Ask Eartha Steward: Sustainable wine

Get News Feeds

By EARTHA STEWARD
High Country Conservation Center
March 12, 2008

Comments
Print Email

Dear Eartha,
I recently visited a winery in southern Oregon and was told that climate change is affecting American vineyards and the future of our local wines. As a wine-lover concerned for both the grapes and the environment, what can I do to save our wines?
— Amy Kay

Global warming, climate change, green house gases … we’ve all heard it before but usually in reference to larger environmental concerns than sour grapes. However, I have to admit that I am quite fond of my glass of Syrah after a long day of work and find it well worth fighting for!

Climate change is a real issue for the wine industry. Here’s a little Viniculture 101 (aka, lesson in grape growing) — wine as an agricultural product is quite sensitive to growing conditions. Grapes thrive in warm, dry summers and mild winters.

Grapes also like warm days and cool nights (between 58-60 degrees). When temperatures consistently reach 95 degrees or more, grapes have problems maintaining essential photosynthesis and much needed sugars start to break down.

Scientists have determined that within the grape producing areas of California, Oregon and Washington, growing season temperatures have risen by 1.5 degrees since the 1950s. What does this mean for our beloved wine country?

Climate change may disrupt the natural balance between warm and cold that quality grapes thrive in.

Other climate factors threatening vineyards include new populations of insects and pests, loss of natural acidities and sunburned grapes. We may even experience a major winemaking shift toward the poles and into higher elevations. Puget Sound could become the next Napa Valley.

So how can we preserve our local vineyards? The basic place to start on a quest to “save the wines” is by examining our carbon footprint. And yes, you alone can make a difference especially through your purchasing power! First of all, think organic and biodynamic.

I was disturbed by a story from a California farmer turned “biodynamic.” Back in the 1980’s winemakers were using chemicals to keep birds from eating their grapes.

Unknown to most farmers, the bird-repellents were actually neurotoxins to both birds and humans.

This alone should be enough to make you want to drink organic wine, right?

Unfortunately, organic vineyards have faced a long road of proving themselves as premium winemakers.

The USDA defines organic wine as organically grown grapes without the addition of sulfur dioxide.

Sulfur dioxides or sulfites are naturally occurring in all wines (organic or not) and serve as an antibiotic and antioxidant while protecting wine from spoilage by bacteria.

However, the oxidation of sulfur dioxide produces acid rain and is a major environmental concern.

When organic wines were first introduced with their low levels of sulfites, many citizens were unimpressed. This disappointment set the tone for the public misconception that all organic wines taste bad.

Things have changed. Wine technology has advanced and organic vineyards are now able to offer wines with minimal sulfites while maintaining great taste, preventing oxidation and controlling bacterial growth.

Grapes are the most heavily sprayed of all agricultural crops. Something that organic wineries can boast about is that unlike conventional vineyards, certified organic vineyards do not use pesticides.

As many as 18 different chemicals are often used on non-organically grown grapes during the growing cycle.

These chemicals are actually absorbed by the grapes, can seep into the soil around the vine’s roots, and eventually show up in the end product — the wine you drink. Therefore, by choosing organic wines, you support a higher quality wine, fight water pollution, and raise barriers for global warming.

Biodynamic wineries take organic to the next level. Biodynamic farming avoids the use of any pesticides, synthetic fertilizers, or genetically modified organisms. An example is the use of homeopathic substances derived from nature such as dandelion, quartz, oak and horse tail.

Spraying these organic ingredients instead of harmful man-made chemicals allows the grapes to build natural resistances to disease.

Another way to curb your footprint is to keep buying local. Most of us already purchase bottles of wine from the liquor store down the street but what I really mean is to buy wine from local vineyards.

Distance does matter. Some wines can consume up to three times their weight in petroleum. For instance, does the wine travel 500 miles or 5,000 miles to your local store? Good ol’ Colorado has several organic vineyards within reach such as Jack Rabbit Hill in Hotchkiss or Leroux Creek Vineyards in Grand Mesa.

If Colorado’s wine selection doesn’t suite your palate, you can find a large selection of organic and biodynamic wines on the West Coast. California, Oregon and Washington still produce great tasting wines and are local in comparison to vineyards in Australia or Germany.

Some of my favorite sustainable vineyards include Frey, Bonterra, Frog’s Leap, Fetzer, Benziger and Badger Mountain.

I’d like to close with the wine cork. Cork is a sustainable, renewable and biodegradable substance. Cork harvesting is an environmentally friendly method in which not a single tree is cut down.

Plastic stoppers, screw tops, and other non-cork alternatives are not so eco-friendly. Next time you purchase a bottle of wine think about how the wine is packaged. Cork stoppers can also be recycled into a reusable product such as flooring.

Yemm and Hart is a local wine cork recycling company located in Missouri. At the end of 2007, Yemm and Hart recycled nearly 3,000 pounds of cork. To find out where to send your cork stoppers visit http://www.yemmhart.com/news+/winecorkrecycling.htm.

Eartha Steward is written by Carly Wier, Jennifer Kirkpatrick and Beth Orstad, consultants on all things eco and chic at the High Country Conservation Center, a nonprofit 501(c)3 organization dedicated to waste reduction and resource conservation in our mountain community. Eartha believes that you can walk gently on our planet, even if you’re wearing stylie shoes.

Submit questions to Eartha at eartha@highcountryconservation.org with Ask Eartha as the subject or to High Country Conservation Center, P.O. Box 4506, Frisco, CO 80443.