Wine
Drinking responsibly takes on a whole new meaning when you consider the environmental impact of wines, beers, and spirits.
The alcohol industry has done a good job of handling product packaging—standard beer bottles can be reused 12 to 15 times. The Beer Store will take back any type of wine, spirit, beer, or cooler packaging. In 2008, the Store recovered over 2.1 billion containers, and typically has a bottle recovery rate of over 95 per cent. If you don’t want to take your bottles back, purchase alcohol in clear glass bottles, since it’s easier to recycle than coloured glass.
Buying boxed wine only reduces your footprint if you recycle the container: TetraPaks are lighter, requiring less fuel to ship, but Ecoholic’s Adria Vasil reports that only 14 per cent of these cartons were recycled in 2006 in Ontario. Another way to reduce your impact is to buy your “cold ones” warm, since product refrigeration can be one of the biggest contributors to a beer’s carbon footprint.
Organic alcohols are becoming more popular. Organic refers to the method of growing the ingredients within the alcohol—without the use of pesticides. Organic wines, beers, and spirits contain no added preservatives, which can mean less severe hangovers the morning after. However, that doesn’t mean that organic wines don’t contain sulfites, which occur naturally in all wines (more in dessert and white wines). Some eco-friendly wines contain organically-grown grapes, but are not wholly organic since they do contain added preservatives. A sulfite-free wine would quickly turn to vinegar.
Another environmentally friendly production method is biodynamic winemaking, which promotes biodiversity and biological activity in the soil. All wines labelled as biodynamic must meet the Demeter Association’s standards. Critics of biodynamic agriculture say that farming organically produces virtually the same quality as practicing biodynamics.
Southbrook Vineyards 2009 Vidal Ice Wine
Sep 2011
Quite possibly Canada’s first biodynamic icewine, this wine sets the standard for wine-makers everywhere. The biodynamic processes goes beyond organic and considers the entire ecosystem of a farm from bugs to ‘fertilizer’ to water systems and other animals living on the farm.
Southbrook Vineyards 2009 Triomphe Syrah
Sep 2011
This wine is not organic but was still produced in an organic manner. Southbrook views all parts of their winemaking process from growing and fertilizing to crushing and fermenting to bottling and hospitality as interconnected. They believe that creating a winemaking environment that is considerate of the ecosystems around it can create excellent wine for More >
Southbrook Vineyards 2008 Triomphe Chardonnay
Sep 2011
This wine is organic and made from hand-picked grapes and naturally occurring yeasts (as are most wines). Part of becoming certified biodynamic is that Southbrook must work with other farms looking to obtain certification, and thus take their contribution to the overall health of the environment beyond their own borders. Some of Southbrook’s wine blends More >
Southbrook Vineyards 2008 Triomphe Cabernet Franc
Sep 2011
Southbrook Vineyards Triomphe Cabernet Franc is biodynamic and vegan friendly. Southbrook committed to being a productive addition to Ontario and through their VQA wines ensure that the maximum economic value is returned to the province’s Economy. Their hospitality facilities are designed to be low impact with extra insulation, large overhanging roofs to create shade and More >
Southbrook Vineyards 2007 Cabernet Merlot Shiraz
Sep 2011
This wine came before certification but was grown using organic practices. This wine, and all Southbrook wines are VQA certified which means that their wine comes from grapes were grown in Ontairo (not just blended in Ontario). VQA wines contribute significantly more to the local economy than grapes simply bottled or cellared in Ontario.
Domaine Magellan 2009 Grenache Blanc, Rousanne
Sep 2011
This wine was made using organic methods but is uncertified. Domaine Magellan has been using organic practices since 1999 because they believe organic farming yields a better finished product, however they did obtain official organic certification until 2010 due to the high cost of certification. In 2010 they decided that the cost of obtaining certification More >
