By Matt Shaw

Normally when I hear that something is organic, my mind immediately flashes to that time as a kid when my mother swapped out my Fruit Loops for Kashi. Or the time she swore that her organic fat-free candy bars tasted just like my Snickers. Or the time we went shopping at Whole Foods and didn’t buy one thing that had a cartoon character on the box.

Thankfully, as an adult, I had the opportunity to drink Benziger wine before I knew they were certified biodynamic. For those unfamiliar, biodynamics is the process of first eliminating unnatural fertilizers and pesticides from farming practices, and then designing methods of maintaining an environmentally harmonious and virtually self-sufficient farm that uses a natural system of checks and balances to control pests and prevent crop disease.

And the wines are incredible. The Carneros Chardonnay is superbly bright, clean, and devoid of the heavy-handed vanilla-oak overtones so common in California chards. The 2007 Sonoma County Merlot is a miracle – and not just in terms of flavor. The 2005 vintage started out miserably wet and cold beginning to the growing season ended in an unseasonably warm autumn that rescued the grapes. The result is a superbly constructed merlot with loads of red and purple fruits which is soft and savory, and eminently drinkable.