March 15, 2024 | St Patrick's Day, spring time & green wine

With St. Patrick's Day on Sunday and the official start of spring(!!!!!!) coming on Tuesday, you know exactly what we're opening today: 

green wine
(no, not the color green, silly.)

wine made with environmental health a top priority
wine farmed organically and/or biodynamically
wine manipulated minimally


What does that mean, exactly?
Well, it can be complicated. But here are the most basic basics:

Organic is a term defined legally by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and equivalent governing bodies around the world. Though exact laws vary slightly from country to country, it generally means the grapes used to make the wine were grown without synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides or herbicides, and in the cellar, they were vinified without any of the added chemicals—like acid reducers, clarifying agents, colorants, flavor enhancers, etc—allowed in conventional winemaking. 

Biodynamic wine is based on the principles of Rudolf Steiner, an Austrian scientist and social reformer who thought of agriculture as a holistic, regenerative process aligned with the rhythms of nature. Biodynamic winegrowing takes into account the cycle of the sun and the lunar calendar, and pruning and harvesting are done in conjunction with nature. Like organic winegrowers, vignerons who work biodynamically eschew chemical fertilizers, but also use special compost preparations made with on-site plants and manure, cultivate grasses, clover and other greenery between their vines to nourish the soil and attract all sorts of beneficial bugs and wildlife, and more to fulfill what they feel is an ecological responsibility to value biodiversity.


Click the links below to read more about the bottles we'll be pouring, then come by today (Friday 3.15!), from 4-7 for a taste!

 


Hermann J. Wiemer 'Flower Day' Riesling Seneca Lake 2022

Domaine Balansa 'La Vinhota' Vin de France 2022

Cosse et Maisonneuve 'Solis' Cahors AOC 2021

Artisan Wine Shop