Vinca organic wine

VINCA Organic Wine

Millions of people in England enjoy a glass or two of wine. But it’s best to choose sustainable (even better organic) wines that are better for the planet. And vegan too (not using fish bladder to filter out impurities). Here are some better brands to try.

Different Types of Wine

There are four main types of wine. White wine is best with lighter foods, and served chilled. Red wine is matured for longer and good with winter filling foods and desserts. Rosé wine (made from just brief contact with grapes during fermentation) is good with roasted vegetables and lighter suppers. And sparkling wine (bubbly!) is good for special occasions. 

Why Choose Local Wines?

England has some good wines, but not all are organic or vegan. If you start venturing abroad, try to buy wines from Europe, at least not that far away! Glass bottles are energy-intensive to ship, so buying wine from say California or Australia, creates a huge carbon footprint.

How Much Wine is Safe to Drink?

NHS says to avoid all alcohol if pregnant/nursing or driving (or obviously if you’re an alcoholic). For everyone else, safe guidelines are 1 glass (no more than 6 days a week). Or 1 pint of beer or 2 glasses of spirits (again no more than 6 days a week). Not a combined total, choose one!

How to Recycle Corks?

It’s good to find wines that use natural corks, as it helps to support the industry, in a world of plastic wine stoppers. Cork is is a biodegradable material that requires no trees to be chopped down. It’s simply harvested by stripping bark from trees in Spain and Portugal, every 9 years or so.

As it’s so tightly packed, you can’t compost corks. As they are choking hazards, keep them somewhere safe. If your off license does not recycle, send them to Recorked, to be made into other things.

Where to Recycle Wine Bottles

Most councils collect wine bottles (wrap broken glass in thick paper and bin). If bottle banks are full, there is usually a phone number to call (don’t leave bottles outside full banks). You only need to rinse them quickly, and you can also leave on screw-top lids and labels.

Organic Vegan Italian Wines (in cans)

VINCA Organic Wine

VINCA Organic Wine is sold in cans, which use up to 70% less CO2 to transport than glass bottles. In four varieties (white, sparkling white, rosé and red), you can also mixed can bundles. The Sicilian grapes contain naturally low levels of sulphur (from fermenting yeast), around a third of levels found on supermarket wine bottles.

VINCA Organic Wine

Organic wines are sealed in nifty aluminium cans, instead of bulky glass bottles. Not only does this protect the taste, but it also cuts down on much of the usual environmental harm from traditional winemaking. Cans are lighter and more compact than glass bottles, making them a win for reduced emissions during transport.

Vinca cooler bag

The company also sells a pretty cooler bag for travel, which has a reversible lid that converts into a drinks tray. Cans are not just easier to recycle, but also good for people who like a glass or two of wine, and stops you finishing off the whole bottle! Delivery is free on all orders. Trade orders are welcome.

Organic Vegan Rosé Wines

Amie wines

Amie Wine is a brand of wine that offers organic rosé vegan wines, which donate a portion of sales to clean water charities. This ‘wine for friends’ is produced in the South of France.

While millions of plastic water bottles get bought and littered in England, we forget that we have the luxury of clean safe water from the tap. Yet despite being essential for living, over 3 million people die each year (mostly children under 5) from lack of access to clean safe water.

This also leaves families trapped in poverty, as some have to spend hours each day collecting water from miles away, rather than studying or working.

Where to Buy Vegan Organic Sparkling Wine

VINCA Organic Wine

Vinca again offers organic wine in cans, this time of the sparkling variety, for special occasions. Made from Grillo grapes from sun-drenched Sicilian vineyards, this is an excuse to celebrate small wines, when you need just a 200ml glass, with floral and peach notes.

Wild Thing Organic Prosecco is a lightly sparkling drink with soft apple and pear aromas and gentle bubbles, sold in a resealable bottle. Created in association with Born Free Foundation, a donation from each bottle sold is used to directly benefit animal conservation projects worldwide.

Low-Alcohol Sparkling Wine (from Cornwall)

wild life botanicals

Wild Life Botanicals is a sparkling wine with just 0.5% booze and also lower in calories. It’s made with botanicals (lemon balm, damask rose, rosemary, damiana and ashwagandha (avoid during pregnancy/breastfeeding and check with GP if on medication or pending surgery).

This drink was created (with help from a naturopath, brewer and taste developer) by the founder of Cornish Sea Salt. Also in cans, the range includes Nude (gooseberry, greenage, banana) and Blush (wild strawberry, rosehip, orchard fruits). The gift boxes are adorned with images by a Cornish artist. Serve chilled in champagne flutes.

Where to Buy Cases of Vegan Wine

Oxney organic sparkling wine

The Goodness Project offers many organic vegan wines, and also produces corporate gifting services. So if you fancy sending a bespoke hamper of wine and vegan chocolates to a colleague, this is the company to order from (it also plants trees for each order, and donates each month to chose animal welfare charities).

VEO Wines is an online shop that sells organic vegan wines, and nothing else. So all the hard work of finding the best brands has been done for you by experts. You can buy pre-mixed cases or mix your own case. Not all the wines are local, but you can filter by country to choose English wines from Oxney Estate (England’s largest organic vineyard):

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