Thursday 17 December 2015

What Wine Should I Choose?


Wine – there are so many choices – the varietal, the country, the price. Here are some tips if you’d also like to choose a wine that is environmentally sustainable.

Is it local?
Were the grapes grown locally?
How far did the wine have to be shipped?
Is the winery a small company or a large multinational?
Are the producers and distributors locally based?

Does the winery use sustainable farming practices?
Do they water their vineyards and, if so, how?
Is the wine organic or biodynamic?
Do they use chemical fertilizers and pesticides?

What else?
Does the winery use lightweight bottles?
Do they use recycled materials?
What do they do with their waste products?


Two Possibilities
Here are two wines that have a relatively low carbon footprint.

Quail’s Gate Chenin Blanc
Quail's Gate Chenin Blanc is a VQA wine. All the grapes are grown in British Columbia, our closest wine-producing province.
Quail’s Gate uses organic fertilizers and supplements. They target their chemical applications.
Drip irrigation helps to conserve water.
Remote vineyard monitoring stations allow them to operate fewer vehicles in the vineyard.
The winery uses lightweight bottles containing high levels of recycled materials.

Luzón Organic
Luzón Organic meets strict European Union organic certification standards.
Native plants grow between the rows of vines.
The fields aren’t irrigated, despite very hot summer weather.
This is a Spanish wine, but it’s imported by Saskatchewan’s only locally based wine marketing company.


These wines were served at the Rob Dumont Energy Management Awards Dinner in October. The article was also published in the December 2015 issue of flow magazine.