When it comes to organic wine, Kermit had it right: it’s not easy being green. Growing grapes organically, without the swift, ruthless efficiency of herbicides, pesticides and fungicides, is a tough row to hoe. Jens Gemmrich and Heike Koch of Niagara’s Frogpond Farm—Ontario’s only certified organic winery—know all about the physical and financial burdens. Since 2001, they’ve struggled with Niagara’s humid mildew- and pest-prone climate; rather than spray, they’ve strengthened their vines by promoting lower yields and creating a vineyard teeming with predatory insect, bird and animal life. They’ve also had to battle organic wines’ bad reputation because, frankly, a lot of early hippy-dippy-inspired bottles were coarse, oxidative and redolent of bad hygiene. The mysticism and preachiness of biodynamic viticulture—a fanatical, holistic approach that encourages burying cow horns in the vineyards but can also forbid irrigation and the use of cultured yeasts—further alienated wine drinkers. Yet Frogpond and a growing number of producers have persevered in the belief that natural methods are not only better for the environment but also make better wine. Their work is finally starting to pay off. At the recent Toronto stop of Return to Terroir, an international organic wine showcase, there was a marked improvement in quality, especially among the more expensive wines from small vineyards, where organic techniques are more easily managed. Many I tasted showed purity as well as the distinctive character linked to the soils, which is exactly what organic producers are aiming to achieve.