LOS ANGELES: Organic wines taste better than those from vineyards that use pesticides and fertilisers, a new study of more than 74,000 wines has found.
Researchers from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) analysed expert reviews for 74,148 wines which appeared in wine-rating magazines.
They discovered that organic wines scored an average of 4.1 points higher than their non-organic counterparts.
Adopting organic practices and banishing pesticides allows microbes in the soil to flourish, which enhances the flavour of grapes and give a truer representation of the ‘terroir’ or the natural environment of the vine, researchers said.
Growing grapes without fertilisers also reduces yield, which may improve quality because the vine needs to ripen a smaller amount of fruit, and so the juice becomes more concentrated, and tastier.
“Littler consensus exists as to whether ecocertified wines are associated with worse, similar or better quality than their traditional counterparts,” Professor Magali Delmas, of the UCLA told ‘The Telegraph’.
“Our results indicated that the adoption of wine ecocertification has a significant and positive effect on wine ratings,” Delmas said.
To determine the quality of organic, versus non-organic wines, the team studied 74,148 wines from California, which were of vintages between 1998 and 2004, from 3,482 vineyards.
The study looked at more than 30 grape varieties including Cabernet Sauvignon, Chenin Blanc, Merlot, Pinot Noir, Sangiovese, Semillon and Zinfandel.
The study was published in the Journal of Wine Economics. (AGENCIES)
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