These days, eco-friendly wines are all the rage. But why are these green wines trending, how exactly do they help preserve our earth, and what does sustainability mean for you as a consumer? If you’ve ever asked yourself, “what is sustainable wine?” and furthermore, “what does it mean for me?” this post is for you.
What is Sustainable Wine?
Sustainable wine is made with a conscious effort to reduce waste and harm to the surrounding environment throughout the winemaking process. The main goal is to protect and prolong our resources, specifically the soil, air, and water used to grow wine grapes.
Sustainable techniques include water conservation, responsible waste management, consciously protecting air and water quality, maintaining healthy soil, improving energy efficiency, and keeping local ecosystems and habitats in mind while growing. For example, a sustainable vineyard may use birds of prey to keep the bugs at bay rather than spraying pesticides.
These practices are nothing new - they’ve been incorporated into the winemaking process for centuries. However, the recent dilemma of climate change has sparked greater eco-friendly conversation within wine. In response, many winemakers have taken steps to become more sustainable in their practice.
In order to be certified, vineyards must go through rigorous third party evaluations to ensure their farming practices are top-tier and hit all the sustainable standards.
How Does Sustainable Wine Differ from Organic or Biodynamic?
We’ll admit, wine certifications can be difficult to navigate. There’s a lot of confusion and misinformation surrounding sustainable, organic, biodynamic, and natural wines. That’s because some certifications vary by state, while others vary by country, or even specific appellations.
Remember, just because a wine is sustainable does not mean it’s automatically organic, biodynamic, or natural. These classifications can overlap, but more on that later.
What Does Sustainability Mean for Me?
Investing in a sustainable wine is an easy way to be socially and environmentally responsible. You can enjoy that second glass knowing your wine was made keeping the earth in mind. But did you know that sustainable practices also tend to produce higher quality wines? It’s a win-win. (Or should we say a wine win?)
A large part of sustainability is being a good neighbor. Resource conservation is a huge part of the equation, but sustainability also includes fairly compensating and respecting vineyard employees. So in addition to preserving the earth, you’re also supporting the humans who harvest it. (If that’s not enough to give you a warm and fuzzy feeling, a glass of wine sure will!)
Bright Cellars Sustainable Wine Offerings
Bright Cellars is proud to offer a variety of sustainable brands in our repertoire of wines.
Dead Stars and Black Holes
Earth is the only planet that can grow wine - so far. And to make matters worse, wine production is severely threatened by climate change. That’s because grapes are finicky – slight changes in temperature can have drastic effects. With our Dead Stars and Black Holes wines, we hope to play our small part in keeping winemaking sustainable. Because dead planets can’t grow wine.
Our sustainable Dead Stars and Black Holes line features both a red and white wine - Pinot Grigio 2019 and Tannat 2020.
Sustainably grown in California, our Pinot Grigio is deliciously crisp with bracing acidity. This white showcases flavors of grapefruit and lemon with a hint of tropical pineapple.
Made with sustainably grown grapes, our California Tannat is lusciously full in body with flavors of ripe fruits like blueberry, black raspberry, and plum. It features a clean finish with velvety tannins.
Terraform
Sustainable winemaking isn’t new. In fact, it’s how most wines were produced for centuries. With our sustainably made Terraform wines, we honor these age-old methods as a way to change our vineyards and land back to their natural state. As a way of returning the Earth to itself.
Our Terraform Pinot Grigio welcomes a ripe fruit character, packed with citrus flavors like lemon, lime, and grapefruit, with just a touch of tropical pineapple in the aroma.
Sustainably grown in Clarksburg, California, our Terraform red blend is ripe and fruit-forward on the nose and palate with flavors of raspberry, plum, and black cherry. Smooth tannins, full body.
Living Essence
As we open ourselves to the possibilities to live as one, Living Essence wines allow us to embrace the abundance that comes with coexisting with nature.
The ultimate chillable red, our Living Essence Pinot Noir is light in body with delicately soft tannins and balanced acidity. In true Lodi form, this red boasts ripe fruit flavors of strawberry, red currant, and raspberry.
In Vino Finito
Have you tried any of our sustainable wines? Let us know in the comments!
