Going Green: Eco-Wine

When imbibing can make you go green for all the right reasons

By Kevin Raub
Published: Apr 17, 2008

There is always an undertow grumbling among oenophiles whenever the subject of organic wine comes up. I’m not sure why. In fact, I’m not sure why anyone grumbles at all whenever the subject of anything organic comes up. For me, it’s a no-brainer: Why do I need chemicals and other non-natural substances clouding up the otherwise perfectly lovely substance I’m about to ingest? And that extends to wine, my friends.

Don’t get me wrong: I don’t seek out organic wine to make some sort of green point at my local wine shop—I would be missing out on many of the world’s finest wines if that were the case—but I don’t turn my nose up at it, either. And neither should you. In fact, as more and more wineries in the U.S. (notably California) adopt sustainable and organic practices, organic wine will be much harder to avoid. Not only that, it has started to spawn a somewhat new way to go wine tasting as well: Sustainable wine tasting tours are picking up wildly in popularity and rightfully so. Since none of us are planning on drinking responsibly any time soon—what’s the fun in that?—why not at least taste responsibly?

If you’re heading to Northern California, there are a wealth of interesting wineries in Sonoma, Napa, and Monterey counties that have begun to offer a little more than a 2oz. pour of Cabernet Sauvignon, all in the name of sustainable tourism and eco-friendly consumption.
*At Kunde Estate Winery & Vineyards, guests can embark on a moderate four-hour hike that heads through the Sonoma Valley floor up 1,400 feet into the Mayacamas Mountain range, led by 4th generation winegrower, Jeff Kunde. Along the way, Kunda educates the group on sustainable winegrowing. The day includes a wine tasting and wine country box lunch at the summit of the trail ($75; 707-5501 Ext. 331).

*Tablas Creek Vineyard, an excellent winery in Paso Robles, offers one of the region's most interesting tours, which showcases their organic estate vineyard, on-site vinifera nurseries, rootstock fields, and grafting and growing facilities. They farm organically and received an organic certification way back in 2003. The winery’s model is based on that of Château de Beaucastel, an organically farmed Rhone Valley vineyard since the 1960s. The tour is free, but add $10 is you want to tack on a tasting at the end, which, of course, you do. (805-237-1231).

*Sonoma Co.’s Benziger Family Winery offers a biodynamic vineyard tram tour daily, where they showcase the winery’s organic and biodynamic vineyard farming practices. They fire up their Massey 375 tractor and pull a tram of visitors through their Sonoma estate vineyards, gardens and wildlife sanctuaries for a 45-minute adventure in sustainable winegrowing. The ride includes a tour of the wines in the company’s Glen Ellen tasting room ($10; 888-490-2739).

Saratoga’s Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains offers wine enthusiasts a chance to see sustainable wine-growing practices at work. Over the course of a moderate, two-hour hike through the estate’s distinct eco-systems, guests can learn how each one uniquely distinct system helps preserve the overall balance of the area at large. (ecotours@cgv.com).

*Finally, at Tres Sabores in Napa Valley, you can work off the alcohol on vintner-led walking and biking tours through the winery’s organically certified vineyards (chemical-free since 1990). In addition to nice wine, they throw in some tips on gardening with sheep, goats, and guinea hens (707-967-8027).

Cap off your eco-tour of wine country with an organic meal at Earthbound Farm’s Organic Kitchen in Carmel or The General’s Daughter in Sonoma. The latter procures most of its produce from Benziger Winery's biodynamic gardens. You’ll feel better about yourself, trust me. And any wine snob that tells you different can stick it where the green don’t shine!

Kevin Raub is a freelance travel and entertainment writer who contributes regularly to Travel+Leisure, Town & Country, American Way, and Organic Spa, among others. He has been slowly and methodically going green since a wise old acquaintance once pointed out that coffee filters were white because they were bleached, adding, “Do you like bleach in your coffee?”

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