What a weekend. Wimbledon Tennis final (go Federer and welcome back Venus); the Tour de France starting for the first time ever in London and of course Live Earth all over the world. As for Greg and I, amidst it all we were rooting for our man Al Gore as he continues to launch his book ‘The Assault on Reason’ and spread the good word about the need to conscientiously and actively protect our environment. How he manages to remain so calm and composed in the face of such stubbornness and obstinacy is beyond me - but I really think that these ideas are beginning to take root, and as Gore says, if the Internet had been as powerful as it is today, 5 years ago, Bush wouldn’t be in power and America would have stayed in Afghanistan and not gone on to invade Iraq. But, as a consolation prize to all we reasonable beings - at least we live in interesting times.

Do you read www.treehugger.com - if not, I seriously recommend visiting it on a weekly basis. It’s packed with well informed and easily digestible factlets, and is a good way to not only keep informed - but to learn how to make a difference.

Read the rest of this entry »

This is such an important idea, that I thought it should be followed up with another post, especially just now seeing the cover of the most recent Wine Spectator.

Renewable energies, recyclable supply chains, organic growing methods, and healthy lifestyles are the wave of the future. We won’t just be driving hydrogen powered cars and have our electricity generated from photovoltaic solar panels and off-shore wind farms. Every aspect of human nature is going to change… our habits, our routines, and even our thought processes… systematic instead of linear. Waste management and recyclables will be integrated into every imaginable human system to promote efficiency and productivity, foods will be organic and healthy lifestyles will be promoted, and most importantly, our planet will be cherished instead of cut down, polluted, and destroyed.

And what’s a better place to help start this movement than wineries? They’re some of the most beautiful and aesthetically pleasing locations in the world (just look at the rise in wine tourism) and they create a product that is doctor recommended as good for your health, with red wine having the magical anti-aging component Resveratrol. Check out an old post about this: The Human Elixir

Aside from just being a Green evangelist, (although this revolution will absolutely make the world a healthier, happier, and wealthier place), green technologies and green marketing is something that wineries should certainly partake in. Not only will investment in green energy sources and eco-friendly farming methods make your winery more profitable and your product that much more natural and tasty, but having the ability to market yourselves as a Green winery will make you more attractive to your consumers.

When Al Gore released his movie “An Inconvenient Truth” last year, the trend tipped, making it more than a movement for treehugging hippies and Greenpeace activists. It’s now a movement that everybody is starting to get behind (other than Exxon and other special interested oil companies) all because of the overwhelmingly positive potential of its impact on our world. We’re hopefully about to enter another Golden Age of human civilization and wineries can help lead the way. It makes sense.

I just watched a clip on YouTube here, and at time-code 2:43 beyond the gruesome attack on the elephant, a line from David Attenborough sent chills down my spine ‘Elephants know these drinking holes are dangerous, but they have no choice. The dramas that play out here are a savage reminder of how important water is.’ Having just read Collapse by Jared Diamond for a second time, I have the environment at the front of my mind. His chapter on Rwanda made me think about the impact of shortages on human society, and watching that You Tube clip in particular evoked all the images of the grim situation in and around the western border of Sudan.

As Friedman points out quite regularly, we are inescapably connected to the rest of the world, no matter what we may think. As soon as a company starts a website or begins exporting, they’ve gone global. One thing that Friedmans’ ‘electronic herd’ is beginning to flock to is sustainable resources in every shape and form. The wine industry has been a little slow on this, and I must commend pioneers like Fetzer, who have announced the first solar-powered vineyard. My first prize however goes to my own countrymen, who have long championed bio-diversity on a grand scale with an ever increasing membership through their Biodiversity and Wine Initiative.

As eco-consciousness and eco-tourism begin to flourish, it would be a welcome change to see the market reward the producers who have gone done so much to adapt their farming methods to modern standards so as to promote the future of our planet. It’s just a pity that most of them haven’t found a better way to communicate their message to the public, and to create awareness. The time will come when eco-wines wont just be a novelty, and such practices compulsory. However its up to us as the consumers to lead the charge.

–note– This was written in August, and I wanted to share it here before I lost it…

Being summer time, very few people are going to be sampling red wine and most business is done with whites. My question to you, reader, is how do you keep 5 bottles of white wine cold for an entire day when you’re constantly in 98 degree heat without air-conditioning? Read the rest of this entry »