There are many buzzwords and trends driving global businesses beyond operating costs and expenses and net profits. Climate change, global warming, organic, natural, sustainable, regenerative all come to mind when it comes to food and beverages. The wine business is caught right in the middle. The answer to a serious question is not likely to be known for years into the future, but it has to be asked now as the key Bordeaux wine region in France has to deal with a glorious past and a pivotal future. Will organic wines help or hurt Bordeaux wine aging and values?

Before anyone gets dug in on any side of this equation, please keep in mind that the French wine business is a major force in global wines. Statista put nearly a 7.6 billion (euro), or about $8.8 billion (USD), as its value of total wine production sector in France for 2020. That year was of course stunted by the COVID-19 recession, and it is down from a prior 8.94 billion euro in 2018 and 9.16 billion euro in 2011.

Looking forward, how will organic Bordeaux wines adapt in a changing world? There has been a rising tide where Bordeaux winemakers have been converting from traditional operations to organic production. The move is toward more sustainability and a move toward organic wines.

A fresh article from Decanter quoted that approximately 6% of the world’s vineyards are now ‘organic’ certified. This report noted that there was a 43% rise in vineyard land in Bordeaux that has now been certified organic or which is in the process of converting to organic. In 2020, that is some 19,952 hectares. It further reported that 75% of Bordeaux’s region had a ‘certified environmental approach’ in 2020, a rise of 55% back in 2016. The Decanter article shows some reservations and some calling it the way forward. It also points out that France, Spain and Italy have already accounted for nearly three-quarters of the world’s growth to certified organic vineyards.

Bordeaux Magazine outlined in May of 2020 that the region is reducing its carbon footprint and adapting farming practices to deal with changing temperatures and weather. The magazine’s report said:

In the Bordeaux region, there are specific effects of climate change that winegrowers are already starting to see. The average temperatures are increasing, and for now, that’s had a favorable impact on the wines. However, a prolonged shift of a 1° or 2°C temperature rise will begin to change the wines’ profiles.

As these trends continue to take hold, there may be some risks. Some of these risks may also be also less obvious on the surface and at the present time. Pesticides help wines from being destroyed by insects, or by bacteria or root disease. Other ground treatments also help to preserve vineyards, which may wreck efforts toward being organic. It is no wonder that some producers are backing organic certifications and not wanting to use the same efforts toward being organic and biodynamic.

It may seem unfair to try to take a view here from a wine collector, or even from the view of a wine investor. Before damning this approach, let’s take a few things into consideration.

French wines are deemed by many oenophiles as having the best histories and best means of aging for years (or decades) into the future. That is of course up for debate, and Spain, Italy and the Western United States may all have something to add in their own defense. Still, what happens to the values of French Bordeaux wines (and to the demand) if these organic and related efforts change that perception in the future?

It may seem easy to ponder what the impact will be long-term, but the answer is less clear at this time. Some farming and climate groups may say that the only choice is to move in the direction of being organic, sustainable or biodynamic.

One issue that is easy to do is to do a Google search — do organic wines age well?

The first result is from Wine Folly. This outlines the differences between U.S. and E.U. standards about sulfites, but their ultimate judgment is that organic wines do not typically age well. They are referring to USDA organic wine standards rather than what is defined as EU organic, and they do note that EU-organic wines may be a better alternative than the “drink now” classifications.

Another search result was from Natura, and their report shows that the higher sulfite allowance by the EU organic standards gives the European wines a much greater shelf life.

A third result was from Vintage Roots in the United Kingdom. They addressed the notion of whether organic wines will or will not not keep in your wine rack as well as conventional wines. They even offered a list of their top 10 organic wines, some of which were very affordable. Their response to organic versus conventional wines on aging:

Organic wines will age and keep just as well as any other wines. They are completely stable, and many will improve and age gracefully. Remember many wines are best drunk on the younger side, when they are fresh. The choice is yours, but it is perfectly safe – and potentially thrilling – to experiment ageing your fine organic wines.

Colllectors Dashboard wanted to evaluate an organic wine search among the top destinations for wine auctions which might suggest how organic wines are doing. We have not verified the 100% organic aspect of the wines because of the wording, but below are some efforts to address this.

Sotheby’s sold Château Pavie Macquin 1998 St. Emilion, 1er Grand Cru Classé for $744 for a case in 2019, noting that they favor an organic approach to the vineyard (which has undoubtedly contributed to the added depth, concentration and volume of the wine, never more exemplified than in the 1998 vintage) and said that the wine really shines at 9 years old (at that time).

The move toward natural, organic, sustainable and other terms has been growing and is only likely to keep growing. Whether or not that will translate into the same aging characteristics, taste profiles and investment opportunity in the future is a debate that may be better known in the years ahead. Unfortunately, it may be a decade or more before the answers are clear and proven.

Will you ever see organic wine futures from Bordeaux? Probably so, or at least some derivation of them.