In several European wine regions, fungal diseases in the vineyard have been a major problem this summer. Severe attacks by, not least, downy mildew can be difficult to manage with only organic spraying (i.e. copper). A few per cent renounce their organic certification each year or end their conversion.
It may be because they cannot cope with the diseases without synthetic spraying, but it may also be that they find organic is more difficult than they thought, that it will be more expensive without them being able to raise the price of their wines.
But all in all, not many organic producers return to conventional farming. Most people, once they decide to go organic, persevere. Figures in Bordeaux, for example, show that only 3-4% of organic growers revert to conventional cultivation each year.
Read more: vitisphere
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Read: more on organic wine in BKWine’s book Organic, Biodynamic and Natural winemaking.
