Can/Should Any Texas Winemaker or Winegrower be Considered for this Award?
The Botanical Research Institute of Texas is accepting nominations for its 2012 International Award of Excellence in Sustainable Winegrowing. The completed submission (application and wine sample) is due on or before March 31, 2012.
The award will be presented at BRIT’s annual fundraiser, Fête du Vin Wine Dinner and Auction on Saturday, October 6, 2012, in Fort Worth. Guests at the black-tie affair will raise a glass of the winemaker’s sustainably grown wine in a special salute, while enjoying a festive evening featuring haute cuisine and spectacular silent and live auctions. Proceeds from the fundraiser will benefit BRIT and advance its mission to conserve our natural heritage and achieve public understanding of the value that plants bring to our lives.
Nominees are required to provide an assessment of their organization’s accomplishments in sustainable winegrowing, winemaking, and social responsibility practices. They must describe their organization’s conservation efforts in the vineyard and in operations: how waste is avoided, how it is reclaimed, and how the winery extends conservation efforts to its customers. They must also detail the practices they have established to maintain environmentally sound, socially responsible, and economically feasible winemaking principles. A bottle of wine must be provided for a tasting by the judging committee. Because BRIT does not have an alcohol importing license, BRIT requires that all international submissions be made through the winery’s US importer/distributor.
Among the 18 criteria to be judged are seed selection, agricultural and winemaking protocols for saving water, soil conservation, saving energy, packaging protocols for waste reduction, programs for reducing carbon (CO2 e) emissions, social responsibility programs, and plans for continual improvement.
Read more:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2011/11/22/prweb8979696.DTL#ixzz1eeFxfyW5
Red Cabose Wienry comes immediately to mind with their organic farming practices, geothermal cool, and the world’s first geothermal refrigeration system. Perdenales Winery also has underground wine storage and geothermal cooling facilities. Others are getting more sustaniable as their wineries grow. I just thought it funny why you would not think a Texas Winery would not fit in this classificaiton.
I don’t have a problem with it…I’m just asking the question. I guess you need to nominate Red Caboose.
Any other Texas vineyards/wineries to consider?
Russ