#032 - The Dirty Secrets of the Wine Industry - Todd White

September 3, 2020 Joel Aylworth

Much gathers more. Loss leads to greater loss.

This week’s episode I had the pleasure of interviewing and speaking with Todd White, who is the founder of Dry Farm Wines. I had heard of Dry Farm Wines for years now, after attending the Bulletproof Conference in 2016 and being exposed to these natural wines. Up until then, I had never heard of biodynamic natural wines and their health benefits. All I knew was they were better for you and I have to say they tasted really good.

Since then I’ve made it a point to try and buy biodynamic organic wines, and in the last six months I’ve switched to nothing but Dry Farm Wines. So what makes Dry Farm Wines so special? Honestly, after the interview with Todd, I discovered it’s not only what they put in the wine that makes them special, it’s what they don’t put in the wine! The wine industry is not required to put labels on their bottles, and therefore, there’s a huge lack of transparency. Especially, since I learned that most wines use up to 70+ additives! That’s not even including the toxic herbicides and pesticides and other cancer causing toxins such as Glyphosate that are being sprayed on the crops. Additives such as “Mega Purple”, a commercial coloring agent concentrate that is produced and sold by Constellation (the 3rd largest wine producer in the world), is a commonly used additive in winemaking that enhances the fruit flavor of a wine and adds a deeper color. It's estimated that 10,000 gallons are sold every year, and added to about 25 million bottles of wine. It's used in a majority of low and moderately priced wines, but can also be used to touch up expensive premium wines. Almost every red wine under $15 has "Mega Purple" in it

Dry Farming

Conventional wine companies engage in widespread irrigation to lower farming costs and increase fruit yield. Our growers do not irrigate, instead letting the vines find their natural water source. This practice is known as “dry farming.” Irrigation is unnecessary, bad for the planet, bad for the vine, and produces nutrient poor fruit.

In this episode you’ll also learn that most of the wine in the US is made from three big wine companies. The wine industry reminds me of Big Pharma and our food industry, the so-called guardians and gatekeepers that are supposed to be protecting us are bought and paid for. Here’s some amazing facts about the wine industry that I learned from this episode:

The Wine Industry

3 giant wine companies - E. & J. Gallo Winery, The Wine Group, and Constellation Brands - are responsible for over 50% of US wine sales. (Michigan State University, Grand View Research, Silicon Valley Bank, Wine Institute)

Labeling & Transparency

Unlike other food and beverages in the US, wine bottles do not require a nutrition label or an ingredients label. This is because wine labeling falls under the authority of the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB) rather than the FDA.
According to a report in the Journal of Wine Economics, the average alcohol levels in wine increased from 12.7% alcohol in 1992 to 13.8% in 2009. As it states, on average, the "alcohol content of wine increased by 0.07 percentage points per year, or 1.12 percentage points over the 18 years relative to an initial mean of 12.7% alcohol by volume." (Wine Economics). Today, the average alcohol % of Wine Spectator’s top 10 wines of 2017 averaged 14.5% (The Gray Report).

Farming

The amount of pesticides sprayed on vines has grown substantially in the last 50 years (Uncorked). Many of these chemical pesticides and herbicides, like the widely-used Glyphosate, have been shown to disrupt plant nutrient availability and harm other microorganisms living in the soil and surrounding areas. (NBCI, European Journal of Agronomy)
Organic and biodynamic wineries believe in natural farming and sustainability. Per the USDA, for an organic wine, it's "grapes are grown without synthetic fertilizers and in a manner that protects the environment and preserves the soil." (USDA, UpscapeTravel)

Dry Farming

Dry farming refers to crop production without supplemental irrigation. Dry-farmed crops rely on the moisture held in the soil from natural rainfall to meet their water requirements for growth. (California AG Water Stewardship Initiative)

Production

The FDA allows more than 70 additives for wine treatment and processing. While many are safe, natural, and have been used for hundreds of years, others are synthetic or chemically derived and can be toxic. Because they are not required to be listed on the label, consumers are not aware of which are included in the wine and what they may be ingesting. (TTB)

Sugar

Winemakers sometimes add sucrose to wine before fermentation to boost the alcohol content. This is known as chaptalization. It’s a practice allowed in some areas of the winemaking world, but not all. (Wine Folly)
Winemakers sometimes stop fermentation early with additions of sulfur dioxide, which leaves residual sugar in the wine for sweeter taste. (WineMak-in)

Natural Wines

There is no official definition for "Natural Wine." However, among people in the Natural Wine community, there are generally agreed upon principles. As defined by RAW Wine - “Natural Wine is farmed organically (or biodynamically, using permaculture or the like) and made (or rather transformed) without adding or removing anything in the cellar. No additives or processing aids are used, and intervention in the naturally occurring fermentation process is kept to a minimum. As such neither fining nor (tight) filtration are used. The result is a living wine – wholesome and full of naturally occurring microbiology.” (RAW Wine)
For Natural Wines, there is minimal intervention in the vinification and aging process, that only wild native yeasts are used during fermentation, and that there is minimal to no use of the following: filtering and fining, use of new oak, addition of sulfites, and chaptalization. (RAW Wine)

The Dry Farm Wines Difference

Statistically Sugar Free. Every wine is fermented completely dry, with less than 0.15 grams per 5oz glass. This includes rosé, sparkling, and white wine.
Lower Alcohol. With the national alcohol average nearing 15%, our wines never surpass 12.5% alc/vol, with some as low as 7%.
Lower Sulfites. Our wines average a very low 39 parts per million. In the US, by law sulfites are allowed in amounts up to 350 parts per million (ppm) in wine.
No Additives. While commercial wine companies may use up to 70+ FDA-approved additives, including thickeners and dyes, to create a shelf stable product.
All Native Yeast. Our pure Natural Wines are only fermented with wild, native yeast growing naturally on grapes. Commercial wines are fermented with GMO lab cultured yeasts.