If anything could kill the joy of a good glass of wine, I’d have to say it’s the thought of pesticides, sulfurous acids, and other chemicals in my favorite drink. This being said, with the holidays just around the corner, many people will be consuming these three lovely additives without even realizing it—in their glass of wine.

Have no fear.  As a wine lover and someone who values what I ingest in my body, I have found an alternative to the traditional celebratory toasting beverage: organic wine.

Organic wine is made with organic grapes, which are held to strict criteria.  Organic foods must be certified before they can be labeled “organic”--this means they are not allowed to be sprayed with harmful pesticides and chemicals. In your search for wines made with organic grapes, be sure to read the labels carefully. Some wines, while claiming to be “made with organic grapes,” may not be made with 100% organic grapes.

Another bonus to seeking a conventional wine alternative is that organic wines contain less sulfites than the conventional alternatives. “Sulfites are salts or sulfurous acids which occur naturally in many wines. It is very rare to find a wine without sulfites. Added sulfites are generally used for preservation of wines.”

Organic wine makers do not add the additional sulfites.

And the final reason to drink organic wine (and you better believe I use this one often!) is that wine contains antioxidants, which makes it beneficial to the heart. Studies show that “a moderate amount of red wine (one drink a day for women and two drinks a day for men) lowers the risk of heart attack for people in middle age by 30 to 50 percent.” While the traditional glass of wine is still good for the heart, organic wine has the added bonus of being good for the heart, minus the toxins.

But don’t take my word for it, check out some different brands of organic wine.  My personal favorite is Frey wine, a domestic from California.  Do some of your own, "hands on" research (*tasting*).