A growing number of environmentally-conscious vintners are rushing to turn large areas of Burgundy into organic vineyards.

The latest data from France Agence Bio shows that Burgundy's organic vineyard coverage increased by 43.2 per cent between 2008 and 2009, the Drinks Business reports.

Across France as a whole, organic estates account for 38.9 per cent of the total vineyard area, while the drive for organic winemaking seems to be spreading to Italy.

Italy now has 43,600 hectares of organic vineyard and 60 per cent of Chianti Classico is made on organic estates, although not all are certified as such.

"Some producers don't seek certification because they still fear that the market believes that organic equals lesser quality," Cristina Micheloni of Italy's Organic Wine Association told the publication.

However, Bordeaux appears to be coming round to the idea of biodynamic growing more slowly. Chateau Pontet Canet and Chateau Guiraud recently became the first two Bordeaux estates to gain organic accreditation.