Why buying wine can also mean planting trees

A new project that links buying wine to planting trees has got Peter Ranscombe pondering the environment.

IT’S not every day that you open a box of wine and find a tree poking out.

Let me explain – the tree in question was a crab apple sappling.

And it was sent as possibly the weirdest – but also the most creative – promotional gift of the year.

Australian wine brand De Bortoli, one of the producers whose wines I tasted while visiting the Yarra Valley, has launched its “17 Trees” project.

For every six bottles of wine sold, the company will plant a tree in Australia.

It’s working with conservation charity Trillion Trees to plant native trees on land scorched during last summer’s bush fires.

The name of the project stems from an earlier sustainability drive.

Back in 2008, the business began to plant 17 trees to offset the carbon dioxide emissions from each of the vehicles in its fleet.

The wines are hitting the shelves today in branches of supermarket chain Waitrose.

More than a marketing gimmick

Protecting the planet and tackling the climate emergency are issues that have always been close to my heart; that’s why I pay conservation charity Trees For Life to offset the emissions from the wine press trips I attend.

Yet even I recognise that not all consumers will be convinced that it’s worth parting with cash just because a wine brand is planting trees.

Fortunately, the quality of the liquid inside the bottles will allay any of their fears that 17 Trees is simply a marketing stunt.

The 2020 De Bortoli 17 Trees Pinot Grigio (£9.99, Waitrose) proves there’s plenty of life in pinot grigio production outside Italy.

Pear, green apple, and lemon sherbet on the nose flow through onto the palate, where they’re balanced by really crisp acidity.

There’s a great intensity to the flavours in this pinot grigio, just as there are in its sibling, the 2020 De Bortoli 17 Trees Shiraz (£9.99, Waitrose).

It’s not your typical Aussie black fruit barn stormer; instead, it centres on more savoury roast and cured meat flavours, with an almost Rhone-like quality to its meatiness.

A touch of farmyard joins the blackberry notes on the nose too.

Keep it simple – one bottle, one tree

Projects like 17 Trees need to become standard in the wine industry and not just novelties.

And, while I can understand planting 17 trees to offset the emissions from each vehicle, planting one tree for every six bottles feels a bit arbitrary.

Instead, I much prefer the concept behind Feel Good Grapes, an online wine retailer run by friend and fellow drinks writer Mike Turner.

As befits his nothern “call a spade, a spade” attitude, Turner’s premise is simple – plant a tree for every bottle sold.

If you’re keen to explore his range then I recommend starting with the 2016 Monfaucon Estate Pétillant (£25) – a sparkling wine made in Bordeaux – and 2018 Forty Hall Bacchus (£18), produced by a social enterprise in London.

Read more of Peter’s wine, beer, and spirits reviews on his drinks blog, The Grape & The Grain.