Red, White, or Green Wine?

I recently had the opportunity to chat with Master Sommelier Emily Wines at the opening party for the new restaurant Nios at The Muse Hotel in New York City. Wines is master sommelier for all Kimpton hotels and restaurants, and now Kimpton's wines are going green.

How green? Up to 30 percent of all wines at restaurants owned by the hotel chain will be eco-friendly selections by 2010, including organic, biodynamic and sustainable wines from small and large producers. This got us talking about eco-friendly wine, what that means, and if it's any good.Tonic: So, tell us about this eco-plan.

Wines: At Kimpton, we have a program called Earthcare, and we have several other practices around that — but on the wine side, we're mandating that a minimum of 30 percent of the wine lists in the country be organic, biodynamic, or sustainable.

Tonic: Do you have any trouble finding eco-friendly wines?

Wines: No, I really don't. I find that people have been making wine in green ways since before it was popular. In the early '90s it really started to take off — people realized that you make better wines by farming organically. The plants are stronger, they have natural immunity as opposed to being, you know, sprayed with pesticides and chemicals. It's a much more responsible way of farming. Green winemaking practices and growing practices have been around a long time. Particularly in California, almost everywhere you go, everyone's already been doing it a long time. They don't advertise it, because it's not a marketing thing for them, it's just what they believe in.

Tonic: Where else are they doing it, is it mostly California or is it all over the world?

Wines: It's all over the world. I find it really heavily in California, and all over France as well. But ... in California it's just really taken off. It's everywhere in California.

Tonic: That's great — any particular houses you especially recommend for eco-friendly wine?

Wines: Yes! There's actually one that I really adore called Sokol Blosser — they're actually in Oregon. She [Susan Sokol Blosser] is crazy organic. She's really sustainable, and beyond that, she's really into different green practices, like salmon safety. She makes sure that whatever's happening in her vineyards doesn't affect the salmon streams that run through them. It's amazing. And instead of having an air-conditioned cellar room, it's underground. She built this whole hill on top of her winery to keep it cool. So, really interesting, really clever, really creative. Also, Shafer up in Napa Valley is really great. They've found interesting, creative ways of being great stewards to the land.

Tonic: So those are special things, the salmon and the hill. What are the basic things that wineries are doing to be eco-friendly?

Wines: Basically, being good stewards to the land and not depleting the land for short term gain. Not using chemical fertilizers — doing things like planting veg and beans in between their rows so they end up with nitrogen rich soil instead of fertilizing the soil. Another thing would be creative uses of water; all of the water you have to use in a winery to keep it clean, they're constantly hosing down wineries, so using that water by draining it into tanks and then using it to irrigate. And also they're taking care of their vineyard workers; paying them a fair wage, and caring about their sustainability beyond just being there during the harvest.

Tonic: And for the record, does the wine taste any different?

Wines (smiles): Yes, I find that they're better wines. I think that extra level of care really translates into the product.

So there you have it, folks. If a master sommelier says that Earth conscious winemaking produces better wine, why the heck are we drinking anything else?

For tips on buying eco-friendly wines, check out this article by winemaker Joe Bastianich. Oh, and go to Nios; it's awesome.