Whole Foods Market, the nation’s leading supermarket chain focused on organic and natural foods, household and personal care items, announced that it will become the first national retailer to carry USDA certified organic NSA (no sulfites added) wines from legendary wine-making regions in Italy and Spain.
In a statement released by Whole Foods Market, Geof Ryan, the company’s national wine buyer said of the new selection of wines, “We see more and more interest in these wines from wine enthusiasts who believe NSA wines provide the most pure expression of the grape and from those who have sulfite sensitivities or allergies.”
Included in the new offerings at Whole Foods Market are wines from Spain’s Bodegas Iranzo winery—the country’s oldest estate-bottled winery; and wines from Italy’s number one selling winemaker, La Cantina Pizzolato. The organic, sulfite-free wines will all be available for under $13 a bottle.
With Americans now consuming more wine than any other country, demand for organic and sulfite free wine is also increasing as awareness on the effects of grapes grown with pesticides and added sulfites becomes more prevalent among shoppers. USDA certified organic wines are made from organically grown grapes and cannot contain any added sulfites (but they do occur naturally in wine in small amounts). Sulfites are added to wine to slow fermentation and serve as a preservative to prevent oxidation, which can change the flavor and introduce harmful bacteria. Organic wine’s total sulfite level must be less than 10 parts per million. Wines with added sulfites that total more than 10 parts per million must include the statement “contains sulfites.”
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