Guest post by the Rocking the Daisies team.

Promote sustainable farming practices by opting for organic wines the next time you fancy a tipple. Organic wine makers use natural and earth-friendly ways of controlling pests and diseases, rather than harsh chemicals and pesticides.

For instance, Avondale Wines uses a flock of ducks to snap up the snails, wasps to munch mealy bugs, and natural bacteria to control worms and downy mildew. Johan Reyneke at Reyneke Wines concocts a tea of herbal preparations made from dandelions, stinging nettles, yarrow and valerian in homeopathic quantities to prevent fungus and disease as well as improve soil and compost quality.

And although almost all wines contain sulphur naturally, organic wines are produced with the addition of much lower levels (and sometime none) of sulphur. Good news for people with a sulphur sensitivity. (If you have a severe allergic reaction to sulphur its probably best if you check with a medical expert first though!)

And if a glass of wine a day is good for you, it stands to reason that a glass of organic wine could be even better. Tests have shown that organic food has higher levels of vitamins and minerals than non-organic foods, and are generally of a higher quality.

And if it’s quality of the wine that worries you, and admittedly many organic wines have missed the mark when it comes to palatability in the past, the good news is that this is changing fast. My two favourites at the moment are Avondale and Reyneke. Avondale even makes an organic Cap Classique for a decadent, yet environment friendly summer sparkle.

Image Source: www.avondalewine.co.za

Rocking the Daisies, South Africa’s first carbon-neutral music festival,  achieved carbon-neutral status fby using environmentally friendly practices and products. The festival’s motto is: play hard, tread lightly.