Mo's Wine & Spirits

U.S. wine exports, (95% of which are from California), approached one billion dollars in 2007, reaching a new record. All told, $951 million in wine was exported last year, an 8.6% jump from 2006. And more impressively, U.S. wine exports increased by 77% over the last decade. Half of this wine goes to the European Union, including great wine producing countries like France, Italy and Spain. Other growth markets include South Korea, up 60 percent, and China, up 74 percent.

Wine Lists on the move? One major Steakhouse & Wine Bar chain is connecting with customers on the move with new online initiatives, including the debut of their mobile website – allowing users to access its list of wines available at the restaurant by the glass. The wines are separated by varietals, listed from lightest to fullest, and the site even gives a picture of the label of each wine. Enjoyed that wine you had last night at the restaurant? Look it up, and get the information needed to find a bottle on the way home.

Serious about Wine? Then you need to get serious about Green, the gold standard of business today. Wine producers are embracing sustainability in packaging as well as production as an integral part of their offerings and brand imaging. Earth-friendly methods also produce quality wine grapes. Suppliers, producers and retailers are collaborating more closely to eliminate waste and increase efficiencies across the wine supply chain. Being stewards of the land – and good neighbors – are important values, and just good business. Look for more Green initiatives in the coming years.

Along similar lines, Organic Wines are the new superstars of the wine world. More wine is being produced without the use of sulfites, yeast cultures or other manipulations, fully expressing the grape and terroir. The USDA says Organic (in part) involves “…the use of renewable resources and conservation of soil to enhance environmental quality…produced without using most conventional pesticides, petroleum-based fertilizers or sludge-based fertilizers”. Keep an eye out for more organically grown wines!

Don’t leave your best pal at home this summer. Your Pooch wants to have fun too! Besides, who can resist that sad look that you get when you walk out the door without your trusting dog. So in order to help out with your canine relationships, a growing trend in Napa Valley is Dog-Friendly wine tasting. Good to know that in Napa Valley they are happy to welcome your dog with open paws!

Today, society craves to be green. To help curb our cravings, we’ve been introduced to hybrid cars, organic produce, energy-efficient lifestyles and solar power. The next step to protecting the Earth may be organic wines.

So what exactly makes a wine eco-friendly, organic or green?

The overall concept is that wines are made naturally with no chemicals, in a biologically sustainable way. Organic wines come from organic grapes — fruit grown without chemical fertilizers or pesticides. Each country has its own laws and rules regarding what can be labeled as “organic,” so standards vary.

Today, organic wines are now produced all around the world, from the United States and Europe to the southern hemisphere. In fact, a growing number of producers practice some form of natural grape growing and winemaking because they believe these methods make better wine.

According to an article in The Daily Green, here is a simple guide to what different green wine labels mean:

• “100% Organic.” You guessed it — the wine is made from 100% organically grown ingredients. The wine also was monitored throughout its entire production process. The bottle bears the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) organic seal (the certifying agency must be listed). No sulfites are added, though it can contain naturally occurring sulfites (or sulfur dioxide, an antimicrobial substance).
• “Organic.” Surprise — it’s not totally organic. The wine has 95% organically grown ingredients (the other 5% must not be available organically). On the label, you’ll see the USDA organic symbol. Again the certifying agency must be listed. No sulfites are added, though the wine can contain naturally occurring sulfites.
• “Made with Organic Grapes” or “Made with Organic Ingredients.” The wine contains at least 70% organic ingredients. Sulfites can be added, but it may not beyond 100 parts per million. The wine can’t bear the USDA organic seal.
• “Biodynamic.” The wine is 100% organic, plus the grower has gone beyond to try to bring the farming process more closely in tune with nature. For instance, wine growers may make their own compost and/or watch the stars and planets to time what they do. The concept of biodynamic farming originated from the early Twentieth Century Austrian philosopher Rudolf Steiner.

To find out more about organic wines, visit the Organic Wine Journal’s website.

Let’s face it; going green is as good as gold these days. As earth-friendly products come into existence, they are creating a lower impact on the environment as well as cutting costs for those who use them. With the aggressive movement towards more eco-friendly production processes, and even construction methods, most opportunities to use a more environmentally friendly alternative are being heavily investigated.

For Sullivan Vineyards in St. Helena, CA, their choice to go green came when they decided it was time to replace the roof of their winery. After investigating their options, they decided that a roofing company called Cravea produced just what they needed. Cravea makes a tile, made entirely from earth, called Pro Shake, and the benefits of this new material are pretty far reaching. The Pro Shake tile weighs significantly less than standard roofing materials, so less wood is needed to support the roof from within the winery. This was especially important for Sullivan considering that they needed 3,500 square feet of roof to be done. The tile will also keep the winery a lot cooler than a standard roof would, thus reducing their energy costs that would normally be higher with a constant effort to maintain a controlled temperature inside. Since the tiles are made of earth, their longevity is incredible. They will continue to harden as they get older and Cravea estimates that the roof will not need to be replaced for about another century. A standard shingle roof would last, on average, roughly twenty years, and would cost more to install and allow more heat into the winery.

Sullivan is the first winery to use this new roofing material, but having seen its obvious advantages, both in cost reduction and the lower impact on the environment, it would not be surprising to see more wineries follow suit in years to come.

Back in 1999, Dave Matthews decided that he wanted to take his attitude towards organic foods and bring it into the realm of the grape; he decided to design his own vineyard. However, not being a master vintner himself, he asked for the assistance of Brad McCarthy, who had been working at Acacia, a winery in Canernos, California. Both Brad and Dave had similar outlooks on how they wanted the vineyard to be constructed and, upon combining their ideas, created Blenheim.

Brad believed that the best way to produce a wine is to be as gentle as possible with the fruit by not using hydraulics and motors to move the grapes through the wine production process. What he came up with is an ingenious design that relies on gravity alone to transport everything through the fermentation process to where it is aged in barrels. The winery itself is built into a hill so that this gravity flow system could be made possible. While many winemakers feel that using hydraulics to transport the fruit instead of a gentler gravity system yields little difference in the wine, McCarthy feels that his way enables him to produce a “purer product.”

The real purpose of Blenheim is to produce a wine that exemplifies the characteristics and taste of a true Virginia wine and so all of their grapes are grown in the state. Blenheim has its own four acre vineyard where they grow three different varietals, but they also purchase grapes from other Virginia vineyards as well. Blenheim offers Chardonnays, Merlots, a Meritage, and a couple other varietals that have been recently released. While their operation is small compared to others, their focus has been, and will most likely remain, to produce quality and not quantity. With their unique approach to wine production, Dave Matthews and Brad McCarthy, along with everyone at Blenheim, will surely be turning out sweet music for your palate for some time to come.

As a proud and long-standing environmentalist, I have been thrilled to discover that many wineries are now going “green”. I do not think this is a fad as it can take years for a winery to become certified organic. We, at Mo’s Wine & Spirits in Fairfield, highlight our green selections and actively pursue these wines to add to our vast collection.

“Green” can be used to describe Sustainable, Organic, and Biodynamic farming, and they are all friendly to the environment:

Sustainable Growers still use very limited amounts of certain pesticides. When they cease using them, it still takes 7-10 years to meet all the criteria to become fully organic! It is a great start.

Organic Growers are usually working in conjunction with their home state to provide a better quality habitat for the wildlife that surrounds their land. No pesticides, herbicides or fungicides are allowed on or around the crops. Preservation of the earth is #1.

Biodynamic Growers use a holistic approach that requires a greater commitment than organic farming. Birds of prey, insects, herbs, minerals and lunar phases all play an integral role in biodynamic farming.

We offer the following green selections at Mo’s:
Fetzer, Phelps, Staglin, Parducci, Lolonis, True Earth, Cono Sur, Frey, Bonterra, Cartlidge & Brown (Sauvignon Blanc), Bonterra, Grgich Hills, Shafer.

Wherever you shop, ask about “Green” wines. Customer demand encourages wineries to switch to earth-friendly practices.

Drink “green” and enjoy!!

Mo of Mo’s Wine & Spirits