Best organic wine: 14 award-winning bottles to try

With quality on the rise and prices becoming more attainable, demand for organic wine is at an all-time high, and the category is growing at a faster clip than that of non-organic wines. Farm-to-fork thinking is extending to grape-to-glass. According to Grand View Research, the global organic wine market was valued at US$9.8 billion in 2022 and is predicted to be worth US$21.5bn by 2030, though the category still only accounts for just over 3 per cent of total still wine sales, leaving plenty of room for growth.

Being organic denotes that an estate’s grapes are grown without the use of pesticides, fungicides or herbicides, while certain additives are also prohibited in the winery, and lower permitted levels of added sulphur dioxide are imposed. Wineries wanting to switch to organic status need to go through a three-year conversion process and must be officially certified by country-specific bodies to be able to use recognised organic logos on their labels.

The pandemic boosted organic wine sales as consumers started treating themselves to higher-quality produce during lockdown. Proving that a rising tide lifts all ships, increased consumer interest in organic wine is having a positive effect on the gatekeepers in the industry, which in turn is leading to bigger and broader offerings, making it easier for consumers to switch to organic without hurting their bank balance.

Australia and New Zealand put in a strong performance at the 2023 IWSC, accounting for five of the wines in our top 14 below. Among them was the 96-point Gemtree Wines Ernest Allan Shiraz 2021, a peppery Aussie Shiraz with notes of luscious cherries and juicy plums. A decadent Vin Santo from Tuscany won the judges over with its ‘intoxicating’ fruit and nut notes and aromas. Also impressive was the Gold medal-winning Ameri Single Vineyard Organic Red Blend 2020 from Domaine Bousquet, which judges praised for its ‘long and serious length’.

Read on for our pick of the best organic wines from around the world, as tasted and rated by the IWSC.

HOW DO WE JUDGE THESE WINES?

We run a tightly structured, rigorous wine tasting process. That means that each wine sample is pre-poured into numbered glasses and assessed blindly by the judges. Most importantly, our IWSC wine judges are experts in their field, who work across all sectors of the wine industry. For evidence, see our full list of judges.

HOW DO WE SCORE THESE WINES?

Only the best wines sampled receive a Gold or Silver award. For example, to win Gold, wines have to score between 95 and 100 points. Meanwhile, Silver wines range from 90 to 94 points. Click here to read more on our scoring system.

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