Written by Dominique de Groot, Four Green Steps

With society growing increasingly interested in healthy living and environmental issues, people are beginning to ask more questions about the origins and impacts of the foods and drinks they consume. This has sparked a huge global interest in organic foods, but what about the wine we drink?

Good news wine connoisseurs, wine can also be certified organic. However, there is another factor to consider when at the liquor store: the sustainability of the wine you drink, and an organic certification is not the only way of judging this.

What is Sustainable Wine?

Sustainable wine is based on the concept that the wine has been made in such a way that it will allow the vineyard itself and the surrounding environment to continue to produce an undiminished product and guarantee future generations can enjoy good wine. It is in their best interest of vineyard owners to ensure agricultural sustainability, but vineyards are threatened by many different environmental issues such as erosion, pollution, biodiversity loss, resistance to pests and thus often turn to chemicals and synthetic fertilizers for quick solutions. These practices are expensive and harm the life expectancy of the vineyard. In order to increase sustainability, winemakers must investigate and employ a wide range of farming techniques, such as integrated pest management and the planting of cover crops, to decrease use of rodent poison, herbicides and insecticides to remove unwanted threats to the grapevines.

Healthy and Natural

By lessening chemical dependence and becoming conscious of their carbon emissions, winemakers can nurture the soil, air, and water that we all depend on. Thus if we wish to promote sustainable winemaking practices that aim to preserve the ongoing quality wine, as consumers, we should support vineyards that are sustainably minded and environmentally conscious. This will help to ensure the sustainability of the industry as a whole while also keeping the health of the planet in mind. But how can we find the best wineries to buy from? Luckily for us all, Greenopia, provides independent green product ratings and they have released a list of major American wineries ranked in order of sustainability. Greenopia’s rankings account for factors such as growing practices, emissions from transportation, building logistics, and wine packaging. For a list of Greenopia’s top choices of sustainable wines in the United States, visit: Greenopia

For more ways to be “green” while still enjoying a nice glass of vino, check out ways to reuse old wine bottles.

Image courtesy of Creative Commons.

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