It’s that time of the year again—the low carbon footprint merrymaking, the twinkling LED Christmas lights, the sumptuous organic feast on the table, and the… uhm, fairtrade wine.

Look out for the Fairtrade Initiative label when buying wines.

Fairtrade means well for the farmers for sure—it ensures growers get paid what they deserve and it gives back to the community in the form of education for the children, health and school buildings, parks and playgrounds, and other social facilities, thereby improving the lives of the farmers and their families.  Buying fairtrade—whether it’s coffee, rice, vegetables, sugar or wine, etc—does sound good for everyone involved, from the producers down to us the consumers.  And when it’s all done organically, it’s good for the planet as well.

But as with every well-meaning system there’s always some kinks to be ironed out.  With regards to wine, the concept of fairtrade arguably has had a rough road since the time it began.  What’s at stake is the single most important factor for every wine connoisseur: the quality of the wine.

The Issue with Fairtrade Wine

Take for example organic wine which does away with the sulphites.  Sulphites act as an antibacterial and antioxidant, and any reputable winemaker will insist that a reasonable amount of sulphites is necessary for the good of the wine.  It ensures that the wine that reaches our table—whether it’s a mere six months or a good two years from date of production—is how the winemaker intended it to be.

Right now, the U.S. and E.U. have different threshold levels for sulphites before a wine is deemed organic (the E.U. allows for a generous 100 parts per million (ppm), while the U.S. demands a strict 10 ppm).

Image from www.curiouswines.ie

There’s also the issue of too much paperwork, expensive application and processing fees, and bureaucracy in general for wine producers to become part of the fairtrade initiative.  And finally, there’s the land itself—one writer has argued that the countries involved in fairtrade wine are usually working lands not ideally suited to growing the best grapes.  Winemakers have a word for this: terroir—the unique essence of a land and its climate as expressed in the wine—and that’s one other barrier fairtrade wine have to hurdle gracefully.

Sadly, to the expert tongue of the true wino who can’t accept even the tiniest compromise in wine production, fairtrade wine will never be good enough.  But don’t take their word—or mine—for it.  Try a bottle of fairtrade wine for yourself because with the wide array of top-notch labels out there, you just might like it.

Tips for Enjoying Fairtrade Wine and Organic Wine this Holiday Season

1.  Don’t fuss over sulphites.  Sulphite is a naturally occurring compound in soil.  Even if grapes are grown organically in the strictest sense of the word, there will still be sulfites.  Sulfites are present in other foods as well, without needing to be labeled as such.  But if you’re prone to headaches or allergies, it’s best to avoid the stuff.

2.  Google for recommendations.  Winemakers are getting better at making wines with zero or little sulphites with each passing season.  And they’re taking pride for growing their grapes as organically as possible.  Do a little googling and you’ll discover some great names in fair-trade wines nowadays.

Fairhills Shiraz Tempranilo, one of the best fairtrade wines today

3. Ask around.  If you’ve got wine expert friends (and you’re lucky if you do), maybe they can point you to the best fairtrade wines they’ve ever tasted.  They may or may not be biased against fairtrade wine but for sure they’ll be honest with their recommendations.

4. Understand that there will be a remarkable difference in taste.  Wines with added sulphites will naturally win your taste buds and olfactory nerves over.  It takes time to warm up to the “naked” taste of most organic wines, but once you do you’ll appreciate it.

5. When you find a bottle that you like, go ahead and recommend it to friends.  Share the discovery, and know that with every bottle opened you’re giving back to the community.

6. Lastly, support local brands.  There’s something inevitably romantic about procuring wine that came from the chilly breathtakingly far regions of France, but it’s also good to note the carbon footprint that goes with the bottle of wine.  Buy local whenever possible.

Personally, I’m no wine connoisseur in the sense that you won’t hear me exclaiming about the subtle variations of terroir in each sip.  You won’t find me praising this bottle of wine for its full-bodied flavor.  When wine labels speak about notes of vanilla or black currant or “a luscious woodsy aroma”, I simply nod and accept it at face value.

I read the wine labels nonetheless for purely poetic reasons, engrossed in the array of adjectives that can be used to describe wine.  I’m no good at remembering the subtle play of flavors of the various kinds of wine I’ve ever tasted because wine exists in the present tense for me—I take a sip and if it’s good, great.  And if it happens to be fairtrade too, then pour me some more.