Organic wines may perhaps do us less damage than the other sort, but by heavens, they also cause head-splitting confusion. "A huge number of people think organic wine is dandelion wine," says Mary Pawle, Ireland's only importer specialising in wines which have been certified 100 per cent organic. The first message she tries to spread from her base in Kenmare, Co Kerry, is that organic wine is made from grapes grown without chemical fertilisers or pesticides - with minimal use of chemicals in the cellar.
In one sense, there is nothing new about this. Until the chemical boom after the second world war, virtually all wine was organic. Since then, many leading estates have prided themselves on their determination to maintain quality by adhering to traditional methods. Manure and compost for healthy soil and vigorous vines. No noxious pest control. When you uncork your bottle of Latour or Mouton-Rothschild, the very least you can expect is not to be poisoned with chemical residues.
What Mary Pawle is tapping into is a more recent phenomenon. Over the past few years, producers of more modestly priced bottles are forswearing chemicals in order to produce better tasting wine. France now has 300 registered organic producers - plus a great many more who favour the broad principles of organic viticulture. Well-known estates like Mas de Daumas Gassac in the Languedoc, Domaine de Trevallon in Provence and Chateau de Beaucastel in the Rhone are giving huge impetus to a movement which is working away beneath the surface of the wine world, just like the micro-organisms in that naturally enriched, chemical-free earth.
"I read all the French growers' magazines and there are more and more articles about the harmful effects of chemical pesticides and fertilisers," says Mary Pawle, whose interest in organic wines began while she was working for Munster Wholefoods. Two years ago she took the plunge, heading off to France with a van to source the first organic wines for her own business. So far she has 26 on her list, from various parts of France and northern Spain. Italy is this year's target area. "The business is growing quite . . . organically," she says, chuckling at the unavoidable pun.
What is the reaction so far? "Asthma and migraine sufferers are especially enthusiastic," Mary Pawle reports - but not without a sensible caveat. "I don't claim, however, that people with these complaints will be spared an adverse reaction if they drink my wines. All I can say is that they seem to be beneficial."
The benefits of the organic approach are, however, much broader. "It's all about flavour," says Paddy Keogh of Wines Direct in Mullingar whose list includes organic growers like Jean Thev enet in Macon, Marcel Richaud in the Rhone and Jean-Paul Brun in Beaujolais. He is undoubtedly right. The less chemical intervention there is in vineyard and cellar, the more a wine can express the unique flavours of the patch of ground which produced it. In wines from the south of France, for instance, you may smell the wild herbs that spring from the same earth as the vines. Biodynamic viticulture is also on the increase. This approach hinges on enhancing the fertility and microbiological activity of the soil (ideally by burying cow horns filled with manure in the vineyard), but it also takes into account the influence of the sun, moon and planets on growing cycles. Accordingly, procedures such as planting, pruning and administering various homeopathic treatments must be carried out during particular phases of the moon. It may sound crackpot but before you shout voodoo, remember the adherents of this philosophy produce some legendary wines. These include Nicolas Joly in Savennieres, Leroy and Leflaive in Burgundy, Chapoutier in the Rhone, Didier Dageneau in PouillyFume. Tasting recommended, rather than dismissiveness.
The New World has been slower than the Old to embrace organic methods, but here too enthusiasm is mounting - and not just among small specialist producers. In California, Fetzer is practising organic viticulture on a wide scale. "We found that organically grown grapes simply tasted better," says company president Paul Dolan. All its vineyards are now certified organic. Cover crops like clover and mustard are grown between the vines to attract beneficial insects and prevent erosion before being ploughed back into the soil to provide nitrogen. Plum trees are planted to attract the tiny wasp which feeds on the eggs of leafhoppers, a common vine pest. Birds and ladybirds are encouraged, to munch vine-hungry bugs. And so on. The results of this new green approach to wine may not be immediately apparent on the shelves. Not all organic wines are labelled as such - perhaps because of ambivalence about the lingering health food image. But they're there, all the same - and my bet is that soon there will be more, as producers in ever greater numbers switch to sustainable, chemicalfree viticulture. If giants like Australia's mighty Southcorp are already in on the act - although only to a limited degree - the message is clear. It's time to sip up and take notice. Mary Pawle Wines, Gortamullen, Kenmare, Co Kerry, tel/fax 064 41443.