Archive for the 'green wine' Category

Getting plowed: Sonoma forests to vineyards

In last week’s posting about the carbon footprint of wine, I intentionally just focused on the often overlooked and carbon-intensive distribution aspects. But certainly the vineyard and winery practices need to be considered as well when looking at the environmental impact of wine.

No practice might have more impact on the environment than the act of making a vineyard out of forest. A four-minute film from the Sierra Club (thanks, Jack!) demonstrates some of this deforestation/vineyard construction in Sonoma. Using images from Google Earth, they document some vineyards already carved out of forests. Then they discuss the Premier Pacific Vineyard’s proposed development of close to 2,000 acres of forest land for 90-acre “vineyard estates,” or residences set among the vines.

On their website, Premier Pacific has a statement of environmental responsibility and commitment to sustainability:

Premier Pacific appreciates its unique opportunity to help protect the environment. We take our mandate as a responsible steward of the land seriously and have invested considerable time and resources toward designing each vineyard to be as sustainable and low impact as possible…Sustainable practices are not just environmentally responsible, but less intrusive, more natural vineyard management techniques that are being recognized as an important part of growing luxury wine.

Check out the video clip (click here if the above does not work) and feel free to sound off in the comments.

Related: ” Sonoma Coast winemakers living on the edge” [NYT]

The carbon footprint of wine

I recently tasted the intense, fruit-forward Tikal, Amorio, 2005 (about $30; find this wine). Along with notes of dark berries, tobacco and toast, was there also a whiff of petroleum?

The wine’s oversized bottle complemented the flavor profile perfectly since the bottle weighed about as much empty as a regular bottle full. I pity the wine store clerk who has to lift a case of it.

The heavy bottle took a long, meandering route to get to me in New York City. Starting out at the winery in Mendoza, Argentina, the wine’s American importer trucked it over the Andes to the port of San Antonio in Chile. There it loaded a boat and went to Oakland, CA. From there it came across country by truck to me in New York.

That’s a lot of carbon used to bring me this bottle of vino. But is it too much? At least the heavy bottle didn’t come by plane, which would have really jacked the petroleum per ounce of wine.

I was intrigued to read in the SF Chronicle that several restaurants have stopped serving (imported) bottled water because it is deemed too carbon inefficient.

Michael Pollan’s The Omnivore’s Dilemma prompted many eaters to think about the “carbon footprint” of their food and consider locally produced foods. Does that translate for you to your wine consumption?

The key issue for me is ease of substitution. I may be able to get water from local sources, but I can’t get any malbec locally. A tough call. Perhaps any eco guilt could be assuaged by buying carbon offsets?

Related:
“Local tap water bubbles up in restaurants” [SF Chronicle]
“Carbon neutral is hip, but is it green?” [NYT]

Seeing green and being green

Eric Asimov fires off a “green wine” column for his first post-Earth Day (NYT).

One thing that struck me from the column–and that I have often encountered among many “green” producers–is their reluctance to put their method front-and-center, hoping to let the wines be appreciated on their own merits first, then as “green” wines second.

That happened last night in my NYU class when I poured the Porter Creek, Fiona’s Vineyard, 2004, a certified organic, transitioning-to-biodynamic pinot noir from Sonoma’s Russian River Valley. The wine was almost unanimously loved (find this wine). After I said that it was made organically and almost biodynamically, one participant said “why don’t they put that on the label?”

It seems there are two poles of along an axis of motivations for making green wine. On the one extreme, some producers are doing it because it’s makes good wine (and is good for the Earth). On the other, some may be doing it doing it because the sales and marketing department told them to. Or there might be a bit of both for all involved. It seems Porter Creek is on the good wine/Earth side since they don’t advertise it on their labels.

How about Fetzer with their huge Bonterra brand? I was intrigued to note on Monday here that they will be spending $1 million on marketing their wine, which states “made with organically grown grapes” on the label. Hmm, seems to have a whiff of marketing, not the terroir.

(Incidentally, “made with organically grown grapes” need only have a minimum of 70 percent organic grapes. Truthiness?)

Related: “Red, White and Green: can you taste the difference?” [University of Chicago, May 12]

Airport wine, Churchill Downs, green marketing, wine diet – tasting sized pours

Downing at Churchill Downs
What are the odds? Good-bye mint julep, hello chardonnay? [BusinessWeek]

Vino Volare
Vino Volo, the wine bar behind security at Dulles airport (IAD), is now opening an outpost at Baltimore/Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport (BWI). Southwest passengers can rejoice! Vino Volo also operates at Sacramento and Seattle airports. Next up: JFK. [via Upgrade: Travel Better]

Seeing green
Fetzer announces a $1 million marketing campaign trumpeting their high-volume organic wines. But are they doing it to be green or make green? Or both? [Courier-Journal]

Wine diet
Want to bulk up? Forget Weight Gainer 2000. Try wine. Such is the logic of a new diet for the size zero Victoria Beckham, fka Posh Spice. Wine “gives her the munchies.” According to Closer magazine, “It’s the reason she has a drink. If she has a wine or two then she’ll have an appetite like everyone gets when they’re on a night out and drinking.” Um, OK. Maybe her diminutive size has to do with the fact that she only eats one meal a day? [via NZ Herald]

Gold medal
Congratulations to Jonathan Gold, restaurant critic of LA Weekly, for winning the Pulitizer Prize for criticism!

Green wine: the zen forest of Matassa, Roussillon

matassa.jpg

Perched in the hills and nestled in the forest not far from the sea lie the vineyards of Matassa. But the vigneron farming the land in Rousillon, on the French side of the Pyrenees, is distinctive for two reasons. First, he’s young. And, second, he’s from South Africa.

Tom Lubbe lives near the vineyards with his family. He developed Matassa with Nathalie Gauby and Sam Harrop, MW, who used to be the head buyer for Marks & Spencer. At a recent tasting where I tried their wines, Tom told me that the Rousillon is one of the few places in France where a young person can afford to start out since real estate in many other wine growing areas is horrendously expensive.

Tom has several vineyard parcels and he farms them all biodynamically, a sort of organic plus method. He aims to make the wines as naturally as possible and even do a preliminary foot crush and use only indigenous yeasts. The prized vineyard, in Tom’s eyes, is one of 112 year old carignan at 1,800 feet above sea level. It’s surrounded by a forest so Tom doesn’t have to worry about pesticides from a neighbor blowing into his vineyard.

The labels have two surprising things on them. First, simplicity. Many French labels are cluttered with confusing terms such as superieur when the wine is not actually all that superior. These labels have zen-like minimalism and in fact include a kanji character on them (the one for forest). Second, Harrop and Lubbe are some of the rare quality wine producers who have thumbed their nose at the appellation system and make only vin de pays wines, specifically vin de pays Cotes des Catalanes. There are no grape varieties on the labels, however, since vdp regs state that a wine has have a 100 percent truth claim to state the variety on the label.

The Cuvee Marguerite is a blend of viognier and petit grain muscat aged in old Burgundy barrels. It has huge araomatic intensity and an intriguing minerality underneath. (find this wine)

The Matassa blanc is a white of rare intensity from the region. Surprisingly pleasant acidity, the wine has a wonderful well-balanced and waxy texture with great minerality and hint of Key lime and a drop of honey. (find this wine)

Moving to the reds, the “Cuvee Romanissa” 2004 is a surprisingly light and lively blend of mostly grenache with a dollop of carignan, mourvedre, and cabernet sauvignon (find this wine). Dark fruits and an alluring savory character make this a great food wine, calling out for grilled meats. The piece de resistance is the Matassa rouge, made from all 112 year old carignan (find this wine). Surprisingly light in color in the glass, the wine has a sort of rusticity on the nose that compliments dark fruit notes. On the palate the wine has a light weight yet great intensity and balance between fruit, acid, minerality and lightly peppery tannins. Really an extremely attractive red wine. And to think it is from the humble carignan…

Environmentally friendly. Good packaging. Great product. Other French producers should take note and follow the lead of Matassa (it’s just a pity about the price, but hey, you can’t have it all).

Total production: 20,000 bottles. Importer: Eric Solomon.

The elusive green ruby: Fonseca organic port

At a press event last week in New York City, the Fladgate Partnership announced a first for Portugal: organic port.

David Fonseca Guimaraens told the assembled group that the vineyard had been farmed organically since 1992. Since port is made by fortifying fermenting wine with the addition of a distilled spirit (brandy), the breakthrough for this new port was finding an organic distilled spirit. This paves the way for organic labeling in Europe as certified by Socert.

Guimaraens said that the port would not be labeled as organic in the United States but instead “made with organically grown grapes.” Even though sulfites naturally occur in wine, adding sulfites, as Fonseca does, prevents the producer from calling it “organic” in America.

The port, with a ruby hue, has aromas of dark cherries and blackberries with a hint of the 20 percent alcohol. The mouth feel is pleasantly balanced between sweet and acid as well as being luscious–thanks to the advances in automated crushing, no doubt, since it is piston fermented–and the finish long and sweet. It’s the equivalent of a premium ruby port, Guimaraens said.

But does it taste any different? Or is it any better for you? Guimaraens said that the organic distillate that was added had more fruity notes than the non-organic one but that may also have to do with a different source the of raw materials. As far as the health effects, Guimaraens said that the residues of any fertilizer or pesticide are non-existent. But it makes a difference for labor, since he said that organic viticulture has a “much greater benefit to vineyard workers.”

Available on the US market in June, the Terra Bella port will retail for $22. I’ll be looking to pick some up. (search for retailers)

Reduce, reuse…recork?

The screwcap posting from a couple of days ago generated an interesting discussion on The Consumerist about the pros and cons of closures. Check it out.

One thing that came up is that the World Wildlife Fund has proclaimed that using cork–actually tree bark harvested every nine years–is better for the environment. They claim it makes those forests more economically viable, which then reduces the possibility they will be sold for other development (no word on why making it a national forest would not achieve the same goal). And they even invoke the Iberian lynx habitat!

Whether or not using corks is better or worse for the environment, we all no doubt have a cache of corks. I, for one, rarely throw them away (except for those rubber bullet synthetic corks). I even made a cork board out of them once thanks to a frame as a birthday present. What do you do with your corks?

One company in Missouri that specializes in green building materials is encouraging consumers to send in their corks so that they can reuse them. They need 1,200 pounds and appear close to attaining their goal! If only they had recruited this guy earlier on…

Biodynamics in Oregon, WBW 29

The People
“I didn’t look for biodynamics–it looked for me,” Josh Bergstrom said at a roundtable on biodynamics that I attended in Oregon last fall. His father was a chemist and he said that he is a skeptic by nature. But working in Burgundy, he came to learn that “there’s no better way to express what I wanted to express than through biodynamic farming.”

Doug Tunnell left CBS and his many international postings to return to his native Oregon. Since he started in 1990, his vineyard, Brick House, has been certified organic. He told the group assembled at his extremely tranquil and scenic vineyard that biodynamics “takes organic not just to the next step but many steps beyond,” weaving in a “very spiritual dimension.” He makes his own compost behind his barn.

Moe Mamtazi came from Iran in 1971 and wanted the best flavor from his vines (see pictures of his Maysara winery from a previous post).

Kevin and Carla Chambers own Resonance Vineyard. Their vineyard used to be called Reed & Reynolds and they have sold all their fruit to wineries such as Sineann. They will be making their own wine from the 2006 vintage under the name Resonance Vineyard. Why the name change? Kevein writes, “Resonance is a better name to communicate their efforts to work in harmony with nature and the cosmos.” Kevin practices what he calls “radionic” farming, which he describes as “an area of exploration into the world of subtle energies.” The Chambers broadcast homeopathic preparations over their vineyard and supplement them with a biodynamic broadcaster prayer. Kevin also farms vegetables biodynamically and I tried some of his terrific tomatoes.

The wines
This flight of four wines was a profound flight of pinot noirs. The Bergstrom, Bergstrom Vineyard, Willamette Valley, 2004 (find this wine) is big and powerful with a notable presence of oak though not to the extreme as many American pinot noir practitioners have pushed it. Dark cherries and hint of chocolatiness, it has a long finish with peppery tannins.

The Brick House Dijonnais, Willamette Valley, 2004 (find this wine) has a real sense of place. Dark cherries, some tea-like notes, this wine is less plush style than the Bergstrom.

The Maysara Winery, Willamette Valley, “Delara” 2003 (find this wine): Another big pinot, with concentrated plummy fruit. Quite solid and fulfilling.

The Sineann, Resonance Vineyard, Willamette Valley, 2005 (find this wine): beautiful balance between the notes of cherries, the acidity and the tannins. A lovely, rewarding pinot–the kind that goes down too easily and you look back and the bottle is empty.

The reason
This write-up was inspired by Jack of forkandbottle.com for Wine Blogging Wednesday 29. Check his site for the other biodynamic wines that bloggers around the world have tasted.

Winery links
Bergstrom
Brick House Vineyards
Maysara
Resonance Vineyard

Related: “First person: Rick Trumbull

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