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WHAT IS SUSTAINABLE WINEMAKING? |
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Sustainable wine, similar to natural wine regulations, does not have a legal global standard. Most countries have third-party organizations that offer voluntary sustainable certification. The programs also differ in their qualifications as they are geared towards the communities they support. How does sustainable wine differ from organic, biodynamic and natural wine? All four make the health of the environment an integral aspect of making wine. However, sustainable wine also includes social responsibility and economic viability.
To exist comfortably on this earth, we need to have a healthy ecosystem that provides us with food that maintains our body’s health, we need to have good relations with the people we interact with on a day to day basis and we need an economy that is economically sound.
Sustainability is about meeting the current generation’s needs in these arenas without compromising those of future generations.
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What does social responsibility and economic
viability look like in terms of making wine? Let’s take a look at our local certification program, Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario (SWO) Certified, to find the answer.
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The Three Pillars of Sustainability: Environment, Economy, and
Community
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The three pillars of sustainability - Environment, Economy and Community - are the basis of the SWO program. The pillar of Environment is where you find similarities with organic, biodynamic and natural wines but it also includes practices you will not find in the other three. With respect to the environment, SWO certified wineries and vineyards are ‘invested in land conservation and restoring natural habitats to ensure a healthy ecosystem.’ The SWO website lays out what certified looks like in the vineyard which has practices in common with organic, biodynamic and natural wines:
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Areas of concern included under the pillar of Environment that are not main concerns in organic, biodynamic and natural wines:
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Economic Viability: Supporting Local Economies |
The SWO pillar of Economy revolves around the requirement that all wines must be VQA wines. A VQA wine by definition is made with grapes only grown in Ontario. Sourcing grapes from Ontario ‘helps to preserve local economies through local farming and also creates local jobs.’ The certified wine estates are also encouraged to source local materials and services. The goal is to be an integral part of the local economy thus contributing to its health and preservation.
Also of concern is economic viability - Stephen Gash, the former General Manager of Malivoire Vineyards when the article was published, commented in a 2022 Winter article in Poured Canada called Whole Package Sustainability, ‘We could farm in the vineyard to the extent where we tick every environmental box on the chart, but if it’s not financially viable for the business, then the business doesn’t exist.’
The SWO website tells us certified vineyards and wineries, in terms of Community, means they:
Are good neighbours
Promote diversity and social equity in the workplace
Are expected to cultivate positive relationships within their community
Are expected to be leaders in social responsibility
Show a commitment to producing authentic regional wines, which in turn preserves local food cultures
I asked Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario to provide me with examples of cultivating positive relationships with their communities and being leaders in social responsibility. They responded by providing me with some examples of questions in their survey/audit:
Where appropriate, do you provide information in advance to neighbours about upcoming changes in the winery or vineyard?
Do you advise neighbours of the extent of potential noise issues, such as night-time processing?
Have you worked to minimize light pollution from the outside lighting?
Do you have a nominated person for managing the complaints process?
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Malivoire Wine, Niagara Benchlands, Ontario |
Malivoire Wine Company, which has participated in the SWO program since it was founded in 2007, provides good examples of what sustainability looks like in reality. Shiraz Mottiar, the current General Manager and former winemaker, was on the certification program’s organizing committee and is currently a committee member of Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario. Gash stated in the Winter 2022 Poured Red article that sustainability gives each of the three pillars equal weight. He said that sustainability informed their choices from the beginning including:
Varietal choices and their location in the vineyard
How they farm
How they built their buildings
Where they built their buildings
Staffing policies
With respect to staffing policies Gash informs that Malivoire looks at their staff’s work/life balance and encourages them to contribute to the local community by taking part in local fundraising and events. The winery also aims to ‘offer great value to the consumer and pay our staff a healthy wage that works for them and the business….all of those pieces have to fit together’
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Reducing Chemical Use: Integrated Pest and Weed Management |
I also asked SWO to comment on the use of pesticides, fungicides, herbicides and fertilizers with respect to their certification program.
They told me ‘The SWO program assesses a vineyard operation’s use of the Integrated Pest Management program, integrated weed management and vineyard cultural practices which help reduce the use of chemical pesticides, fungicides and herbicides. The program also encourages growers to carefully consider their selection and application method of synthetic and chemical products, taking into consideration the toxicity of the products chosen, product type rotation, application timing and methodology. By assessing these practices, the SWO program reduces the impacts and effects of chemical application to the environment and the surrounding community.’
The possibility exists that the difference between sustainable wine and organic wine might decrease in the future.
During Canada’s most recent revision of the Canadian Organic Standards (COR) in 2020, a desire to include relations amongst people in organic regulations was discussed. COR is based on four principles (these four principles are outlined in our ‘Organic Wine’ post) one of which is the Principle of Fairness:
‘Organic agriculture should build on relationships that ensure fairness with regard to the common environment and life opportunities’.
CAN/CGSB-32.310-2020 Corrigendum No. 1, March 1, 2021 – the publication which outlines COR – states under Annex C ‘there has been considerable interest to enhance the requirements of fairness. This will be discussed again in 2025.’ It goes on to tell us that ‘Fairness is characterized by equity, respect, justice and stewardship of the shared world, both among people and in their relations to other living beings….
This principle emphasizes that those involved in Organic Agriculture should conduct human relationships in a manner that ensures fairness at all levels and to all parties – farmers, workers, processors, distributors, traders and consumers. Organic Agriculture should provide everyone involved with a good quality of life, and contribute to food sovereignty and reduction of poverty.’
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The Intersection of Sustainability and Organic Standard
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Sustainable wine is a lot different than organic, biodynamic and natural wine due to the inclusion of social and economic considerations. As seen in the Canadian 2020/21 revisions of COR, social considerations might begin to be included in organic wine production. As we progress, we can hope that maintaining a healthy environment and ecosystem will become less economically taxing to the point where there is no difference, environmentally speaking, with respect to sustainable and organic wine.
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Shop online for Sustainably made wines or come by our shop; we'd love to help you! |
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This article contains references and quotations from the following publications:
Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario, ‘Pillars of Sustainability’, accessed September 14, 202
Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario, ‘In the Vineyard SWO Certified Means:’, accessed September 14, 2024
Sustainable Winegrowing Ontario, ‘In the Winery SWO Certified Means:’, accessed September 14, 2024
McKinney, H. (2024) E-mail to Carol Racicot, October 11
Rebecca Henderson, Winter 2022, ‘Whole Package Sustainability’, Poured Canada, accessed September 15, 2024,
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency, (2021), ‘Organic Production Systems: General Principles and Management Standards’ CAN/CGSB-32.320-2020 Corrigendum No. 1 March 1, 2021, accessed August 9, 2024
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