Organic, Biodynamic and Natural Wines… What’s the Difference?

There are lots of labels thrown around in the wine world these days…organic…biodynamic…natural… but lots of wine drinkers are confused. If your eyes have already glazed over with the complexity of the wine vocabulary, more technical terms can feel like an overload. So, let’s get clear and simple. In general, all of these terms refer to using less intervention in the vineyard and in the cellar and to protecting and enriching the soil. For simplicity sake, you can think of “organic” to “natural” as a range with “biodynamic” somewhere in the middle even though there can be overlap. (Some wines are organic, biodynamic and natural all at once.)

Sommelier Tips: Choosing Wine for a Dinner Party

It’s customary when you’re invited to a dinner party to bring something along as a gift. For most people, traditionally this usually means buying a bottle of wine. This can cause all sorts of problems, especially if you want to impress but don’t know your fellow guests very well. Different wines go with different meals and some people prefer reds to whites and vice versa. Ideally, you don’t want to head down to the supermarket and choose the cheapest bottle of plonk you can find (unless you’re a student). So what’s the best thing to do?

Pairing Wine With Fish: It’s Not All About White

Pairing wine and food is easy, right? Red wine with red meat and white with chicken and fish. While those often repeated ‘rules’ might hold true in most cases, there is a little more to it.  There are many white wines that are perfect for fish and seafood dishes. For example, you can’t beat a crisp Muscadet and moules marinières, or a lemony Picpoul de Pinet and oysters. Even richer Chardonnays can work wonders when paired with hearty dishes like fish pie. But there are so many delicious red and rosé wines out there that make for surprisingly tasty pairings.