title_body: What is the benefit of organic red wine?
upvoted_answer: Your question is a little vague. I'm assuming by the nature of your question, you mean the health benefits as opposed to the environmental benefits. Having been growing organic wine grapes for 18 years I think I can address both issues. I might have a more controversial view than most people, but in the end I don't think it makes a lot of difference to drink Organic wine vs. traditional farming from a health perspective. 
  
  Grapes are grown, generally, in a dry and hot climate. California, Australia, Spain, Italy. Because of this, there are usually less problems with rot and mildew on grape vines. The two biggest problems are powdery mildew and botrytis. There are some insect problems, but generally they are not a big deal. Compared to other crops like lettuce, strawberries, potatoes, the amount of fertilizer and spraying is minimal. 
  
  So, what I am trying to say is that amount of chemicals sprayed on grapevines is already at a low level compared to many other foods you might consume. Here is my controversial take on Organic vs. Traditional wine making. Growers will actually spray MORE chemicals on their grapes they are just "organic" just because the Organic chemicals are not as effective. That means more tractors, more people contributing to pollution in and around the vineyard. 
  
  On top of that, in the USA, "Organic Wine" is different than in Europe. In Europe, it means that grapes were grown organically. In the USA, it means that they were grown organically AND do not use sulfites. Which the Europeans have known to help preserve wine for thousands of years and are naturally occurring during the fermentation process. (BTW, sulfites are also a nasty chemical in large amounts). There are way more sulfites on your pre-packaged salad and raisins than there are in wine.
  
  REMEMBER, you are consuming a beverage that contains about 14% of a known carcinogen, namely Ethanol. So expecting your drink to have these huge health benefits is kind of a false flag.
  
  You have to ask yourself why there isn't a lot more Organic wine on the market? A fellow grower told me that it doesn't make economical sense. It costs way more money to grow them vs. traditional or just grow Organic grapes and not have to do all the record keeping, which takes a lot of time and money. High quality growers, for the most part are a thoughtful bunch and really don't want to spray non-organic chemicals and winemakers use non-organic chemicals in the winery.
  
  So, here is my recommendation. I really don't think there is a huge environmental or health edge for Organic wine. High volume, low priced wines will generally have more chemicals in them. If you can find an Organic red wine that you like and you can afford, got for it. If you can spend a little more money, say $20 or more for a bottle of wine, those wines probably came from grapes that were babied way more than a box wine grapes and probably have less chemicals in them in general. In fact as you go up the price curve it's generally known they have less and less chemical inputs. So, the more you can spend, the less chemicals will probably be in your wine.
  
  (And to blow your mind, many wines are not vegetarian! And you have no way to find out.)