My hunt for the healthiest wine
It’s Australia Day as I’m writing this post. This time last year I went to a BBQ with my friends and drank cold chamomile tea from a wine glass while everyone around me became rapidly boozed and incoherent. Feeling very left out and nostalgic for drunken days gone by, I remember telling them that it would only be another year until I would probably be able to join them in a drink. It’s now one year on, and that announcement is still nowhere near being realised.
When you’re doing everything you can to cleanse your body to the point where it will heal itself from cancer, it’s a bit of a no-brainer to stay away from alcohol. But that doesn’t make it easy. In fact, out of all the changes I’ve had to make, staying sober has been the most challenging. Not because I was such an alcoholic before (pipe down Tallon), but simply because my sobriety commitment has meant saying goodbye to a whole portion of my lifestyle that I wasn’t ready to give up. I’m in my 20s, have no children, and get togethers with my group of friends are always fuelled by heavy alcohol consumption. I still have these friends now, but it’s not the same. Get togethers are not as fun, because after a couple of hours they leave me to play on another wavelength – and I’m sure they think I’m a big sober bore.
My life has changed.
In the beginning I resented this fact and would wallow in many pity parties, feeling all sorry for myself. But now, after over two years of not drinking, I am slowly getting to the point where I’m okay with it. Yes, I still miss the social side of drinking. Yes, I still miss getting so inebriated that you think dancing on tables and singing karaoke is the best idea ever. And yes, I still miss contributing to the hilarious memories my friends and I used to make on our drunken nights out. But I’m now at a place where the bright future I am creating far outweighs anything I’m missing out on. I will be alive, for one thing. I am also being blessed with so many opportunities that never would have come my way if I hadn’t morphed into this new, clean, version of myself.
In saying that … I still have hope.
Hope that one day in the future I will be able to indulge in a little wine every now and then. Wine is my poison of choice, you see. I love the stuff, and I’ve been on a mission for the past two years to find a loop hole that will allow wine drinking to be part of my social reality again some day. I’ve continuously been disappointed. Commercial wine will always be out of the question. These contain high levels of pesticides, herbicides, equipment cleaning chemicals, and sulfite preservatives. I don’t care how much you want to argue the antioxidant plea – these toxins far outweigh any medicinal benefits in the grapes.
Which directed me to the organic section.
At first I thought that organic wine would be the way to go, however the trouble with many organic wines is that they still contain toxic preservatives. The grapes may have been grown organically, but the end product is tainted by the inclusion of preservatives and sulfites. A “Certified Organic” seal will bring you closer to the goal, but they can still contain sulfites. Sulfites are allowed in certified organic wine as long as the total level is less than 10 parts per million.
And then there’s the issue of wooden wine barrels …
Researchers in Europe found a chemical called 2,4,6-Tribromophenol in some wooden wine barrels, wooden wine racks, and the crates used to transport the grapes. It’s a chemical used to give timber ‘fire retardant’ properties and is used in furniture, building materials, and other wood products.
Currently there are no laws in place to preclude the use of these chemicals in the winemaking environment. A tiny amount of 2,4,6-Tribromophenol in a large aquarium will kill the fish living in there. These chemicals are stored somewhere in the human body and disease may manifest years later.
Be cautious about wine made with oak barrels and oak chips, unless you’re confident that the oak has not been treated with hazardous fire-retardant chemicals.
This then led me to look at biodynamic wine.
Biodynamics goes beyond the exclusion of chemical sprays and artificial preservatives seen in organic production and takes an extremely holistic and sustainable approach to growing grapes. According to Rudolf Steiner, the founding father of biodynamics, the success of a vineyard depends on the interrelationship between the soil, plants, animals and other organisms on a farm. By establishing this interdependency between the various elements on a farm, the farm becomes self-nourishing and self-contained, making foreign chemicals and artificial additives unnecessary.
And finally, I think I could be onto something special.
About a month ago I received an email from someone at the family-owned wine company, Organic One. I clicked through to the company’s website and was enchanted by the description of their wines and their clear dedication to getting it right without compromising the health benefits of their product. I then had a phone conversation with the winemaker himself, Frank Bonic, and that is what confirmed that Organic One could be my drink of choice in the future.
Frank passionately explained to me the reasons why his wine is so unique.
“Living systems require living things put into them,” he said. “With our wines, we first ask ourselves what is right for the human body to consume. Then we ask if we can make it financially work.”
The former is never compromised for the latter. I love that.
Organic One passed the taste test as per my dad’s, boyfriend’s and next door neighbour’s standards. Always a bonus. Apparently it is also Miranda Kerr’s tipple of choice.
Frank’s wine is biodynamic and chemical free at every stage of the wine making process. His website claims that the wine is safe for people with allergies, depleted immunity or any health concerns (unless you’re trying to detox from cancer, that is).
The wine is packed with vitamins, minerals, anti-oxidants, anti-ageing resveratrol, it aids digestion, increases energy levels and apparently it never causes hangovers (I’m not able to out this to the test yet).
“Our bodies were not designed to ingest, digest or process the artificial ingredients found in chemical additives, preservatives and the residue of inorganic fertilisers and toxic pesticides.”
Cheers to that.
For more on Organic One wines, check out their website.
What are your thoughts on the topic of wine and organic wine?
Has anyone tried Organic One wine?
Positive affirmation for the day: I take the time to inject stillness into my life at regular intervals through the day.
MY GIFT TO GERSON …
I am donating 50% of all sales of my Healing Through The Holidays recipe e-book to the Gerson Institute. Gerson Therapy has saved my life, and so many others like me, and I want to do this as a gift to them. These people work so hard to get the Gerson message out, and help so many people with cancer and other chronic illnesses, and they rely on donations to make it all happen. Click here to buy your copy of Healing Through The Holidays.
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Hi Jess – that’s awesome (and a bit scary at the same time looking at what is in wine!). Where do you get organic one wine from? Would love to try it out. Thanks x Donna
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Thanks Donna! You can order the wine through their website. Check out http://organic-1.com/
xx
Jess recently posted..My hunt for the healthiest wine
Thank you so much for this information, I am a daughter of a cancer pantient and while learning trophology and gerson life style thanks to my father cancer we all in our family have elevated our food intake to higher conciousness!
but wine is also my cryptonite and I was looking for something like this!
Love and light
Nenu Mantis
Oh, I hope they end up being sold in the US at some point! Thanks for this. Really good information, Jess.
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It was just yesterday that I was considering searching for an organic wine, so thanks so much for this post!
x
Hi Jess,
I Hv bought Botobolar Shiraz online, due too the fact it has no Preservatives – must be consumed within six mths. Yr right, wines maybe grown organically and may hv been contaminated in the process???. Tastes great, no head pain the next morning. http://www.botobolar.com , will try yr suggestion next time I order.
Be Safe, Ross
Thanks Jess! I look forward to having a glass of wine some day too! I will likely be ordering the wine you suggested.
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Hi Jess, I have been looking forward to this post! My mum is in the process of healing herself of breast cancer and like you, hasn’t had a glass of bubbly or wine in months / years. Every family catch up (and especially over xmas) she would give me that look that only a mother could when I drank another glass and would tell me all of the research about alcohol and cancer.
So, I looked into Organic wine thinking ‘woo hoo, I can drink ‘healthy wine’ and was so disappointed to see so many organic wines still had some presevatives and sulfates.
I just had a look at the Organic One website – what a great vision they have and how great they incorporate all aspects of the farm to produce their wine (I love that the animals graze around the vines!). Looking forward to trying a glass or two!!
Now, if I could only find an organic beer like this for my husband!
Thanks Jess!
Hi Jess,
Thank you so much for sharing and thank you for your awesome blog, I enjoy reading every post.
As a building biologist and someone trying to detox from years of being on horrible medication, I know just how toxic the earth can be and the chemicals used to clean the equipment – nasty stuff. I’m going to be sharing this blog with everyone I know. I look forward to trying this wine.
Keep up the good work.
Hi Jess. I spoke with Frank late last year – an amazingly passionate man! I bought the Shiraz and it is as good as promised. Plus they sell small bottles that contain just 1.9 std drinks in each. Perfect if you want to head out to dinner and monitor your alcohol consumption. I’ll certainly be ordering again.
Hi Jess thank you for your inspiration. It is so hard to stop drinking in the current Aussie social environment but so worth if you can see your way thru. Love to try the organic stuff after my year off is up.
Great article Jess! I try to avoid wine because it has so much sugar in it but if I do I try to drink organic with no additives. I also like organic vodka with mineral water and limes…I talk more about my alcohol choices here: http://livehealthysimply.com/2012/01/what-i-think-about-alcohol%E2%80%A6/
http://www.freywine.com/organic-winemaking.html
Frey Vineyards – Mendocino County organic wine with no sulfites added, from America’s pioneering organic winery.
Also, the first maker of certified Biodynamic® Wines in the U.S. Vegan without GMO Yeast and sustainable. I emailed the company regarding their storage practices and will comment when I get a reply. (Frey Biodynamic wines are still made with no added yeast, fermented with their own natural yeasts in accordance with Biodynamic winemaking standards.)
This is a very nice bottle of wine priced at $16-23/bottle but only sold in the United States.
great article! you should check out seresin over in NZ. all biodynamic and organic. some of the best wines I have ever had! http://www.seresin.co.nz/
I am not really into wine but I am thinking to try some other brands…
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Thanks for sharing! We have started drinking the preservative free wines from http://www.wildfoxwines.com.au. What are your thoughts on this range?
what do u mean by “pipe down Tallon”? i don’t get it
Linda » Hi Linda, sorry! Tallon is my boyfriend. I was telling him not to say anything.
A good number of wineries in Napa and Sonoma (California, USA) have gone biodynamic over the past few years although they do not blatantly advertise it. It’s become the hot thing for high-end wineries. There is the real belief that it produces a higher quality wine and I’ve been told that there is a measurable difference in sugar content of the grapes just based on following the moon cycles to time picking. Grgich Hills and Porter Creek are two wineries off the top of my head that are both biodynamic. Grgich Hills even posts pictures of on Facebook applying the different Rudolf Steiner biodynamic preparations throughout the year. However, one would have to check with the wineries regarding the use of other items (cleaners, sanitizers, barrel sources, etc).
Hi Jess,
I am addicted to your blog! I was reading a friend of a friends blog about her journey with Gerson and she mentioned your blog. She had quoted your poem about the plum. I have a daughter and I LOVE that poem!!! Anyway, even though it was a very round about way, I’m glad I found you!!! I was wondering though what types of questions to ask in finding a good wine. We go up to Michigan (I live in the states) and they have some organic vineyards. I’d love to ask more questions next time we go up but haven’t a clue what to ask. I’m very organic/clean in every avenue, but never researched wine before. I guess I probably didn’t want to know the truth :-/
Thanks!
Ashley
Ashley » Hi Ashley, welcome to my site! Thanks so much for coming over. When you’re looking for a good organic wine, you just need to make sure it doesn’t contain sulfites – or only has the minimal amount. Biodynamic is supposed to be a step up from organic. Good luck! x