A Wine with a Conscience

I am not a sommelier by any means, but I do like a good bottle of wine.  My favorite wine is not only a great tasting wine, but a wine with a conscience.  A wine that says, I want you to drink me, feel good about what you are drinking, and when you recycle my bottle, I want you to know that the environment was hurt less producing me.

That wine is from Bonterra Vineyards.  I specifically like the Bonterra Cabernet Sauvignon.  It has a deep rich taste, smooth finish and it isn’t too sweet.  If I had to describe the taste, I would say, cherry, vanilla, with a hint of pepper.  It goes well with cheese and beef (this is my opinion) but the Bonterra website mentions that it goes well with chocolate, pesto, black olives and mint (and, now I will have to try it with all of those as well).

Bonterra Wines are made with organic grapes and the vineyards use sustainable farming practices (to check out their farming practices, visit their website).

 There are several reasons to drink organic wine—here are a few:

#1.  Organic wines are produced with organic grapes.  Traditional wines are grown with grapes that are usually heavily sprayed with pesticides.  Organic wineries do not add flavors such as oak chips to their wines, and use very basic wine making techniques that involves yeast for fermentation

#2.  Organic wines are not sprayed with chemicals and pesticides and tend to have greater health benefits, and brighter flavors. When you buy organic wine you are helping change the way you live in the future. Organic wine is more then a bolder flavor “Organic wine is produced by farmers who emphasize the use of renewable resources and the conservation of soil and water to enhance environmental quality for future generations”, says the USDA.

#3.  Organic wines contain less sulfites then traditional wines.  Sulfites are a salts or sulfurous acids that occur naturally in many wines. It is vary rare to find a wine that does not have sulfites. Added sulfites are generally used for preservation of wines. 100% Organic wines are made with no added sulfites. The less sulfites a wine contains, the healthier it will be for your body.

Need more reasons to love this wine?  I have them.  You can find it at , Trader Joes, and other local wine retailers like, .  You can also find it by the glass and by the bottle at on Mack Ave.  The retail cost ranges from 12.99-17.99.

Enjoy!