Get Drunk for the Environment! And for Country!

Ah, Friday night! My favourite time of the week because it's the most distant I can be from having to work next.

Usually, I like to celebrate that weekly event with a bottle of Taylor-Fladgate port (well...not the whole bottle...). But from time to time I'll wander from habit and look for other options. If it's a "green" option, all the better!

So you can imagine that the name "plantatree" on a bottle caught my eye!



You can click the image above for their website, but here's the claim:

For each bottle purchased, Lifford Wine Agency, in partnership with Tree Canada, will plant one tree. The trees, to be planted in Sudbury beginning in spring ’08, will each absorb approximately 650 pounds of carbon over the course of their life span.

“We are proud to be able to offer consumers a carbon-positive choice with plantatree™,” said Steven Campbell, Owner, Lifford Wine Agency. “We know that consumers want choice. We are providing them with an environmentally-responsible choice in the wine they drink. Consumers who purchase plantatree can enjoy a glass of wine and at the same time do something positive for the planet.”

Lifford has gone to great length to provide consumers with a high quality product that is good for the environment and supports local industry. The grapes for plantatree were farmed using sustainable agriculture practices in California. To lessen the carbon imprint, the wines are transported in bulk to Niagara and bottled by Niagara Vintners in PET plastic bottles made in Mississauga. The plastic PET bottles are unbreakable, significantly lighter than glass and recyclable. The cartons are made in Ontario of recycled cardboard that can be recycled again.

Mrs THIT is not wild about the plastic bottle, arguing that glass is no less recyclable. True enough, but I like it for a different reason. I take the bus home. When I have to take one of these with me, I'm always paranoid that I'm going to break it on the way. And it is indeed significantly lighter. So it works for me on that level.

When I'm a bit better informed about recycling codes, I intend to write a post about it here. For now, suffice to say that the bottle shows the following logo...


...And according to Wikipedia...

While all thermoplastics are technically recyclable, PET bottle recycling is more practical than many other plastic applications. The primary reason is that plastic carbonated soft drink bottles and water bottles are almost exclusively PET which makes them more easily identifiable in a recycle stream. PET has a resin identification code of 1. PET, as with many plastics, is also an excellent candidate for thermal recycling (incineration) as it is composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen with only trace amounts of catalyst elements (no sulphur) and has the energy content of soft coal.

I've had a couple of bottles of it (the Merlot) now and I like it. Is it high quality? Does it need to breathe? Would it go well with peice of soft cheese? Cripes, I don't know. Not only am I not a connaisseur (sp?) by any stretch of the imagination, I don't even pretend to be one. Here's my overall review: I think it tastes nice.

Now last night we stopped by the liquor store on our way home but I couldn't decide between the port or the Plantatree. Part of my decision was made for me when the port was unavailable, but I thought I should look around a bit for other options.

Glad I did! While browsing, I stumbled into this loveliness (in red, mind you):


Notice the Vancouver 2010 Olympic logo there? I'm a sucker for the Olympic games (though I gave up on them for a spell after the boxing fiasco in Seoul) and have done my little share to support those athletes from time to time. Well, here's another way:

Every time you purchase Jackson-Triggs Esprit™ wines, partial proceeds will proudly support The Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games, and our Canadian Olympic Team. Jackson-Triggs Esprit™ wines are specially crafted in celebration of the Spirit of The Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games and are the result of our unique partnership with the Vancouver Organizing Committee for The Vancouver 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games (VANOC).

I'd posted about another wine which had partnered with the WWF, and have seen yet another that contributed tot he SPCA. There are enough options now that pretty well any time I buy a bottle, I'll attempt to see to it that someone benefits in a small way from my purchase. Why not? Those wines tend to be inexpensive and certainly adequate for my little weekly celebration.