Category Archives: Uncategorised

Barrel sustainability at Muga. A trip to the cellar and tasting with Jorge Muga

Here's a photo tour of Muga, in Haro, Rioja, where I visited with some friends in October 2017. The winery is seriously impressive. The sheer number of coopers working in the barrel manufacturing area must be tough for anyone to surpass. I've been to wineries in Bordeaux where one or two coopers work there, but…

El Grifo, great photos of a Lanzarote vineyard

"Against the odds" is one of the first few words you see on the El Grifo website. And they are not kidding. It's fair to say their vineyard faces some challenging conditions. A friend of mine visited Lanzarote recently and sent this pictures. Water is a big sustainability challenge for the vineyard, looking at their…

“Biodynamics turned my head upside down” Interview with Stella di Campalto, on making classic Brunello

Here's a podcast interview with Stella Di Campalto, biodynamic winemaker based near Montalcino in Tuscany. In the interview, I ask Stella about the wines she makes, how she makes them and how biodynamic winemaking works in Tuscany. I first came across Stella's wines a couple of years ago during a visit to the hilltop village…

How to make a simple business case for biodynamic farming practices

I spend a lot of time talking to people about sustainability, as that's my job. Aside from this blog I work with my colleagues at Innovation Forum on how bigger companies can approach sustainable business practices and make them part of how they work every day. I was chatting with someone today about how we…

Here's an interesting chart from AAWE, the American Association of Wine Economics, on vineyard land prices in France from a few years back. It perhaps has more to do with economic than environmental sustainability but I still thought it was worth posting. Thanks to Elizabeth Gabay, for posting this on her blog, here. …

Andrea Felluga on the wines of Friuli, changing weather and sustainability

Here's an interview with Andrea Felluga, a leading winemaker in north east Italy for his family business Livio Felluga. We talked about the wines they make at Livio Felluga, the weather, the 2017 harvest, what sustainable wine actually means, climate change and adaptation (old vines adapt much better to volatile weather, he says) and his views…

Saša Radikon on natural wine and sustainability: “Wine should be first good, then natural”

Right at the end of August last year I paid a visit to Saša Radikon to discuss his approach to winemaking and his views on the ever-evolving, clumsy term "sustainability". As with almost all winemakers, he didn't know me from Adam, but was welcoming, charming and honest about what he does, and why he does…

‘Forgotten grapes’ and sustainable winemaking at Gravner in Friuli

Lots has been written about the wines of Gravner, and I won't try to repeat that here. For good short histories of this cult vineyard on the Italian / Slovenian border, where Josko Gravner makes innovative and intriguing wines focused now entirely on local varieties, you can't do much better than taking a look at…

Wine buying and drinking tips for non wine geeks

A friend of mine asked me for some wine buying tips. He is someone who likes wine, but doesn't spend the kind of time on it that I do. So I wrote the below. It's entirely subjective and based on my tastes and experiences. I hope some readers find it useful. All very subjective, but…

Does sustainable wine certification work? One outfit in California seems to show that it can

Here's a new podcast interview, linked here and below, with Beth Vukmanic Lopez, Vineyard Team and SIP Certified, on sustainable wine in California. In particular, we discuss sustainability certification and how it can improve vineyard and winery management and of course, the environment and people management. One of the themes I've been exploring on this…

The sustainable wine blog

Category Archives: Uncategorised

Barrel sustainability at Muga. A trip to the cellar and tasting with Jorge Muga

El Grifo, great photos of a Lanzarote vineyard

“Biodynamics turned my head upside down” Interview with Stella di Campalto, on making classic Brunello

How to make a simple business case for biodynamic farming practices

Vineyard land prices in France, 2015

Andrea Felluga on the wines of Friuli, changing weather and sustainability

Saša Radikon on natural wine and sustainability: “Wine should be first good, then natural”

‘Forgotten grapes’ and sustainable winemaking at Gravner in Friuli

Wine buying and drinking tips for non wine geeks

Does sustainable wine certification work? One outfit in California seems to show that it can

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