Do we really need wine? Yes we do!
The Wine (31st) Edition of the Negative Foods Newsletter
When I wrote the beer edition, the thought crossed my mind. Do we need beer?
What about wine? Should we get rid of nice-to-have products like wine? Are we serious about changing our behaviors to reverse climate change?
I sat down with a glass of cabernet to consider this carefully. I decided against being against wine.
We were told that wine would make us healthier and that’s not true (unfortunately). But it is true that wine has been intrinsic to many cultures for thousands of years, and that counts for something. Wine (in moderation) is not terrible for us, is a time-tested social lubricant, and seems to make people happy. Therefore, you can have a slice of cake, I’ll enjoy a glass of wine, and I think we’ll both be OK.
Wine grown right can draw down atmospheric carbon and build healthy soils. In fact, winemakers were talking about soil long before locavore was the word of the year. Wine was the first context in which most of us heard the words terroir and provenance. Patagonia, the pioneer of regenerative organic cotton, and a relative newcomer to the wine business, states it well:
It starts with the idea of connection to place. Nothing captures the natural setting of a given location—the soil, weather, flora and fauna—like hand-crafted, thoughtfully produced wine...
The French call it terroir, but we just think of it as the taste, aroma, and beyond that, the spirit of some of the best places on earth.
In Europe, where our modern wine culture originated, the best vineyards stayed in the same families for generations, and the owners/growers considered themselves stewards of the land in the way we associate with indigenous peoples (like the 7th generation principle). And since the wine industry is extremely vulnerable to climate change, I expect the wine industry - even though it is steeped in tradition - to quickly adopt techniques to mitigate and reverse climate change.
In a 2017 New York Times article, I learned of how Mimi Casteel produces wine with regenerative wine practices. Casteel, a winemaker at Hope Well Vineyard in Oregon, with a graduate degree in forestry and biology, points out that growing wine grapes organically can still release a lot of carbon. And that growing wine with regenerative practices draws carbon from the atmosphere. But that’s not all. Casteel recently told me that regenerative practices improve quality as well:
The qualitative measures that I use to evaluate the flavor of all the food I grow, and especially the grapes that I grow, all of those metrics are improved by regenerative practices. Redox potential, phenolic density, healthy fermentations, and more subjective measures like layers of flavor and effusiveness of aromatics, those are all things in which I have observed strong positive trends.
Two years after the Times article that introduced me to Casteel, the Times recently covered regenerative agriculture in wine again, but this time the story was how regenerative practices were “the next big thing” in Sonoma County wine making.
I love the momentum.
And I’m pleased to see Rodale’s Regenerative Organic Certification (ROC) moving into wine.
Tablas Creek Vineyard participated in the ROC wine pilot program. Jason Haas, Partner and General Manager at Tablas Creek, which went organic in 2003, and has been certified biodynamic since 2016, told me earlier this week that:
"The first wines produced under the Regenerative Organic Certified protocols will be our estate wines from the 2021 vintage. The first of these to be released will go into bottle in February and be labeled with the ROC logo. Going forward, all the estate wines will be ROC certified and carry the seal. We were issued the first winery ROC certificate in August of 2020, which meant that 2021 was the first vintage to be made under that certificate.”
How low can wine go? Winemaker Diana Seysses explains that capturing CO2 during fermentation, combined with using electric tractors and eliminating new glass (for bottles), “offers the potential for negative emissions.”
Since wine grown regeneratively can draw down more carbon than it releases, by now you understand that it is your patriotic duty to consume such wines! But not without considering your role in the transition to a regenerative agricultural economy.
Mimi Casteel helped me understand that wine can be an inspirational product to teach people of their impact on the environment. Wine is universal, so it can be a gateway experience for many consumers to understand how regenerative practices can be applied to the products they eat and drink, and how their consumer choices impact our trajectory toward avoiding the worst case climate scenarios.
You can be part of the change you want to see in the world. So yes, you should keep drinking wine. But please do it thoughtfully, by supporting the winemakers engaged in regenerative practices, such as Hope Well, Tablas Creek and Snowden, and by telling the world how some wines are helping to reverse climate change.
Product Review: Patagonia Provisions Wild Sockeye Salmon (Lemon Pepper)
I can’t overstate my family’s love for this salmon. One of my kids nearly raged at me when I told her we wouldn’t eat this for two meals in a row. This salmon is extraordinarily delicious, and it tastes even better when you learn the provenance of the fish.
For lunch, I like to put this salmon on the top of a chopped salad, alongside roasted vegetables - I keep batches in the fridge to serve cold on salads - and diced apples and a simple oil & vinegar dressing.
Sourcing fish to feed your family is tough these days, as the fish supply chain is filled with fraud and polluting practices. That’s one of the reasons it is so delightful to enjoy this delicious source of protein from Patagonia, a company that I trust to treat the environment, the fisherman and the fish well.
“If we want to save salmon, we have to change the salmon industry,” says Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard. “And that means harvesting from specific places or with techniques that allow us to reduce bycatch of endangered salmon stocks.” While most industrial salmon harvest happens indiscriminately on the open ocean, where many different stocks mix and the origin of the fish can’t be determined, place-based fisheries are located in or near rivers of origin. Our wild sockeye comes from the Situk River in Yakutat, Alaska. Through a combination of timing (knowing when to expect specific runs of salmon) and technique (short-soak set nets), our partners can zero in on the sockeye that can sustain harvest, while minimizing or eliminating harm to overfished species like Chinook and coho.
For Your Consideration:
Why the Wine World May Depend on Regenerative Agriculture — Starting Now
The Potential and Practicality of Regenerative Winegrowing in New York Vineyards
When It Comes to Sustainable Packaging, These 5 Wines Are Winning
LAND TO MARKET PARTNERS WITH MARIAH VINEYARDS IN EXPANSION INTO REGENERATIVE WINE INDUSTRY
Outdoor Retailer Patagonia Is Now Selling Natural Wine
Bunge’s Climate Goals Reward Farmers With Premium Prices
McDonald’s joins PepsiCo as founding partner of AgMission carbon initiative, commits $5m
Could Climate Change Make Food Less Nutritious?
AgTech…So What? Podcast: Later-Stage Agtech Startup Lessons #2 - BrightFarms
No-Tiller Gabe Brown Receives Prestigious $250K Heinz Award
The Unilever regenerative agriculture principles with Implementation Guides 2021
GLASGOW LEADERS’ DECLARATION ON FORESTS AND LAND USE
Livestock conversation missing from climate talks
COP26: How did Regenerative Agriculture Fare?
Seaweed as ‘superfood’? Here’s what the research says
A Sprinkle of Seaweed Could Deflate Gassy Cows
The views in this newsletter belong solely to Paul Lightfoot (and not to BrightFarms or other organizations). This newsletter accepts no advertising. Learn more about this newsletter at https://paullightfoot.substack.com/about.