What's the deal with "clean wine?

What’s the deal with mass produced wine?

Is there even such a thing as "clean" wine?

I truly believe that wine (in moderation) can be a part of a healthy and happy lifestyle. But recently I’ve become aware that most “grocery store” wine is mass produced… What does that even mean?

Let me preface this all by saying that there are no nutrition or ingredient labeling requirements for wine makers…. It's a hot button subject. Labeling would impose an economic burden to small lot wine producers, but consumers want to know what is in the products they are consuming. How can we know what we're drinking then?

First let’s break it down between mass produced wines vs. small lot wines.

Mass produced wines are made in bulk in hundreds of thousands of cases. Most are made quickly for the masses to drink quickly. Similar to processed foods also made in bulk quantities, they often have added ingredients (additives), including pesticides, chemicals, GMO yeast, dyes and preservatives. Basically a litany of chemicals.

Think of most mass produced wine as processed food - you want to keep it to a minimum to live a healthy lifestyle.

Don’t get me wrong, all wine generally needs a small amount of preservatives (sulfites) to stay shelf stable, which is why USDA organic wines with no added sulfites are so short lived. But, a bottle only needs about 30 ppm sulfites for proper stabilization. Conventional, mass produced wine can have up to 350 ppm per bottle. Translation... that’s too many unnecessary sulfites!

Small lot wineries (making less than 10,000 cases) generally manipulate their wines less and use less unnecessary additives. A small lot winery has vintages that change a bit year after year.

Think about it…. Your bottle of 🧁 wine tastes EXACTLY the same every time you drink it… In order for them to get it to taste exactly the same, they have to manipulate it.

During my research I came across quite a few whistle blowers who akin "grocery store" wine to soda... like Diet Coke. 😝 I wouldn’t go that far, but I’d prefer not to drink chemicals unknowingly.

To be continued!