Toast Earth Day® with Canada’s First Biodynamic Wine

By / Wine + Drinks / April 22nd, 2009 / 1

Twenty-eight restaurants across Ontario, from Ottawa, Toronto, Prince Edward County, Muskoka, western Ontario and Niagara, are celebrating Earth Day® today by featuring the Southbrook Vineyards Cabernet Rosé on their wine-by-the-glass list or with a specially created dish or food match.

Toronto chef Jamie Kennedy, who is at the culinary forefront supporting sustainable agriculture, plans to offer patrons Marinated Lake Trout Tartine with Wild Leek Sweet and Sour Mignonette at his Jamie Kennedy Wine Bar. “Congratulations are in order to everyone at Southbrook for ushering in this new era, this new layer of excellence in agriculture,” says Kennedy. “Southbrook’s commitment to biodynamic practices reflects a deep respect for the natural balances that present themselves on farms.”

Play Food & Wine in Ottawa and Snob Wine Bar at Treadwell Farm-to-Table Cuisine in St. Catharines are inviting wine lovers to drop by to sample the wine.

Southbrook Vineyards was certified organic by Pro-Cert Canada in the fall of 2008 and then became the first winery in Canada to be certified biodynamic by Demeter Canada. The Cabernet Rosé is the first wine to be released from its estate-grown grapes since certification and marks a milestone for Marilyn and Bill Redelmeier, owners of the winery. “Biodynamic farming has been practiced for years by many outstanding wine producers in Europe and we are proud to help make inroads in the Canadian wine community,” says Marilyn Redelmeier.

This holistic farming approach recognizes the vineyard as a self-sustaining ecosystem. It goes beyond the standards for organic farming by recognizing the interrelationship between the soil, plants and animals, and the energy forces affecting the farm, such as lunar and planetary cycles.

Ann Sperling, director of Winemaking and Viticulture at Southbrook explains:“Biodynamics says the farm should be self-sustaining – an entire living system. The resulting practices are about quality in the bottle—and quality of life,” she adds.

“Biodynamics goes leaps and bounds beyond organic and more fully expresses the vineyard’s character in our wines,” says Bill Redelmeier.

Only 550 cases of Southbrook Vineyards Cabernet Rosé 2008 ($18.95) were produced.

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