As you may well have deduced from the plethora of online content that we lovingly produce each week, we can be a little bit earthly at Wine Rascal HQ from time to time (And that’s not earthy by the way –but maybe a bit of that too).
One of the reasons that we like to make a fuss about our lower-intervention vineyards – the biodynamics, the naturals, the organics and what have you – is because we like to see our environment being looked after wherever possible.
We know we’re not the only ones either; climate change and our collective contribution towards it has become more and more prevalent within national news, as well as the news in our particular industry.
Recent harvest report
It’s no surprise that the wine industry is looking at its carbon footprint more: Our recent harvest reports really brought to light how vulnerable our trade is to the changes in weather.
In a roundabout and very ironic way, we’re playing a big part in these changes too. With our heavy, spacious glass bottle packaging/transit and again spacious land requirement for grape-growing, the world of wine could be doing a lot more to reduce its footprint, and has been comparatively slow to modernise.
We feel that climate change has contributed hugely to the boom in demand for vegan, organic, natural and biodynamic products. But we want to tell you and your consumers that a wine doesn’t have to be these things in order for them to be sustainable. In fact, some times they aren’t!
Take the organic certification for an example. Above all, what organic certifications are concerned with the most is the level of chemicals, particularly sulphur, used in the production of wine.
While reducing chemicals can have a positive effect on the wellbeing of a surrounding ecosystem (and while many organic producers do of course make additional changes in the interest of sustainability), it doesn’t do anything to reduce emission levels. Alternatively, there is natural and biodynamic wine, which are often very sustainable in that they often use their vineyard as a means of permaculture, meaning they don’t just reduce their impact on the land but make efforts to restore any previous damage to it. Our biodynamic vineyards are an example of this.
Wine Rascals ‘Sustainable’ Rascalism badge
However, biodynamic and natural wines are costly and not widely available, whereas sustainably made wines are a different story.
In our Wine Rascal brochure, we have always made sure to award our sustainably-minded producers their own badge for their efforts in reducing water and energy wastage, for example. This is because we see sustainability as equally, if not more important, as well as sought after in today’s market.
So, over the next few months, we will be giving a spotlight to our sustainable producers, as well as our sustainably-sourcing partners, asking them why this is important to them, and how they go about making the change in their everyday process. If you’d like to get involved, then please give us a shout; we’d love to hear from you.
We want to acknowledge that our beloved industry is sadly a somewhat decadent one, and more must be done to reduce its impact on the environment. By celebrating partners on both ends of our supply chain that who making the change, and promoting the availability of a sustainable alternative, we hope to make wine more relevant to an increasingly climate-conscious generation of consumers.
So keep your eyes peeled!