New Zealand shows the specificity of sustainability
New Zealand may be ahead of the sustainability game with almost all producers signed up to some sort of sustainability accreditation system, whether the country’s own Sustainable Winegrowing New Zealand (SWNZ), or certified organics, biodynamics or ISO 14001, but the situation on the ground is far from a one-size-fits-all model. Anyone hoping for a single index that measures producers’ paths towards increasing sustainability is sadly disillusioned.
Recycling cork stoppers
Recycling cork stoppers for use in the manufacture of non-stopper products, or for re-use in other programmes is beginning to get off the ground in a potentially meaningful way.
Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) certified cork stoppers
The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) has been certifying Mediterranean cork forests since 2005. Certification means cork oak growers can supply to cork stopper manufacturers traceable cork planks from forests certified to adopt landscape-sustainable practices.
Authentic Wine, by Jamie Goode and Sam Harrop MW
I’d imagined this was going to be a book about natural wines under a slightly different name to draw us in. But the reader quickly grasps this book is about more than the narrow, ‘natural’, narrative. It embraces the broadest discussion of wines of place within a treatise around the various environmental issues affecting viticulture and winemaking.
An interview with … Philippe Drouhin of Joseph Drouhin
An interview with … Philippe Drouhin of Maison Joseph Drouhin, July 2010.
Biodynamic Wine Guide 2011, Monty Waldin
Monty Waldin updates the world of biodynamic growers.
Re-discovering biodiversity
Biodiversity is the latest in a series of buzz-words in the field of sustainability as all agriculturally-based industries address the vagaries and pitfalls of mono-culture. Viticulture is also adapting to the new order.
Packaging formats, recycling and improving sustainability
Lower carbon emissions can be achieved by taking weight out of packaging, especially where long distances are travelled from point of packaging to destination market. Lighter weight glass, wine in cans, pouches and composite cartons … it’s all up for grabs.