La vostra cantina produce vino biologico?

Does your winery produce organic wine?

Pronunciation

Biologico: bee-o-LOH-jee-ko. Stress on the third syllable.

When to use it

Ask at any small or medium winery. Many Italian producers have converted to organic or biodynamic farming — they're proud of it and will elaborate at length.

What it means

La vostra cantina means 'your winery' (formal plural possessive). Produce means 'produces'. Biologico means organic. Many Italian wineries are also biodinamico (biodynamic) — an even stricter approach.

Variations

Usate pesticidi in vigna?

Do you use pesticides in the vineyard?

A direct question — organic producers will proudly say no.

Siete certificati biologici?

Are you certified organic?

EU organic certification is the standard — look for the leaf logo.

Il vino è fatto senza solfiti aggiunti?

Is the wine made without added sulphites?

Solfiti aggiunti — added sulphites. Natural wine trend in Italy.

Mini Dialogue

— La vostra cantina produce vino biologico? — Sì, siamo certificati biologici dal 2010. Nessun erbicida, nessun pesticida. — E i solfiti? — Aggiungiamo pochissimi solfiti solo all'imbottigliamento. Sotto i cinquanta milligrammi per litro.

— Does your winery produce organic wine? — Yes, we've been certified organic since 2010. No herbicides, no pesticides. — And the sulphites? — We add very few sulphites only at bottling. Under fifty milligrams per litre.

Cultural Note

Italy is one of Europe's leaders in organic viticulture. Sicily, Tuscany, and Trentino-Alto Adige have particularly high concentrations of certified organic producers. The trend toward natural wine (vino naturale) — minimal intervention from vineyard to bottle — is strongest in Friuli, Emilia, and Campania.

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