The recent surge in Organic food, and organic agriculture in general, is also reflected in the wine world. As with other foodstuffs, non-organic farming is a 20^th century phenomenon, with the introduction of chemical fertilisers, herbicides and synthetic pesticides. As wine is a finished product, there is a further stage during the conversion from grapes to wine where considerable alchemy can, and often does, take place.

The key aspect of organic winemaking is found in the vineyards. Non-organic vines are chemically fertilised, and regularly sprayed against oidium, mildew and the cochilis moth with systemic chemicals. In the Mediterranean region, where water is scarce, it is also important to eliminate any growth of grass or weeds in the vineyards which absorb vital moisture. This can be eliminated by ploughing, or with the use of herbicides.

Organic viticulture rejects the use of all systemic products (ie products that penetrate the sap of the vine) and use only external treatments. Instead of chemically fertilising the soil, farmers look to restore the soil’s balance.

Since 1982, Albet i Noya in the Penedès region of Catalonia, have pioneered organic winemaking in Spain. Albet i Noya are comitted to making quality wines, and have chosen to farm organically because they believe this is the best way to achieve this end. In many ways it is a return to the origins of farming, repecting nature’s rhythms and natural biological processes. It is also an attempt to produce wines that reflect where they have been made. Over use of chemicals can make the vines lazy, whereas for the characteristics of the region to show through, the vine must be made to work a bit harder in search of its nutrients, often by digging its roots deeper into the soil. In 1997, they started a joint venture in the Priorat region, called Mas Igneus. The climate of the Priorat makes treatments for oidium and mildew less necessary than in the Penedès, but on the other hand it is a region where the use of herbicides was widespread.

Instead of using chemical fertilisers, the vineyards are planted in winter with a variety of grasses, which are ploughed back into the soil in the Spring. After a number of years without excessive nitrogen input into the soils, the vines themselves become more resistant to many of the diseases that forced overproduction can excentuate. Throughout the year, the treatments are reduced to the use of copper hydroxide and sulphur dusting. Early organic rules allowed the use of what is known locally as "Bordeux Soup" a copper sulfate mix that works on contact with the leaves of the vine, but is not absorbed by the plant. Copper is nonetheless a heavy metal, and so recent regulations have lead to the use of copper hydroxide which has a much lower copper content in the mixture, minimising the amount of metals released into the environment. Recently, Albet i Noya have been experimenting successfully with local herb extracts to substitute these treatments.

Once picked, organic regulations also cover the amount of intervention allowed in the winemaking process, limiting the quantity of sulfites added and eliminating other additives. Lluis Manel Barba, the winemaker at Mas Igneus, describes his job more as "keeping an eye on the wine" than actually making it.

Organic wine in Catalonia is guaranteed by the CCPAE which adheres to the European standards on Organic produce (from the European directive EC 2092/91).