One of the fastest growing trends in the wine industry is the dramatic rise of organic, vegan friendly and natural varieties being stocked on the shelves to accommodate for the ever health conscious plonk guzzler. I have noticed that a large segment of my customers look for organic and natural wines in hope to avoid an adverse reaction and the heavy onset of a hangover after a cheeky imbibe. But are these effective labels actually better for you or just to deceive you into paying more for you weekly bottle of numbing juice? 

The article; “Why organic wine could be better for you” written by Rebecca Lowrey Boyd in the Better Homes and Gardens website, outlines the differences between organic and natural varieties and the reasoning behind why organic labeled products are considered to be more health conscious. The article, which is ultimately sponsored content from Angove Organic Wines, does point out that certified organic wines are best when trying to avoid chemicals like pesticides and herbicides being included in production, but doesn’t include the main reasoning behind why people have an adverse reaction in the first place – sulphurs and preservatives.    

If you investigate for yourself, many of the reasonably priced organic and natural wines have either the very discrete tagline of ‘contains sulphates’ or ‘preservative 220 added’ on the rear label somewhere near the barcode. These chemicals result in a lot of my customers to complain about ‘feeling a bit dusty’ about their previous nights consumption and start to conclude that maybe their red wine drinking days are coming to a close. To which I have two fantastic answers too.

First of all, Organic preservative free wine does exist. I myself am a huge endorser of these wines because it’s true, you don’t feel hungover the next day after having a cheeky glass or two and the intoxication itself feels a lot cleaner. Unfortunately because of their demand and increased production costs, they are a lot dearer in price. Most preservative/sulphur free wine costs around $35-50.

The second and more cost savvy option is a natural hangover remedy called Hovenia dulcis or oriental raisin tree. This leaf extract is a miracle after a heavy night of product testing, and eliminates all hangover symptoms. Definitely worth investigating if you like to partake in a large binge from time to time and don’t want to resort to the more expenisve organic labeling. 

Boyd, R L. (2019, September 24). Why organic wine could be better for you. Better Homes and Gardens. Retrieved from: https://www.bhg.com.au/is-organic-wine-better-for-you