Sustainable Beer And Wine
The best thing about sustainable green practices now is that so many companies in different industries practice it. This includes the beer, wine and spirits industry, of which well are featuring a few.
New Belgium Brewing Company (Fort Collins, CO)
The first wind powered brewery in the United States, New Belgium Brewing promotes beer culture, world-class beer and responsible ways to enjoy beer. Born through the adventures of a boy on a bike, New Belgium Brewing exclusively made and brought Fat Tire to the public. As a sustainable brewery, they make sure that they are alternatively empowered.
Being alternatively empowered means increased efficiencies in the brewing process, a utilized green design in the entire building, an improved wastewater treatment process, sustainable eventing, actionable advocacy and supporting innovative technology. So, remember when you buy a Fat Tire on bottle or tap, you are supporting all these sustainable activities.
The Winery (New York, NY)
The Winery is a specialty wine store located in South Harlem in New York, that focuses on promoting and selling small-production boutique wines. They proudly offer quality wines from producers who give particular respect and care to nature and the environment. They also try to support local production and non-profit communities as much as possible.
Death’s Door Spirits (Washington Island, Door County WI)
Vodka and gin are their specialties, and they believe that great spirits only come from good practices, and that’s exactly what they do. All their ingredients are herbicide- and pesticide-free. All ingredients are sustainably grown on Washington Island or sourced as locally as possible.
Frey Organic (Mendocino County, CA)
Operating since 1980, Frey Organics is America’s first organic winery. For 30 years, Frey Organic has practiced consistent sustainable ways, including organic and biodynamic grape growing, biodynamic farming, organic gardening, and more. Supporting Frey Organic not only means supporting an organic and sustainable winery. You also support a green and sustainable Mendocino County.
Hall Wines (Napa Valley, CA)
Besides delivering some of the best wines in Napa Valley, Hall Wines is also California’s First Winery to achieve a Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Gold Certification. To achieve this prestigious certification, they made sure to include sustainable design elements, such as radiant floors for precision wine-making and maximum energy efficiency, solar panels and solar energy, local materials (sourced within 500 meters from the winery), recycled building materials and water conservation.
Next time you drink a glass of beer, wine or spirits, find out if they practice sustainable green practices. You might be surprised to find out that they actually do.




Now, this is interesting. Go Green Fitness in Orange, CT, uses the people in the gym to generate their power. That is right, this new gym at 500 Boston Post Road features a room with 24 exercise bikes where riders pedal during spin class and generate electricity that is used to power the building. It opened a over a month ago and has been a successful business thus far.
This holiday, why not challenge yourself to reduce the amount of wrapping supplies you buy? With a bit of creativity, you quickly can find innovative ways to wrap just about any gift. My sister got me thinking about this idea already, as we already have exchanged gifts for Dutch Christmas on December 5th. She surprised me with her idea of gift wrapping (pictured). The trash bin was filled with gifts, and indeed, the trash bin and the scarf around it were gifts as well. (I’ll be going to college next year, so she figured she would give me a head start on my dorm decor.) Here are a few green gift wrapping ideas:
Every year, we worry about what presents to give to our family, friends, and all the people in our lives. And every year, we worry about how we’ll be able to afford it all. This year, why not make it affordable, easier and more personal? How about eco-friendly, DIY Christmas gifts? Here are some ideas:
Need some boxes for moving, shipping, or storage? What ABC calls, “…a special place that will help you save on boxes and on the environment,”
Did you know that sewage contains 10 times the energy needed to treat it? If you think about it that way, you would wonder why we have not been actively reusing what is available in order to produce energy. With all of the talk about finding new sources of energy, such as hydrogen fuel cells or solar power, why have we not been using our own waste?