Magali Delmas in The Union: Keep drinking until the headaches stop

In a study published in the Journal of Wine Economics titled “Does Organic Wine Taste Better?” Professor Magali A. Delmas of University of California Los Angeles’s Institute of the Environment downloaded 74,148 reviews of California wines from 1998 to 2009. They examined reviews from the Wine Advocate, Wine Enthusiast, and Wine Spectator to determine whether being organic or biodynamic made any difference on the ratings.

First, they discovered two-thirds of the wine makers who use organic grapes and get certified don’t put it on their bottles, even though it is more expensive to produce. While they believe organic grapes make better wine they are afraid of the organic wine stigma.

The second surprising thing was that organic and biodynamic wines scored an average of 4.1 points higher than conventional wines. Put another way, that could be the difference between 87 and 91 points.