This summer, I received the gift of four months of organic produce delivered to my door. Even for the short Manitoba growing season, I loved trying all the fruits and veggies grown locally and organically. As I enjoyed working my organic produce into a summer of fresh, beautiful meals, I started thinking about the organic moniker and all it implies.

In almost every instance, “organic” is equated to better, more flavourful, and high-quality product; in the wine world, however, organic does not guarantee a “better” product. My main issue with organic wine production is how it differs from my big, fresh baskets of produce. Growing organic fruit (not to simplify our good farmers’ work) involves one process: you grow it and you sell it. As soon as you add a second, man-made process into a product, like winemaking, you run the risk of messing things up. Being simply “organic” without mastering growing and winemaking techniques does not automatically produce a quality final product. This is where most organic wines I try fall flat.

With great marketing backing their product, producers get to sell lots of wine under the “organic” label; unfortunately, good marketing, and even organic certification, does not guarantee good farming or winemaking. If you start with low-quality juice, there isn’t much that can be done to save the end-product during winemaking. When we are looking for wine for the store, sustainable practices are a benefit, and most of the producers that we find interesting also share this view. But first and foremost, the wine has to be good, and organic does not always mean good. We have wineries that practice “sustainable winemaking practices,” others that are “carbon neutral.” With so many different organic certifications, it can be confusing as to what points to quality, and what points to good marketing. We look to producers in Italy and France, who, for centuries, have been producing wine organically and sustainably, the way their ancestors taught them. There is no sticker on the bottle; it is not on their website. Sustainable practices aren’t a marketing strategy, they are tradition. The only reason we know they exist is because we asked!

We are also seeing a trend towards wine regions focusing on what is best for their land and their people. I have recently travelled to two different regions that have created their own set of rules to govern sustainable farming, human resources, and winemaking practices: Lodi (California) and Oregon. The Lodi certification process is called “Lodi Rules,” and it takes into account how the vineyards are developed and farmed, including creating habitats for local flora and fauna, while making sure employee working conditions are safe, comfortable, and provide living wages. In Oregon, there are many different certifying bodies, but one of the most interesting is called LIVE (Low Impact Viticultural & Enology). LIVE certifies vineyards for following international guidelines for environmental stewardship, social responsibility, and economic accountability.

Creating certification in regions that have a passion for making high-quality wine means that qualifications increasingly focus on quality from the vineyard to the winery. All of these new standards and practices are raising the bar to create a better environment in both the vineyard and the winery. But remember, don’t rely solely on what the label says. You should also trust your palate.

LIVE INC. http://www.liveinc.org

Banville & Jones carries the following Cristom Vineyards wines:

Marjorie Vineyard 2006 Pinot Noir – $65.99

Mt Jefferson Cuvee 2006 Pinot Noir – $66.99

Sommers Reserve 2005 Pinot Noir – $58.99

Lodi Rules http://www.lodiwine.com/lodirules

2008 Albariño – $23.99

2007 Graciano – $35.99

2007 Tempranillo – $29.99

2008 Garnacha Blanca – $25.99

- Mike Muirhead, Sommelier (ISG, CMS), CSW

I was a teenager in the 1980s, when the only cultural reference to the word “green” meant money (and the unfortunate colour I chose to dye my hair for one week in 1987).

Now I am the mother of a seven year-old boy named Max and “green” has taken on a whole new meaning, forcing me to ask: what environmental legacy will my generation leave for the next?

As a Canadian Sommelier, I began to wonder what the industry that sustains me and my family is doing to sustain our planet. Given the Canadian focus in this issue of The Cellar Door, I decided to probe into the environmental habits of the Ontario wine industry. May I just take a moment to say that, as Canadians, we should be monumentally impressed with their efforts!

When I began my inquiry, I expected to find a lot of information on wineries that produce organically and or biodynamically, and I did—but I also found so much more. It seems that the Ontario wine industry takes the approach that great fruit can only continue to be produced if the land that produces it is treated with total respect. From the fields where they grow the grapes to the buildings where they produce the wine, “green” measures are being implemented everywhere.

One of the Niagara region’s premier wineries, Stratus, recently completed construction on Canada’s first LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certified winery. The Stratus winery is built from recycled materials, equipped with energy-efficient geothermal heating and cooling, landscaped with indigenous vegetation that helps to make the soil drought-proof, and armed with a state-of-the-art waste water system. Every product used in the facility aims to leave a green footprint; even the company car is a hybrid. The new facility allows the wines to be produced using gravity flow techniques. Not only is this a technique used in quality winemaking, it also reduces the amount of energy consumed by eliminating the use of pumps to move the wine around the facility.

Neighbouring Southbrook Winery recently unveiled a new LEED-certified hospitality pavilion, which houses its much-anticipated tasting room. In November of 2008, Southbrook became the first winery in Canada to be certified by Demeter, the international body that oversees biodynamic agriculture. Their commitment to sustainability is passionate and impressive. In my research, I came across so many examples of environmental awareness in the Ontario wine industry that I began to wonder what was spurring this on. Such a small, young wine industry with such a great commitment to our planet is impressive, but why?

The answer came in the form of a charter launched by the Wine Council of Ontario (WCO), in conjunction with Niagara College, called Sustainable Winemaking Ontario. The project was piloted in 2007 with 17 wineries participating. The goal of the program is to see improvements in energy use per unit of production, decreases in water use, improved management in waste water, and more efficient use of materials throughout the businesses. Over the long-term, the objectives include measuring improvements in air quality, water quality, wastewater management, and natural resource management. The program is set up so wineries can collect their data, submit it to the council, and receive feedback about their environmental performance, as well as benchmarks to achieve.

Sustainable Winemaking Ontario has garnered significant international interest with requests for information from Australia, Europe, and the USA. British Columbia is looking at developing a charter of their own, which could provide an opportunity to see a Canada-wide initiative. Not bad for little ol’ Canada, eh?

I guess I can sleep easy knowing that the industry I work in is doing its best to leave Max and his generation a sustainable, “green” future. The only thing keeping me up now is worrying about how long it will be before he dyes his hair green.

For further winery information, visit http://www.stratuswines.com AND http://www.southbrook.com

We obtain our wines from different sources by different routes. The distribution of many wines is managed by agents: some wines are handy, they are warehoused in Winnipeg and we can obtain them within a week, others are stored in Alberta and Vancouver and are delivered in 6 weeks.

We also buy direct from wineries. Although Canadian wineries can provide wines within 3-5 weeks, as soon as we order internationally, the time for delivery rapidly increases: USA, 2 ½ - 3 ½ months; France, Italy, Germany, Australia, Austria 4 – 5 months; Chile, Argentina, New Zealand 4-7 months; and Spain, Portugal, South Africa 4 – 8 months!

Shipping considerations, the dictates of inventory management and the finite supply of certain wines influence our purchasing philosophy and therefore stock levels in the store. Certain wines should always be in stock; some wines will experience short-term stock interruptions; and some, usually expensive or highly allocated wines will come in once per vintage or maybe only once!

Unfortunately, we can’t stock all the wines all the time (nor predict exactly what you will buy!). If your new favourite South African Shiraz that we ordered in small quantity and is now unavailable for 4-8 months is out of stock, please bear with us. We bring in exciting wines throughout the year and aim to satisfy customers who always buy their “favourite” wine and those who love to experiment with new wines.

We also try to keep our wine selections fresh with new arrivals. Obviously we can’t keep adding new wines without dropping some old ones. Generally the wines that get replaced are those with declining sales or that have shown inconsistent quality. Sometimes we order fewer wines in certain vintages that were compromised by poor weather and then pick up more with the next successful vintage.

There are a lot of details to consider before we order our wines – and a lot of effort is involved. Just keep letting us know what you like and if your favourite wine is no longer on the shelf – customer opinion is right at the top of our buying considerations.

Cheers,

Tripping up the Douro Valley in Portugal: Quinta de Ventozelo

When I stepped out of the car at the upper gate at Quinta de Ventozelo last fall, there were more than a few things different from many other places. For starters, there was the dizzying drop-off from the shoulder of the road all the way down to the river. Second was the fact that, even late in the day, the sun shone on the vineyards of the Quinta (the estate). Even inside some of the most prestigious Port wine country, this was special. And then there was the array of great wine.

Anyone wanting to be on the quality Port wine map needs to have at least some property in what is termed Class "A" vineyards, the highest ranking. Quinta de Ventozelo is there, and in fact is one of the largest single Quintas in the Valley. It is one of the oldest pieces of property, but since its new owners took charge in 1999, it also ranks as one of the newest.

People Matter

The family of José Juan Fernández oversees the operations. It makes a difference that there is a family here: every family has its own values, its own culture and its own way of doing things. With the Fernández family, they value the worth of people, and they value excellence in winemaking.

To these people, community matters. The Fernández family, and managing director Rafael Molezún, have made a sincere investment in the Douro economy, hiring regional expertise and workers, making upgrades to the physical plant using regional contractors, and bringing on Douro talent in the form of viticulturalists and winemakers.

All the people who work at Quinta de Ventozelo-vineyard workers, office workers and management-receive two meals at the Quinta during their workday, cooked onsite. This simple, hospitable practice helps to create a community of people, not just a collection of hands that do the work.

Good Wine Matters

Quinta de Ventozelo is among the new class of Douro producers to offer both classic Ports and a range of excellent Douro table wines. Their wines are produced in several categories:

Quinta de Ventozelo Port: These classic ports include rubies, tawnies, LBV and vintage, all with an accessible style, well done in each classification. Vintage ports are generous, with wonderful fruit, balanced sweetness, good acidity, and in general, an earlier maturing style that shows great quality for the asking price. The rest of the port line follows suit, with class.

DOC Douro Quinta de Ventozelo: The table wines are a treat. DOC and DOC Reserva are drawn from traditional port varietals (mainly Touriga Nacional, Touriga Franca and Tinta Roriz, with an average vine age 60 years for Reserva). The Reserva is simply fantastic. Varietals (including Touriga Nacional and Touriga Franca) are the happy result of people dedicating their talents to showing what the Douro can do.

DOC Douro Cister da Ribeira: These are entry-level table wines show good fruit, an easy style, and particularly good value.

Many Quinta de Ventozelo wines have distinguished themselves among reviewers around the world. The wines are gifts to the wine lover, showing the capacity of a region with honesty, class and good value.

I'll brave the dizzying heights anytime, for another taste.

Quinta's website http://www.quintadeventozelo.com

Here's to you.