Green Corner: March 2012 Edition

For Newton Vineyard’s fourth annual “Eco- Chic” project, the sustainable Napa Valley winery selected contemporary American designers Bruce and Stephanie Tharp of Chicago-based studio Materious to design a tabletop piece. The result is 100 hand-crafted “Puzzle” trays inspired by Newton’s vineyards and meant to complement Newton’s Unfiltered line of wines. Each piece is made from Forest Stewardship Council certified walnut wood, and retails for $499. Available at newtonvineyard.com and boutiques and wine retailers nationwide this April.

New to restaurants, bars, hotels and retail stores in New York, South Florida and California is Kanon Organic Vodka. Kanon is produced by Sweden’s only EU- and U.S.-certified organic distillery. The entire wheat-to-bottle production process takes place in a three mile radius, using 100% organic wheat sourced from organic farmers and untouched well water. Kanon is then distilled in a four-column, single distillation process, with naturally occurring yeast and starch. Any refuse is reused or recycled with the bottles, which are made of recycled glass. SRP: $26

kanonvodka.com

Based in the Russian River Valley, J Vineyards & Winery has achieved sustainable status through the California Sustainable Winegrowers Alliance (CSWA). This covers all vineyard and winery operations. Says John Erbe, J Vineyards & Winery viticulturalist, “Our estate vineyards have been planted utilizing the latest techniques in water conservation, wildlife habitat corridors, and soil erosion reduction.” CSWA’s program is a third-party verification and certification process, based on 227 “best practices” designed to promote environmental stewardship, energy and natural resource conservation and equitable business practices.

jwine.com

Miniwiz is a Taiwanese design company committed to clever design dedicated to the three R’s: reduce, reuse and recycle. Re-Wine offers wine drinkers a reusable wine-carrying case, made from recyclable and partially biodegradable materials, that can be transformed into a desk lamp with the empty wine bottle or into furniture or wall building blocks. Re-Wine’s Polli-ber casing (made from post consumer PE/PET and waste fiber material) ensures the bottle doesn’t break or spill.

miniwiz.com/en/products/food-a-beverage/re-wine