environmental issues

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June 30, 2013 Issue : Features

Fair-Trade Wine Brands Invest in Farmers

Posted: June 30, 2013 By Dana Nigro

May 31, 2013 Issue : Letters

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Posted: May 31, 2013

News & Features : News

Wine Drinkers Face Little Danger from Pesticides, but Winegrowers Do

A French study found chemical residues in wines, but at low levels; experts hope to eliminate need

Posted: May 20, 2013 By Suzanne Mustacich

Blogs : Mixed Case: Opinion and Advice

Is That Corn on Top of My Wine Bottle? Wineries Try New Plant-Based Packaging, Part 2

Trinchero rolls out a compostable capsule

Posted: May 14, 2013 By Dana Nigro

In my last post, I discussed the dilemma that eco-oriented wineries face when it comes to stoppering their bottles: Corks, which are natural and renewable, or screw-caps and synthetics, which can be more reliable? The same potential conflict between sustainability and efficiency crops up with the foil and plastic capsules that top bottles.

Some wineries eschew the capsule altogether, maybe opting for a little foil or wax top over a natural cork, but then miss out on a branding opportunity. Now, however, a wine-industry supplier has brought a new option to the market.

Blogs : Mixed Case: Opinion and Advice

Goodbye Cork, Hello Sugar Cane? Wineries Try New Plant-Based Closure

Allegrini will seal bottles with a new renewable alternative targeted at sustainable, organic and biodynamic wineries

Posted: May 13, 2013 By Dana Nigro

I just want to say one word to you. Just one word. Are you listening?

Bioplastics.

If you were remaking The Graduate in wine country this decade, there might be a great future in bioplastics. When organic, biodynamic and sustainable vintners look to bring their low-impact philosophies to their packaging, they often end up torn over what to do about closures.

Cork is the traditional choice, and it is a renewable material, unlike the alternatives: screw caps are made from mined metals, while synthetic corks are typically derived from petrochemicals. On the other hand, if some of your wine ends up flawed because even a small percentage of corks fail, that's outright waste—not exactly a sustainable practice either.

News & Features : News

Fair Trade Comes to Wine

Global farmer-assistance program extends help to grapegrowers in Argentina, Chile and South Africa

Posted: May 9, 2013 By Dana Nigro

News & Features : Unfiltered

Celebrating Celebrity Vineyards (the Book)

Plus, chef Emeril Lagasse honored for taking charity up a notch, Paris' Elysée undertakes wine austerity, Napa's philanthropic 1 percenters, and more

Posted: May 2, 2013

Learn Wine : Ask Dr. Vinny

Is there such a thing as a sulfite-free wine?

Posted: May 1, 2013

April 30, 2013 Issue : People

Scaling New Heights in Italy’s Dolomites

When it comes to winemaking, Elisabetta Foradori considers success less important than passion

Posted: April 30, 2013 By Mitch Frank

News & Features : Unfiltered

Gone in 500 Seconds: A Bordeaux Smash and Grab

Plus, more fallout follows Brunello vandal attack, a winemaker-turned-bread baker, toasting Australia's first Masters champ with Penfolds Grange, John Salley promotes Vegan Vine wines and more

Posted: April 25, 2013

News & Features : Unfiltered

Save Our Parks and Your Teeth for Earth Day

Wineries around the world are pitching in to help out Mother Earth, from sustainable agriculture to planting trees to winery fermentation-fueled sodium bicarbonate for toothpaste

Posted: April 18, 2013

Blogs : James Laube's Wine Flights

Climate Change Will Turn Up the Heat on California's Water Wars

A new report on how climate change could affect the viability of California's vineyards puts water rights in the spotlight again

Posted: April 12, 2013 By James Laube

If you’ve never seen the movie Chinatown, now’s a perfect time, as water rights issues are as hot a topic today in the Golden State as they were during the "California Water Wars," which began at the turn of the 20th century and serve as the backdrop to the classic film.

A report on climate change published by the National Academies of Sciences earlier this month is bringing California's seemingly endless disputes over water rights sharply into focus, especially as it pertains to the wine industry. The international team of researchers that conducted the study made predictions about where vineyards will and won't be viable by the year 2050.

As the report pertains to California, the scientists predict that 70 percent of the area currently suitable for viticulture here will no longer be viable by the year 2050—that is, without the use of adaptive measures such as irrigation or misting vineyards to cool them off. Factoring in the areas of California that will become viable for quality grapegrowing as a result of climate change, the net loss of California vineyard land becomes 60 percent by 2050.

Blogs : Mixed Case: Opinion and Advice

Will Vineyards Really Push Pandas Out of Their Home?

Research finds changing climates may force growers to move to new areas—bumping right into wildlife

Posted: April 9, 2013 By Dana Nigro

If you love wines from the world's most famous regions, or grow them there, you might be worried right now. By 2050, areas suitable for wine grapes could shrink as much as 25 percent in Chile, 51 percent in South Africa's Cape region, 60 percent in California, 68 percent in Mediterranean Europe and 73 percent in parts of Australia, according to a new global analysis published April 8 in the Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences.

But hey, we wine lovers are adaptable. New parts of the world will become more promising for grapegrowing, particularly at higher elevations and in regions in northern Europe, New Zealand and western North America. The problem? Anyone planting vineyards there will likely be pushing into undeveloped wilderness and habitat for at-risk species, from grizzly bears and gray wolves that live in the Rockies to the giant panda in Central China. Uh-oh.

March 31, 2013 Issue : Features

California Wineries Debate Fracking

Posted: March 31, 2013 By Matt Kettmann

Blogs : Mixed Case: Opinion and Advice

From Compost to Cosmetics to Cupcakes: What to Do With a Giant Pile of Grape Pulp

Oregon researchers uncover creative new uses for a winemaking byproduct. Pomace muffin, anyone?

Posted: March 19, 2013 By Dana Nigro

Last year, California and Washington wineries crushed around 4.5 million tons of wine grapes. That's an awful lot of skins, seeds and stems left over—something like 1.5 million tons. When it comes to reducing waste, many wineries are cutting the use of electricity, fuel, water and packaging. One thing I don't hear a lot about when covering sustainability efforts is post-harvest waste: pomace. Maybe a big, squishy mass of pulp sounds less sexy than an elegant, energy-efficient building, but pomace is no less ripe for innovation.