LCBO Food & Drink Spring 2018

WINE EARTH-FRIENDLY WINERIES

CALIFORNIA bonterra

around the world

Organic viticulture and organic winemaking is a growing phenomenon all over the world, focusing on the environment, health and high-quality wines that fully express their terroir. Here are just three of the most popular organic wines the LCBO carries.

I often find a tantalizing liveliness in organic wines and it’s certainly here in this Chardonnay. Simulta- neously creamy and tangy, it’s full of pear and red apple aromas with some subtle vanilla notes from time spent in a mixture of French and American oak barrels.    Bonterra’s vineyards in Califor- nia’s Mendocino County have been farmed organically since 1987. They also own three ranches that are fully biodynamic, certified every year by Demeter, the world-wide biodynam- ic authority. “Soil is everything” is virtually the company’s motto and health is encouraged with cover crops between the rows of vines and by welcoming chickens and sheep there to aerate and fertilize the soil. BONTERRA CHARDONNAY VINTAGES ESSENTIALS 342436, $19.95

CHILE

cono sur It’s unoaked, but this rich, ripe Chardonnay o ers plenty of bang for the buck, full of flavours of pineapple, lemon and melon with excellent length. A late-blooming tang of acidity keeps everything fresh.     When I visited Cono Sur’s winery in Chile a few years ago, we took the tour of the vineyards on bicycles, the same ones the vineyard work- ers use. It was symbolic of the company’s attitude to the environment and its commitment to sustainable agriculture. Cono Sur was the first winery in the world to achieve carbon neutral delivery status, cancel- ling out the CO2 produced in transporting its wines from the bottom of the planet by investing in global o set projects. CONO SUR ORGANIC CHARDONNAY LCBO 230565, $13.95

FRANCE

CHATEAU FONGABAN CASTILLON AOC BORDEAUX ORGANIC LCBO 479832, $16.95 château Fongaban

From a well-established property in Bordeaux’s Castillon Côtes de Bor- deaux appellation, this is a ripe and hearty blend of 82 percent Merlot and 12 percent Cabernet Franc. Medium-bodied and very approachable, it presents aromas of black cherry, blackberry and blackcurrant with a swirl of smoky, woodsy notes in the background. Great with roast beef!     Anxiety about mildew and rot in Bordeaux’s damp Atlantic climate used to discourage farmers from moving towards organic viticulture. Now the success recorded in hundreds of properties has switched the dynamic. Some experts predict that everyone in the region will be organic in 25 years and the reason is the quality of the fruit grown as much as concern about the risks of using pesticides both to the land and to those who work it.

FOOD & DRI NK SPRING