Eco Alley
Living Green with Connie Pumphrey
Cheers!
Anyone who knows me well knows I enjoy good wine and I believe that life is too short to drink the cheap stuff - cheap being just below whatever I can afford. I admit that, until recently, I haven’t raised a fuss about organic wines (or organic alcohol in general) because not many are offered in restaurants. It is time to start asking why they aren’t offered on most menus.
Organic wine grapes are grown without the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides and herbicides. Flavors are not manipulated with additives nor is excessive filtration or reverse osmosis involved (I am not sure what reverse osmosis is but I respect it). The United States is the fourth largest producer of wine grapes in the world with more than 1,100,000 acres “under vine” so we need to let American producers know that we want, and will buy, organic brands.
We also know that any time a chemical is used to produce a crop, it pollutes our water, air, and soil. Birds and fish die from the chemicals…researchers estimate that at least 67 million birds die each year from pesticides sprayed on US fields and fish killed is conservatively estimated at 6 to 14 million; yet we still eat and drink products that have been made toxic by chemicals.
Chemical-free organic drinks of any kind taste better so there is more benefit to it than just doing the right thing. Also, if we purchase from locally based vintners and brewers, we support small, family-owned businesses and support the local economy by keeping profits circulating in our area (this applies to almost every product we consume).
As always, less (chemicals) means more (flavor) so challenge yourselves in 2011 to ask for organic beverages. Cheers and Happy New Year!
Comments (1)
Posted by .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) on 01/06/11 at 08:33 PM
Masthead Photo by