Written by Jennifer Gregoire
Wednesday, 05 May 2010 22:31
SAVE WATER, DRINK WINE
You may be thinking how a glass of wine can save water?
We all need water to survive; the trouble is we don’t all have access to clean drinking water. With nearly two-thirds the earth’s surface covered in water it’s hard to believe that this is possible, but the sad fact is that less than 1% of the earth’s water is accessible and suitable for drinking.
WHAT’S WINE GOT TO DO WITH IT?
Organizations around the world understand that this is a major crisis and are doing their part to help solve the problem. The wine industry is no exception. They have jumped on board to do their part to help bring clean drinking water to those who need it most. Organizations like WINE TO WATER and THE WATER TO WINE PROJECT are both raising awareness and funds to help solve the world water crisis.
WINE TO WATER: By hosting wine tasting events this non-profit aid organization is able to raise awareness and funds to provide clean water to those in need. Their clean water efforts have reached many countries including Sudan, India, Cambodia, Uganda, Ethiopia and most recently Haiti. On their home page one of the first things you’ll notice is a donation button to help with the Haiti Emergency Fund. But donating isn’t the only way you can get involved. You can host your own WINE TO WATER wine tasting in your community, school or home. Check out their website for more info on how you can get started planning your own WATER TO WINE event today!
THE WATER TO WINE PROJECT: 25 cents can transform lives. That’s the concept behind THE WATER TO WINE PROJECT. By dining at one of their participating restaurants (currently their pilot program is with RuckerJohns in North Carolina) you can take part by contributing a quarter to the clean water cause. “100% of each quarter received will go directly to the clean water project.” As this non-profit organization grows they will be able to take their mission to restaurant all across the US.
GRAPES NEED WATER TOO
The water crisis hits home in California. 
This winter California has seen some much needed heavy rains, but while a few weeks of rain followed by years of nothing but sunshine may create a great environment to live in, unfortunately it does little to help our water crisis.
Our crisis, however, has more to do with our crops then is does with drinking water. Winemakers need water to grow their crops and with little rainfall going their way and the fact that California is beginning its fourth year of drought, grape growers are facing a tough situation.
NEW RULES FOR WINERIES
To make matters worse, wineries are now finding themselves faced with a new set of rules regarding their water supply and how they are able to use that water.
The problem is California doesn’t have a large water supply yet more and more people are flocking to California to live and to grow crops, thus increasing the demand for the water that is available. This strain on our water supply is forcing new rules to be put in place by state and local officials that will govern how the water we do have is used and distributed. Winemakers and vineyards will feel the full weight of these new rules which will hit them quite hard, forcing them to reduce their already limited water consumption by 10% by 2020.
Say goodbye to the water features that once greeted us at the gates of many vineyards. With this new oversight and control of water, excesses like these will be limited and wineries will have to devote their efforts over the next ten years to cutting down their use of water and finding new and creative ways to flourish.
Many California wineries are being proactive and facing this problem head on. The Benzinger Family Winery is working hard to conserve water on their vineyards, they have even “constructed wetlands that recycle 2-3 million gallons of water a year. All of the winery waste water and some of the grey water on our facility is captured in a pond and then, by gravity, it's recycled through this large wetlands that acts as a kidney that cleans the water to an incredibly high level -- to where it looks good enough to drink. That's the water that we then use for landscaping, and we then use for irrigation. It's used twice.”
The Benzinger Family Winery isn’t alone in their efforts to conserve water, Trinchero Family Estates "has gotten its water consumption down as low as 1 gallon per gallon of wine.” The typical consumption of water to produce one gallon of wine ranges from 2-20 gallons. To get down to one gallon used for one gallon produced means the Trinchero’s have wine making down to a science and are not creating any water waste in the process.
Some wineries have taken their water conservation to new heights, literally. Silver Mountain Vineyards has turned their roof into their very own triple threat, as they say, they have made it “triple green”.
The roof works in three ways, “the roof shades the winery, previously exposed to full sun, and reduces refrigeration requirements in the summer; it has also been designed as part of a rainwater collection system to be used for vineyard irrigation and winery operations (such as barrel cleaning); and the solar array will support the energy requirements of the winery operations, office and residence.”
WHAT CAN WE DO?
Get involved. There are many organizations out there that are raising funds to bring water to those in need. Organizations like UNICEF, WINE TO WATER and THE WATER TO WINE PROJECT are all working hard to end the world water crisis. Want to get involved closer to home? Join your local legislature to get involved directly with how the new rules are affecting our wineries.
Drink more wine! Our favorite bit of advice is to drink more wine!... Buy purchasing wine from wineries that are practicing sustainable farming you are helping to support their water saving efforts. WINE TO WATER also sells its own wine whose proceeds go directly to helping build wells and bring water to those in need. So grab a bottle of wine (or two) and we’d like to say “Bottoms up!” After all it’s for a good cause.
