Enobytes Wine Blog

Ancient Peaks Winery is riding high. Not only does it sit a bit higher in elevation, but the recent certification of its Margarita vineyard as Sustainable in Practice, or SIP, is another feather in an already festooned cap.

This is a storied vineyard in a storied place. Franciscan missionaries founded rancho Santa Margaraita, at the foot of the Santa Lucia Mountains and the top of the Cuesta Grade between San Luis Obispo and Atascadero, CA in 1774. The vineyard itself was planted by Tim Mondavi in the 1990’s and was purchased by Doug Filipponi and his partner Karl Wittstrom in 2005. Read the rest of this entry »

Every month we host a discussion on Vino Exchange, which is a monthly wine segment to promote the exchange of ideas, opinions, knowledge and inspiration between wine professionals, enthusiasts and consumers alike. Each month, an industry professional leads a discussion pertaining to the wine industry.

This week on Vino Exchange, Randall Grahm is leading a discussion about Biodynamic and organic farming and winemaking. It’s a great opportunity to ask questions about Biodynamic practices and principles. This should be an exciting and enlightening discussion, so I hope you can join us!

If you would like to participate, please register for a free account here and post your question here.

Compagnie de Transport Maritime a la Voile (CTMV), a French shipping company created the world’s first fleet of sail-driven merchant ships to transport Languedoc wines. The initiative is to support a sustainable economic development project.

Since CO² emissions from transport are expected to rise by 50% in Europe by 2010, the Treaty of Amsterdam project was introduced to integrate environmental considerations into community policies.

Using fleet that support renewable energy and biofuels, CTMV acquired a set of sailing vessels which meets environmental requirements and supports the Treaty of Amsterdam project, with an expectation of saving nearly 5 ounces of carbon per wine bottle compared to traditional shipping methods. Additionally, CTMV uses the Canal du Midi to transport client goods on to the fleet, which, in itself burns five times less fuel than traditional shipping. The canal connects the Garonne River to the Étang de Thau on the Mediterranean.

CTMV’s first voyage from Bordeaux to Dublin is already in transit, expected to arrive in Dublin next month, and future ports of call including England, Sweden and Demark will certainly assist in the initiative to save carbon. Read the rest of this entry »

A new trend in the winemaking industry is going "green". To date, there are 380+ biodynamic wine producers worldwide who are eliminating pesticides, synthetic sprays and chemical additives from their winemaking process. This trend, otherwise known as sustainable or biodynamic growing, produces purer grapes and eliminates the toxins; it’s a cleaner way to produce a better product. This method has obvious advantages; reducing the aftermath of hangovers and headaches seems obvious since eliminating as many toxins from wine would be healthier to consume; and it’s obviously better for the environment. But what about taste? I began to think about all of the biodynamic and/or organic wines I’ve tasted over the years and I had a hard time recalling… Read the rest of this entry »