At a time when vineyards are being mothballed or ripped out, there’s one type that’s expanding — the organic vineyard. According to the OIV’s most recent statistics, the world’s certified organic surface area increased by an average of 13% per year from 2005 to 2019.
There are good reasons for wineries to focus on organic and other forms of certified sustainable viticulture, from the pressure from major buyers like Systembolaget, to a deep concern about the environment.
But what do consumers themselves think about organic wines?
In the US market
Christian Miller, Research Director for the Wine Market Council, says Americans who are interested in ‘green’ products typically share very specific characteristics.
“They’re more likely to be younger than older. They’re more likely to live in certain areas than others. They tend to have higher educational backgrounds,” he says. “But what’s really interesting is that there are two main driving reasons for them to look for organic or other green products: one is the concern over the environment and the other is their own health.”
His conclusion was that things that people put into their mouths will trigger wellness concerns, while “the further from that, the more environmental concern dominates”. So an apple will be seen in terms of its health implications, while a cleaning product triggers environmental concerns. Wine, because it’s processed and not consumed as regularly as food, sits somewhere in the middle, though Miller says there is an overlap between “what you might call green-concerned consumers and wine consumers”.
An apple will be seen in terms of its health implications, while a cleaning product triggers environmental concerns. Wine sits somewhere in the middle.
While there are some people may not buy a wine at all if they can’t find one that’s certified organic, “That’s a very small number. I’m pretty sure it’s not in double digits,” he says.
But if people are considering two wines of equal attractiveness—the same variety and the same price—then “people will use sustainable or certified sustainable as a tie-breaker.”
Miller adds that as interest in wellness rises in the US, there “is a big opportunity for organic grapes and organic wines. It fits into the whole gestalt of reduced additives and sugar. So it could be a great opportunity”.
The German research
Germany is the biggest market for organic food in Europe, while Demeter—the biodynamic certification—is regularly voted among the top three most trusted brands. A team at Hochschule Geisenheim decided to find out if this embrace of organic food translated into a desire for organic wines, and launched a representative survey.
The study began in 2009, was done again in 2016, and then again in 2020.
Prof Gergely Szolnoki said they discovered that highly involved wine consumers are more likely to choose organic wines. They also tend to have more disposable income. Not only that, but these consumers are also more likely to buy organic food; Prof Szolnoki says many of them are LOHAS, or people into “lifestyle of health and sustainability. Those people are actively looking for organic products. It’s a small group".
The project also segmented drinkers according to their lifestyle. “We found three main segments. Those with a significantly higher share of organic wines than the others are alphas and trend surfers. Alphas are mostly males, between 30 and 50, with high education levels and a high income. For them, it’s not the environment that’s important but their own health.”
The trend surfers tend to be younger and more highly educated, “and they said that the environment was important and to be cool is also important. Buying organic wine is part of the coolness.”
And then there are the “safety seekers” who are more likely to buy wines they're already familiar with.
Overall, however, two thirds of those studied did not seek out organic wines when wine shopping, mostly because they don’t see much difference between conventional and organic wines.
“We organised a focus group discussion about this,” says Prof Szolnoki. “There was an interesting opinion from some of the participants, which was ‘isn’t wine automatically organic?’”
He adds that the majority of consumers don’t stop to consider if a wine is organic or not when they buy it. Many people just buy on price and may therefore end up buying organic wine by default, especially if it’s on promotion at the supermarket.
Supermarkets should separate conventional and organic wine, and promote them differently.
Paradoxically, the appearance of low–cost organic wines in major supermarket chains destroyed the trust of some consumers. Normally, organic production is associated with a higher price, so older people were sceptical that the certified organic wines were, in fact, the real deal. They perceived the appearance of organic wines as “just for making money”.
The Geisenheim research dovetails with the work of a group of Italian researchers from the University of Florence, who in 2017 carried out an online survey of Italian wine consumers. What they discovered is that there is a small but significant group—19.1% of those surveyed—who want to buy organic wine.
One of the researchers' conclusions was that organic producers need to specifically target this niche groups, while supermarkets should separate conventional and organic wine, and promote them differently.
Finally, Prof Szolnoki says that while people with higher than average knowledge about wine may value organic certification, it’s not their main reason for buying. For these people, the producer’s name and reputation are first and foremost. The fact that more and more great estates are converting to organic means that collectors and highly involved consumers will be choosing organic by default.
What consumers are doing in Sweden
Systembolaget, the Swedish alcohol monopoly, is committed to sustainability. This means they emphasise sustainability across the entire value chain, and prioritise sustainable wines.
According to Gad Pettersson, Head of Product Quality & Sustainable Supply Chain, around 25% of the volume of wine sold is organically certified. The volume share for products that “take a holistic view on sustainability including criteria for climate, environment, human rights/decent working conditions and traceability” is 22%; many of these are also certified organic. In both cases, Systembolaget highlights the wines both on the shelf and online.
“With a relatively ‘mild’ nudging, the result in our case is very positive,” he says.
Pettersson says there are around 40 sustainability certifications altogether, of which organic is the most established, and therefore most easily recognised.
In this case, buying sustainably is the easiest choice, and therefore the default choice.
What does this mean for organic producers?
Internationally, it seems that if wine consumers specifically seek out organic wines, they’re doing it because they perceive it to be better for them. If it’s better for the planet as well, that’s a bonus.
Whether consumers choose organic or not also has a lot to do with how committed the retailer is to the category.
What this means is that consumers are bound to end up consuming organic wines by default; in 2004, the organic grape-growing area was 87,655 ha. By 2022, that number was 562,000 ha, or 8.3% of the world’s vineyards. As more wines become available, more will end up in retail, which means more people are likely to buy them.
In the end, being certified organic—or certified sustainable—may not give a competitive advantage, except among a subset of highly engaged consumers. But increasingly, it will be difficult to have a market presence without it, especially in monopoly markets. FC
If you want to try some of the world's best organic and sustainable wines for yourself, head to Millésime BIO 2025, held in Montpellier from 27-29 January 2025. There will be more than 1,500 producers from France and around the world, showcasing organic wines, ciders, beers and spirits. As well as the chance to taste a wide range of wines, there is also a conference and series of workshops. For anyone interested in organic wine, this is not to be missed.
