Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/877508
30 WINES&VINES October 2017 WINEMAKING tions or food pairings. Au- gustine notes that at their price point, "people don't care if it says it goes with steak" on the back label. She will, however, suggest food pairings in person. Bro- man recommends that you work with a true "wine label" company, one that knows about wet strength, bubbling and other factors. Frey Vineyards: green to the bone Pa u l F r e y i s w i n e - maker for Frey Vine- y a r d s , A m e r i c a ' s largest producer of sulfite-free, organic wines. Frey produces roughly 245,000 cases under the Frey and Pa- cific Redwood brands, ranging from $9 to $48 per bottle. Sustainability permeates everything Frey does. Not only is the wine certified organic, Frey asks all vendors about their use of wind and solar power vs. coal, natural gas or nuclear power. They want to know if the glass is not only light in weight, but did it travel half-way around the world to get to the winery? Was the glass made overseas using coal, or was it pro- duced using more advanced methods locally? "We try to source as locally and as light as possible to minimize carbon footprint," he said. Frey uses 400-gram bottles from Gallo Glass in Modesto, Calif., a company that says it pur- chases (and diverts from landfills) 175,000 tons of recycled glass annually. He has seen no bottling line issues relative to regular weight glass, and the trade has praised the winery's green commitments. Con- sumers understand and appreciate the dedica- tion to a small carbon footprint. We did a little math. A fully loaded truck holds 40,000 pounds of wine in eco-weight packaging, or 1,120 cases (20 pallets multiplied by 56 cases per pallet) times 35.7 pounds per case. Shifting from the eco to upscale bottle cat- egory would add 200 grams per bottle and 5.3 pounds per case, making each case weigh 41 pounds. Filled with upscale-weight bottles, the truck is now carrying just 976 cases, or 13% less wine, and more than 2.5 tons more glass. Our conversation turned toward the fu- ture of green energy and sustainability be- yond the wine industry, with Frey referring to the work of environmental author Tony Seba. Silicon Valley is making fossil fuels obsolete. Deutsche Bank notes that in 2017, solar energy is now at grid parity (the price utilities charge for energy) for 80% of world markets. By 2030 the cost of solar with a battery pack will be so low that it will make economic sense for all vehicles to be elec- tric. Gigawatts of wind and solar energy are being installed annually. Even Dubai is put- ting in solar power plants. When our energy grid goes completely green, we can make bottles from clean energy sources without creating excess greenhouse gases. So all bottles will be green, regardless of weight. Until then, do what works for you. But if you insist on including pH, TA and total phenolics on your back label, be sure it's some- thing your customer cares about, too. They might not. Andy Starr, founder of StarrGreen (starr green.com), is an entrepreneur, marketing manager and winemaker who provides strategy, management and business develop- ment consulting services. A resident of Napa Valley, Calif., he holds a bachelor's degree in fermentation science from the University of California, Davis, and an MBA from UCLA. Frey Vineyards uses 400-gram glass bottles to reduce the weight of trucks fully loaded with wine. SUPPORT RESEARCH & WINE INDUSTRY NEEDS THROUGH THE A M E R I C A N V I N EYA R D FOUN D AT I O N a dva nc i ng m e t h o d s t o e n h a nc e w i n e f l avo r The ability to monitor grape aroma compounds and their precursors will allow for a better understanding of how vineyard and winemaking processes influence the volatile aroma composition of wine. Dr. Ebeler's research uses innovative analytical chemistry approaches to analyze and understand glycosidic precursors in grapes and to profile free and glycosidically bound aroma volatiles in grapes and wine. For more information, visit AVF.org or contact Dr. Ebeler at seebeler@ucdavis.edu. For a wealth of useful viticulture and enology research and information, visit AVF.org, ngr.ucdavis.edu, asev.org, iv.ucdavis.edu or ngwi.org Finding Solutions Through Research Finding Solutions Through Research AMERICAN VINEYARD FOUNDATION • P.O. Box 5779, Napa, CA, 94581 • tel (707) 252-6911 Visit our Web site at www.avf.org for information on funding and current research projects AMERICAN VINEYARD FOUNDATION • P.O. Box 5779, Napa, CA, 94581 • tel (707) 252-6911 Visit our Web site at www.avf.org for information on funding and current research projects