Winemakers doing their part to help the planet

Like most agricultural industries, winemaking has been impacted by our changing climate.

Regions have been hit by drought or increasingly frequent hail storms, others ravaged by wildfires. Rising temperatures has seen some regions become too hot for grape-growing, while cooler-climate regions such as Nova Scotia and southern England have carved out a space in the world of wine production as significant players.

Making wine also impacts our planet, and not typically for the better — vineyards encroach on the natural habitat of flora and fauna, producers use precious water sources for irrigation and then transport heavy glass bottles thousands of kilometres by boat, truck or plane, contributing to global CO2 emissions. Conventional winemaking can employ a range of chemical pesticides that aren’t great for the environment.

But many wineries are also doing their part to reduce their impact on the climate, making more responsible choices in the way they produce wine.

Navigating this information as it appears on labels isn’t always easy — here is a Coles Notes rundown of some of the key terms indicating a wine was made with the future of our planet in mind.

Sustainable

Historically a bit of a vague, feel-good term with little substance behind it, sustainability in wine is now being taken far more seriously in some regions, where the term is strictly regulated.

Generally speaking, sustainability is a three-pronged initiative that takes into account environmental impact, economic viability and social responsibility. Environmentally, sustainable producers tend to be at the forefront of improvements in waste reduction, and energy and water use.

A growing number of wine-producing countries and regions now regulate the term’s use on a label and spell out hard, fast rules for achieving and retaining sustainable status.

New Zealand is one of strongest sustainable wine-producing countries — 98 per cent of wineries from the island nation are now certified sustainable, with clear markings from Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand found on labels.

Other examples of regions with strong, regulated sustainable initiatives include California, Australia and Ontario — again, look for official logos on the labels.

Organic

The term “organic” in wine is one that’s widely regulated. It all starts in the vineyard; organic wines must be free from synthetic pesticides, fertilizers, fungicides or herbicides.

But there are also factors that can impact a wine’s organic status in the winery proper, including which processing or fining agents can be used to clarify or remove particles from a wine, as well as limits on the amount of sulfur dioxide (a preserving and stabilizing agent) that can be added to a wine.

Labels on many organic wines come adorned with an official logo. If you see something along the lines of “made from organic grapes” on a label, that typically means the vineyard production was organic, but something that took place in the winery isn’t.

Biodynamic

This holistic agricultural philosophy is organic winemaking taken a step further. Biodynamic agriculture was developed in the 1920s by Austrian Rudolf Steiner, and sees producers preparing mixtures of medicinal plants, cow manure and the like to help nurture the vines and the soil. Vineyard and winery work also tends to follow the lunar calendar, with certain days/times proving to be better or worse for pruning, harvesting and even wine tasting.

Biodynamic producers are regulated by an organization called Demeter International — look for the Demeter logo on the label somewhere. In our market, biodynamic wines are most commonly found in private wine stores.

Natural

“Natural” wines generally refer to wines made with minimal intervention by a winemaker in both the vineyard and winery, with producers tending avoiding adding or removing elements as best they can. Organic grapes are fermented using naturally occurring yeast (versus added or commercial yeast), are typically unfined/unfiltered and feature little to no added sulfites. As a result, these wines can be quite hazy in appearance, sometimes show varying traits from bottle to bottle and can be a bit funkier than drinkers of conventional wines might normally enjoy.

There are no rules or regulations around using the term “natural” on a wine label; in our market most natural wines are found at private wine stores, particularly Ellement Wine + Spirits at The Forks and Kenaston Wine Market (1855 Grant Ave).

Vegan

Vegan wines aren’t necessarily organic or biodynamic; the term specifically refers to the fact no animal products were used in the making of the wine.

The non-vegan components of a wine are most commonly found in fining or filtering agents to remove dead yeast cells and clarify a wine, such as egg whites, isinglass (made from fish bladders) and gelatin. It’s increasingly common for wineries to use synthetic or plant-based alternatives for fining and filtering, and many wines that are vegan might not indicate it anywhere on the label.

Wines of the week

Umani Ronchi 2023 CaSal di Serra

(Verdicchio dei Castelli di Jesi, Italy — $22.99, Liquor Marts and beyond)

This unoaked organic white, made from the Verdicchio grape in eastern Italy, is pale gold in appearance and brings pear, floral, peach and melon notes on the nose.

It’s light-plus-bodied and dry, delivering a fruit salad of peach, pear and melon flavours with modest acidity, some decent viscosity and, at 13 per cent alcohol, a medium-length finish. 3.5/5

Villa Barcaroli 2022 Cerasuolo d’Abruzzo Superiore

(Abruzzo, Italy — $23.50, Ellement Wine + Spirits)

Pale pink in appearance, this vegan, organic and biodynamic pink wine offers subtle strawberry, cherry and floral aromas, with a hint of pear and apple skin.

It’s dry and light-bodied, with the red fruit and apple skin flavours coming with a hint of chalkiness, a slightly savoury note and light acidity, while the 13.5 per cent alcohol offers some length. 3/5

Pelee Island 2021 Lola Cabernet Franc Rosé (South Islands, Ont. — $19.99, Liquor Marts and beyond)

Medium pinkish-orange in appearance, this rosé from Canada’s southernmost winemaking region is vegan and sustainable, and aromatically delivers ripe strawberry, raspberry and floral notes, with hints of cherry in there as well.

It’s mainly dry and light-plus-bodied, with cheerful ripe and juicy red berry and cherry flavours front and centre along with mandarin orange and watermelon notes, modest acidity and sweetness and, at 12 per cent alcohol, a somewhat short-ish finish. 3/5

Bernard Beaudry 2023 Les Granges (Chinon, France — $31.99, Kenaston Wine Market)

There’s little info online about this natural French wine made from Cabernet Franc grapes. It’s deep ruby in appearance and a touch cloudy, with plum, bell pepper, anise, herbal and chalky aromas.

This dry, medium-plus-bodied red brings a bread dough component with the plum, tart cherry, anise and herbal notes, while there’s a puff of chalkiness and some white and bell pepper flavours that come with dusty tannins.

The acidity is tart and racy, while the 12 per cent alcohol on the finish is modest. A tasty option for those looking to try a natural red. 4/5

 

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