grapes are forced to provide their own pest resistance, resulting in a cleaner, clearer taste. (And some folks believe they're less likely to give you a hangover.) Organic and other eco wines are no longer boutique, overpriced, and hard to find: You can find these picks in many wine stores, and they are as delicious as they are priced to sell.
Why It's Green:
The grapes that became these wines were untouched by toxic chemical insecticides, pesticides, fungicides or fertilizers, i.e., these wines are organic, so trace chemicals won't be making their way into your system or the eco-system. Even more reason to drink up.
Mass Wines With Class for Under $25
Before: Because the market was small, organic wines were pricier, and production done more expensively, boutique style. Now: National interest in organic wine has exploded, and "organic" is no longer synonymous with "expensive." Sure, there are still some boutique labels that are hard to find, but there are many more prolific and value-oriented wines that are easy to drink, easy to find, and have stellar records producing sustainable and organic products. Here are my picks for great green wines, at a wine store near you, for under $25 a bottle.—Michael Green
Under $10:
Lurton Terra Sana Syrah, Languedoc, France
This medium-bodied, traditional-style French Syrah from international winemakers Jacques and Francois Lurton is organically certified, with a low price and wide availability.
Under $20:
Bonterra Vineyards Chardonnay, Mendocino County California (pictured, far left)
The Fetzer wines are well established as inexpensive, go-to bottles, and as the sixth largest producer of wine in the US, they have enough grapes to produce swimming pools of merlot. Bonterra Wines, the certified organic winery owned by Fetzer (although not advertised as such) benefits from this large market share, offering rich California Chardonnay with the consistency and availability of Fetzer, but the delicacy of a small-producing organic winery.
Casina di Corina Chianti Classico, Tuscany, Italy (pictured, far right)
Coming in at just under $20 retail, this Chianti Classico is slightly pricier than many Chiantis on the market from more generic, non-sustainable wineries. However, this Chianti—hand-picked, carefully produced, unfiltered (clarified in the traditional style using egg whites)—is delicious. The Sangiovese grape which all Chiantis are exclusively made from shows through with a ruby color, cherry flavors, and significant tannins.
Benziger Family Winery Cabernet Sauvignon, Sonoma County, California
On their 85-acre Sonoma mountain estate, the Benziger family grows wines biodynamically (this most stringent form of organic farming involves rituals meant to affect the plant’s "life forces"). Try this Cabernet, a hot and heavy California wine at a reasonable price.
Frog's Leap Sauvignon Blanc, Rutherford Hill, California (pictured, second from left)
That the Frog's Leap vineyard is certified organic is an accomplishment. Practicing "dry farming," which uses much less water than traditionally irrigated wineries, is impressive. Powering the entire winery off of solar power? That's remarkable. Particularly because while doing all that, the makers of Frog's Leap are able to sell great wines like this crisp, clean Sauvignon Blanc that just screams out to be drank with spicy Asian food.
Under $25:
Cloudy Bay Sauvignon Blanc, Marlboro New Zealand (pictured, second from right)
If you love clean, fruity Sauvignon Blanc, Cloudy Bay (part of Moët Hennessy's wine portfolio) is a great example from eastern New Zealand, which produces some of the best in the world. This winery is also one of the first members of Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ), an organization dedicated to promoting sustainable practices, and in the process of finalizing a contract between all New Zealand winemakers to become universally sustainable by 2012.