Toasting the Holidays

At the holiday table this year, bring your favorite dish to life with one of the many delicious organic or biodynamic wines now on the market. "Organic wines are more varied than ever, with new wines emerging from Chile, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand," notes Michel Ginoulhac, wine buyer for the Organic Wine Company. As Dorothy J. Gaiter and John Brecher wrote in the May 12, 2006 Wall Street Journal, organic wines have generally "moved beyond their funky past." Many also possess a richer sense of terroir (qualities of the area in which vines were grown) than ordinary wines. And for those with allergies, it's good to know that certified organic wines in the U.S., as distinguished from wines using organically grown grapes, are free of added sulfites (see sidebar) without compromising taste.

In the U.S., organic wine production is expanding, and producers aren't just small boutique wineries anymore. Fetzer, the sixth largest premium U.S. winery, plans to go all-organic by 2010. Several biodynamic wines are also available, and similar to organic wines, they are produced without exposure to synthetic inputs, animal by-products or genetic modification. What's more, biodynamic farming avoids electromagnetic fields and considers lunar and solar cycles in meshing agriculture with the planet's natural rhythms. Look for the Demeter Association certification (www.demeter-usa.org).

Astor Wines offers an affordable light and dry Château Tour de Goupin Rouge 2003 from France, a Bordeaux blend of organically grown merlot, cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc ($8.99; www.astorwines.com, 212-674-7500). From Argentina, try the hearty, red organic 2005 Malbec from Domaine Jean Bousquet, good with red meats and available from Whole Foods ($11; www.jeanbousquet.com.ar). Badger Mountain Vineyards' organic 2005 Chardonnay carries hints of apple, pear and minerals ($10), while its 3-liter boxes of "Pure White" or "Pure Red" blends ($22) are good for larger gatherings (www.badgermtnvineyard.com, 800-643-WINE). Explore the 50 organic and biodynamic wines available from The Organic Wine Company (www.theorganicwinecompany.com, 888-326-9463). The 2003 La Chapelle de Romanin ($20) and slightly sweet biodynamic Gewurztraminer ($17) are delicious too.