The production of organic wine is growing rapidly and California is at the forefront of the movement, as more consumers adopt healthier food and drink choices.

An informal survey of college-aged customers showed that sweet wines are very popular and could be speeding the growth of the organic wine industry.

However, there is still a major debate among wine enthusiasts about what organic means and the role of sulfites in the beverage.

Of the 662 certified organic grape growers in the world, some 409 are in California, according to the National Organic Program, a body affiliated to the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Agricultural Marketing Service. The NOP is responsible for developing national standards for organically produced agricultural products.

Department records show the organic industry as a whole has grown 240 percent since 2002, when they first started tracking organic operations.

But the debate over the benefits of organic wine continues among consumers. “Why would I drink organic wines? They all taste bad and I don’t get headaches from non-organic wine,” asked Blair Bishop, a regular wine buyer at BevMo in Walnut Creek.

After two weeks of asking more than 50 college-aged customers what their favorite grape or style of wine was at a BevMo store in Walnut Creek, sweet wines were the most popular by far.

Wines such as Moscato and Riesling received the most mentions, while other dessert style wines such Sweet Rosé, Sweet Lambrusco and Brachetto d’Acqui were also popular.

“Actually more sulfites are added to white wines than red wines,” certified Sommelier Miguel de Martin explained in an interview.

“Many people believe that they are allergic to only red wine,” he said. “We hear about the sulfite allergy complaints in reds nearly unanimously, but in reality whites have more added sulfites to keep them lasting longer.”

He explained that a consumer may be allergic to the alcohol, the naturally occurring histamines, tannins, or even the type of pesticides used on the grapes.

“Synthetic sulfites added to wine are used as a mild antioxidant preservative and stabilizer,” according to a Frey Winery statement.

“Sulfites are added to wine in the form of sulfur salts, SO2 gas or sulfur dioxide solutions. They are commonly used at several stages in the winemaking process.”

The company is among the leaders of the organic wine industry since their inception in 1980.

The USDA’s NOP sets the industry standard for allowing a definite amount of added synthetic sulfites. Their certifying agents do annual checks on wineries that have passed the USDA certification.

Wine labeled as “organic wine” must have under 10 parts per million of naturally occurring sulfite, per the USDA website.

Other designations are less strict, with Biodynamic Wine being 100 ppm, and the designation of “Made with Organic Grapes” being 150 ppm of natural sulfites.  All other wines must contain 350 ppm or greater added sulfites.

This holiday season local stores are stocking up on organic wine and wine made with organic grapes. BevMo, headquartered in the Bay Area, with stores throughout California, has around 20 organic and biodynamic wines on its shelves.

Trader Joe’s has 16 of these wines.  Total Wine, based in the East Coast, but with stores across the country has a few hundred organic wines available for shipping to most states in the U.S.

The NOP lists 33 certified organic wineries to date for the first time. Some 15 years ago they were a mere handful.