My View: Organic is the way forward

Moreover, we're convinced it's no coincidence that many of our best organic wines are also biodynamic. When producers like Millton vineyards, Alvaro Espinoza, and Fleury Champagne walk away with prestigious awards for their wine, we know we're onto a good thing.

There's still much work to do, however, especially in communicating with the consumer. The reason organic wine has not grown as fast as food is because most people still think of wine as a natural unadulterated product.

But if vines were animals, many of the big brands would equate to battery farmers: high-density overcrowded plots, drop-fed chemicals and fertilizers working together to cause ill health and to create what is often a bland end-product. Maybe we should re-label them "free range" wines and see if that doesn't capture the consumer's imagination.

Lance Pigott is co-director of Vintage Roots

• Harpers Says...