I was given a gift of my first Fair Trade wine from a friend today...she knew i would be stoked it being fair trade...(she knows me oh-so-well!) it was a Chilean Red and gorgeous from a company called Etica! I researched the company (naturally) and here is the company info for anyone else who is interested. I must admit, fair trade food and drinks are still way behind Europe but we are catching up...so drink up and eat up!!!!
‘Blend quality grape varietals—say, cabernet sauvignon with merlot—and you get a robust, earthy, satisfying wine. Blend international commerce with social responsibility and you get a business belonging to the Fair Trade Federation, a global group whose members are dedicated to sustainable business practices that are fair to workers. Put that wine and those business practices together, add hefty doses of ambition and enterprise, and you get Etica—the first fair trade wine company in Minnesota, and one of the only fair trade wine importers in the United States.
Under fair trade rules, Etica pays more for its grapes than a non-fair trade company to ensure a livable wage for the workers. “A livable wage is what someone can live off for 40 hours of work a week,” explains Sandelands (co-founder) , “so they can afford to have a home, eat well, clothe themselves and send their kids to school.” Etica also pays a five percent premium to the cooperative that is used for sustainable community development projects, such as housing and education programs. In addition, the company is donating five percent of its profits to scholarship
funds at the University of Minnesota and Montana State University to help send a youth from an underrepresented sector of society to college. Fair trade wines must meet environmental standards. “It’s making sure that only natural pesticides are being used,” says Sandelands. “Sulfur is a natural pesticide, and it controls the aging of the wine. Our vineyards deal with one, maybe two treatments of sulfites on their grapes. Some California vineyards treat their grapes five or six times.” When sustainable development projects are part of a fair trade business, Tompkins says, communities
benefit. “A lot of development initiatives go in and build projects, but once they run out of money, they’re gone. Fair trade pays a livable wage, and on top of that contributes to a community development fund, which goes to things like computer training, adult education, parenting skills, a nursery and alcohol awareness classes. With sustainable practices you see real potential and a long-term commitment to change—that’s the difference.”
By contrast, she says, alcoholism is rampant at some South African vineyards where workers are paid with wine. Etica wines are made exclusively for the company by fair trade vineyards in Chile and South Africa. To start, Etica is featuring eight wines, including a merlot, pinotage, classique blanc, grenache and chenin blanc. Tompkins says they’re also working with a cooperative in Argentina that is in the process of becoming certified as a fair trade vineyard, and hopes to carry its malbec by next spring. Priced competitively with other Chilean and South African varietals, Etica wines retail between $9 and $13.
‘Blend quality grape varietals—say, cabernet sauvignon with merlot—and you get a robust, earthy, satisfying wine. Blend international commerce with social responsibility and you get a business belonging to the Fair Trade Federation, a global group whose members are dedicated to sustainable business practices that are fair to workers. Put that wine and those business practices together, add hefty doses of ambition and enterprise, and you get Etica—the first fair trade wine company in Minnesota, and one of the only fair trade wine importers in the United States.
Under fair trade rules, Etica pays more for its grapes than a non-fair trade company to ensure a livable wage for the workers. “A livable wage is what someone can live off for 40 hours of work a week,” explains Sandelands (co-founder) , “so they can afford to have a home, eat well, clothe themselves and send their kids to school.” Etica also pays a five percent premium to the cooperative that is used for sustainable community development projects, such as housing and education programs. In addition, the company is donating five percent of its profits to scholarship
funds at the University of Minnesota and Montana State University to help send a youth from an underrepresented sector of society to college. Fair trade wines must meet environmental standards. “It’s making sure that only natural pesticides are being used,” says Sandelands. “Sulfur is a natural pesticide, and it controls the aging of the wine. Our vineyards deal with one, maybe two treatments of sulfites on their grapes. Some California vineyards treat their grapes five or six times.” When sustainable development projects are part of a fair trade business, Tompkins says, communities
benefit. “A lot of development initiatives go in and build projects, but once they run out of money, they’re gone. Fair trade pays a livable wage, and on top of that contributes to a community development fund, which goes to things like computer training, adult education, parenting skills, a nursery and alcohol awareness classes. With sustainable practices you see real potential and a long-term commitment to change—that’s the difference.”
By contrast, she says, alcoholism is rampant at some South African vineyards where workers are paid with wine. Etica wines are made exclusively for the company by fair trade vineyards in Chile and South Africa. To start, Etica is featuring eight wines, including a merlot, pinotage, classique blanc, grenache and chenin blanc. Tompkins says they’re also working with a cooperative in Argentina that is in the process of becoming certified as a fair trade vineyard, and hopes to carry its malbec by next spring. Priced competitively with other Chilean and South African varietals, Etica wines retail between $9 and $13.
Labels: fair trade, wines
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