This years Vancouver Playhouse Wine Festival played host to a panel discussion on the state of sustainability in the wine industry. The panel represented many facets of the wine industry who discussed a range of issues surrounding 'green wine' and how it is being marketed. The wide range of topics raised during the symposium is testament to the fact that sustainable agriculture is a complex issue. It seams average wine drinkers are having a tough time making informed decisions at wine stores and restaurants. For example, many of the 150 attendees from the public and trade seemed unclear about the organic certification process in British Columbia. Mischa Popoff, previously employed as a inspector, recalled numerous accounts of fraud from certified organic farms and criticized the system as its difficult to hold such farms accountable. Mischa pointed out that for the most part the certification process is self certifying with farms subject to rare surprise inspections (for which they get 48 hours notice). Considering common dishonesty and varying certification standards around the world, its not surprising that consumers don't trust wines labeled as organic. No longer a inspector Mischa continues working with the certification body to try and improve the process to help promote honest organic farmers.

Anthony Nicalo's solution was a call for transparency in labeling. He argued that unlike almost all other food products, industrial wineries are not required to list all of the ingredients on the label. If the consumer could see a list of typical ingredients like artificial yeast, enzymes, extracts and synthetic chemicals on the label they would be able to make an informed decision about that particular wine. It's my belief that the market would choose to support natural wines which would place significant pressure on the industrial wineries. Here an example from Randall Graham of Bonny Doon Wines of how honest labeling might look.

Transparent labeling might still be a way off, so in the meantime I encourage you to simply ask questions about how the wine has been farmed. Restaurants who care about the provenance of their ingredients and wine stores who stock the highest quality wines will have a good understanding about the farming practices of the wines they promote. Asking your sommelier about the provenance of the wines will give them the confidence to add sustainable wines to their stores and wine lists. The very best part in my opinion is that you will also be more likely to get a wine with real character, that expresses a time and a place and is made for enjoying around the table.

It's my understanding that the green wine symposium is scheduled to become a permanent fixture at the annual event and I fully support the Playhouse Wine Festival for initiating such discussions. I hope to see some real outcomes from this event implemented in the years to come.