DrinkTheEarth.com Blog

In our last post, we talked about the sustainability efforts many wineries have undertaken who are otherwise not ‘certified’ organic.  A lot of non-certified wineries we’ve spoken to are either slowly moving towards eco-friendly farming practices, like pulling back on chemicals used in the vineyard, or are taking steps to become more energy efficient in other aspects of the business, such as using solar power.  We recently interviewed Dan Del Grande of Bison Brewing Company (article to appear on the site soon as our next Eco Chat), who made an interesting comparison between the wine and beer markets. 

Dan said that brewers can learn a lot from their wine brethren, many of whom are pursuing sustainability for what he considers the right reasons; to protect the environment, be carbon-neutral (or at least get closer to carbon neutrality), and perhaps most importantly, because they think it’s best for the consumer.  From his perspective, some beer makers who are either brewing organically or are considering it see organics as simply a market niche; they aren’t as sold on whether it is best for the end customer.  Whether it’s because organic wine has received more publicity or the winemakers simply view their businesses differently, many of them have already made that leap.  Assuming he’s right, it will be interesting to see if the relatively nascent organic spirits market follows a similar evolution.