Celebrations: Is it Okay to Wear Sunglasses to a Themed Wedding?

At outdoor daytime weddings, the bride and groom may even encourage their guests to bring their own sunglasses as a form of protection against the sun’s rays. After all, excessive sun exposure can result in eye discomfort and damage that can certainly dampen the wedding festivities. Overall, it is definitely okay to wear sunglasses at a wedding—provided you are mindful of your eyewear choices, especially if the wedding has a specific theme.

How to select sunglasses for a wedding

These days, wedding ceremonies and receptions have become more creative. With the various wedding themes people can choose from, including everything from fantasy to rustic setups, it is important to familiarize yourself with what the bride and groom have taken the time to select for their special day. Before anything else, check the dress code for any restrictions before selecting sunglasses that complement both the wedding theme plus your own outfit. If the dress code leans more towards the informal side, simple and casual sunglass frames will suffice. However, for more formal and extravagant weddings, it may be best to utilize sleek, black frames for some elegance.

Overall, avoid any brightly colored and flashy sunglasses that can serve as a distraction so as to not look out of place at the wedding and, more importantly, remain respectful to the couple and other guests. To get you started, here are some common but tasteful wedding themes where sunglasses can most likely be utilized, along with what type of frames would best suit the occasion.

Rustic wedding

Rustic weddings are typically inspired by the great outdoors, with a lot of focus on handmade touches. From forests with lots of leaves and branches as decor to farms that look a bit more organic and boho, rustic themes are considered a balance between thoughtful vintage pieces and country-inspired details. As such, some of the best sunglasses for this theme are those with delicate pastel-colored frames, such as the Derek Cardigan Crater and Main and Central Newton. These types of frames are some of the top eyewear trends of the year. The neutral color palette will match perfectly with a rustic wedding, as well as the love of nature the theme encapsulates.

Vineyard wedding

Vineyard weddings can range from dinner among the vines to an affair at a winery. Either way, this type of wedding is sure to provide decadent wine and gorgeous scenery to enjoy your glass with. These venues typically accommodate dining, cocktail, and long table settings depending on the number of guests and the couple’s preferences. Sunglasses with wooden frames that resemble the oak barrels used to age the wines would be a nice touch for a wedding of this theme. Some examples of these types of frames are Waidzeit Design’s Merlot, Chardonnay, and Freedom Whiskey Sunglasses. These are extremely lightweight and provide the best comfort. Additionally, the simplicity of the material and neutrality in color make them suitable for the occasion while providing a stylish touch to your wedding attire.

Beach wedding

Beach weddings are a popular choice for couples, as it allows them and their guests to strip away all the fuss that comes with a traditional wedding. More importantly, the venue provides an extremely romantic setting, with the relaxing sound of ocean waves and a beautiful view of the sunlight against the ocean overlooking this momentous event. Sunglasses will likely be encouraged at this type of wedding and may even be offered as a favor. However, if you want to elevate your appearance, opt for oversized sunglasses. Brands like Loewe have Oversized Round Sunglasses in various colors such as black, light brown, honey, and havana that are sophisticated in appearance and offer the best protection against the sun, which is very much needed in a seaside venue where not a lot of shade is available. These frames are also very common, which makes it easy to pick out details like shape and color to match the rest of the wedding theme.


While choosing the right clothes for a themed wedding is very important, don’t forget your sunglasses, as they can elevate your appearance to the next level.
 

What kind of wedding theme should you go for?

What kind of wedding theme should you go for?

With so many beautiful wedding options to choose from, picking the perfect theme for your wedding can be difficult. Themes are a vital aspect of planning your wedding, as they will help you to seamlessly combine the look and feel of the day. Ultimately, your theme should closely represent you and your partner's personal tastes and preferences. You can even use a theme to convey an important part of your story as a couple, or to showcase prominent features of your personalities, such as a love for nature or alternative styles.

Let's take a look at some of the most popular wedding themes to see which you most resonate with.

Bohemian, rustic or earthy

Taking your wedding outdoors and enjoying the natural world is perfect for the free-spirited and those who want a more relaxed, ethereal feel to their day. Let the trees and wildflowers be your decorations and keep your clothes simple but stunning. Choose a sustainable menu, reusable cups, and locally grown flowers to honour the planet as you wed. After the sun goes down, solar-charged festoon lighting and candle-lit lanterns can help to keep the party
going.

Beach vibes

For those lucky enough to be tying the knot somewhere sunny, a beach theme may create the perfect romantic setting. Whether or not you choose to have your ceremony and/or party on the coast, you can easily incorporate beachy elements to your decor. Using feathery Marram Grass, clovers, orchids and other coastal flora in your vases will bring the waves and the sand to your venue. Create your own decor from seashells, driftwood and floaty
fabrics to enhance the dreamy beach vibes.

Gothic fantasy, steampunk or historical

Why not step back in time and celebrate your big day by encouraging your entire wedding party to celebrate a more unconventional theme? Whether you buy or craft your own extravagant outfits, or keep them historically accurate by thrifting vintage stores, basing your theme on your favourite time period is a great way to create an unforgettable experience for all who attend. As well as being fun for everybody, you’ll be sure to get some pretty unique wedding photographs to look back on for years to come.

Country

Raise the roof of a brightly lit barn for an authentic countryside wedding theme. Perfect for those interested in farming or country living, why not invite your guests for a folk-style affair complete with straw bales and tartan blankets. Warm wooden beams, real fires and a live band playing, your guests are sure to have the time of their lives in this informal, relaxed setting. Plus, look forward to some truly beautiful wedding photographs in the surrounding fields, woodlands and trees.

Unique to you

Finally, remember that this day is yours, so why not pick a theme that’s as individual as your love for each other Whether you’re both fans of horror flicks or crazy about singing, pick a theme that celebrates a passion you both share or one that brought you together, to make your wedding theme as unique as possible.

How to Host a Vegan Wedding Reception in Style

How to Host a Vegan Wedding Reception in Style

There's a lot to consider when planning a wedding, but for those who are planning a vegan celebration, it can be particularly stressful to make sure the big day fits in with their lifestyle. Here are three steps to help you get started in hosting a vegan wedding reception in style.

1. Choose a Vegan-Friendly Venue

It's important that your wedding venue respects your desire for a completely vegan wedding so that they can tailor their services and produce accordingly. For example, you might ask that they avoid serving beverages that contain animal products or using decorations that contain things like feathers and leather. You may also want to hire an outside caterer rather than using their in-house catering services if the venue is inexperienced in producing vegan food.

When visiting venues, be upfront about your needs to see how receptive they are in creating a vegan environment. You might also consider the wider impact of a venue on animal welfare. For example, a rural venue that has acres of land surrounding it might use this to farm animals or host hunts. Be sure to ask questions about how the entire venue is used and not just the parts that you'll be using for your wedding. This will give you peace of mind that your wedding isn't contributing to animal cruelty.

2. Prep Bridal Boutiques and Tailors Before Visiting

Silk, which is harvested from silkworms, is a common material found in wedding dresses. It's often included in satin, chiffon and tulle, so it's not enough to simply avoid pure silk when searching for a wedding dress. When it comes to suits and tuxedos, wool and cashmere are common non-vegan materials to avoid. It's also fairly common for luxury ties, suits and shirts to contain silk. There's leather to avoid when buying shoes and purses, and it's important to avoid jewellery that contains real pearls or feathers.

Luckily, there are plenty of vegan materials to choose from that offer just as much style and luxury as their non-vegan counterparts. It's useful to seek out bridal boutiques and tailors that either specialise in vegan clothing or have a dedicated line of vegan garments. Make sure you inform businesses about your vegan requirements before you visit so that they have time to prepare garments and materials that are suitable for you.

3. Encourage Guests to Taste New Dishes with a Vegan Buffet

A difficulty many vegan wedding planners come up against is reluctance from guests to eat vegan dishes. Unfortunately, many people believe that vegan food is bland and boring, or that they'll come up against new flavours and textures that they won't enjoy. Vegan dishes can be just as delicious and satisfying as dishes that contain meat and dairy, and once you introduce people to good quality vegan food, they soon realise these stereotypes are wrong.

A great way to overcome cynicism from non-vegan wedding guests is to have buffet-style dining. Guests can pick and choose the dishes that look most appealing to them, and they have an opportunity to sample lots of different foods at once. You won't have to worry about guests going hungry when there's plenty of variety on offer to suit all tastes. Plus, you can showcase the deliciousness of vegan food and change some attitudes about veganism along the way.

Buffets are also a good way to reduce food waste. 15% of wedding guests only eat one or two of their three courses when sitting down to a traditional wedding breakfast. With a buffet, people can tailor servings to their appetites more easily.

Celebrate in Style with An Ethical Reception

While planning your wedding reception might be a little trickier as a vegan, the extra work will pay off as you enjoy your special day safe in the knowledge that your celebration is as ethical as possible.

Grape Vine and Fruit Tree Pruning

Grape Vine and Fruit Tree Pruning

The ideal time for Grape Vine and Fruit Tree Pruning is when they are dormant, to give them their best chance at. producing for you.   What you do this winter will affect your fruit yield for the next two years.

At 40 Knots, we listen to our customers.  Our service goes beyond serving a glass of wine.  We are proponents for traditional responsible farming, and nothing gets us more excited than chatting with a fellow farmer.  Whether you own a backyard or many acres, we love to help.  Farming is our passion.  Caring for the environment and leaving it better than what we found it, is in our blood.

A few years ago, we started delivering free workshops to those in our community.  With a Viticulturist and Aborist on staff, you are in great hands.  I think we have a total of about 120 years of experience in our small Crew.  Our workshop leaves you feeling confident.  And we leave feeling great about our contribution to farming on Vancouver Island.  We love hearing from those that attended about their great harvest and increase in yields and quality of fruit.

If you missed our annual workshop, here are a few Cole’s notes:

Fact:  No fruit grows on old wood.  If you want more fruit, you need to prune.

Fact:  A vigorous grapevine can produce 150-200 feet of linear new growth a year.

Fact:  Pruning is best when trees and vines are dormant.  In Vancouver Island, it is usually after Christmas.

Fact:  To prepare for dormancy ensure you supply food and water to protect

Safety Equipment:  Buddy up if you are needing to use a ladder.  Always wear gloves, eye protection, and proper footwear.

Tools:  Use sharp tools and if you notice any disease, use peroxide to disinfect your tools before moving to another branch or vine.  You can actually pass disease if you don’t do this.

Design:  Choose a design, and don’t be scared. Especially with vines.  In some countries, they are considered a weed and they are very resilient.  You can find many designs on the internet.  I would list them all here, but it is a blog after all.

Age:    Young trees should be at least 3 years old before pruning.

Canopy:  Consider that you will need sunlight and protection, and this is where canopy management comes in.  You will be a good balance of vegetative growth to ripen the crop yet sufficient fruitful buds to provide adequate yield.

Suckers and Dead Wood:  Always remove suckers and deadwood.  If there is only one thing you do for your trees and vines, this is the one.

Meet Andy on Youtube as he explains apple tree pruning:

Sign up to 40 Knots newsletter HERE so you are the first person to hear about any community workshops.

Sign up to be a 40 Knots Farmer during our harvest HERE.

Carbon Emissions and Net-Zero

Carbon Emissions and Net-Zero

This is a big, big topic.  And we are not experts.  But we do know, that we have choices.  2020 has taught us many things.  We consume less, we buy what we need, and we buy Local first.  When purchasing, we consider the carbon footprint of the goods.  (What is the impact on those plastic forks shipped here from a factory in China?)

What does it mean to be Net-Zero?  There is a lot of information out there.  We chose to be a Gold Certified member of Green Step Tourism for their guidance and because of their very tough certification process, which assists us to be continuously diligent.  We are not experts, but we like what we have experienced since becoming members in 2016.  

And we continue to research and learn.  I came across this blog.  Sadly, I don't see Canada mentioned. 

World Resources Institute

And then I found a calculator!  Right or wrong, I used this one.  I was super happy to see how low my carbon (paw) footprint was but was shocked to see how high our country's carbon footprint was.

Carbon Footprint Calculator for homes

If 2020 showed us anything, it showed how we could use less and use smarter.  

And so in 2021, I commit to doing my part.

I Declare a Climate Emergency

40 Knots Winery has signed up to Tourism Declares, an initiative that supports tourism businesses, organizations, and individuals in declaring a climate emergency and taking purposeful action to reduce their carbon emissions as per the advice from The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to cut global carbon emissions to 55% below 2017 levels by 2030. 

Like all signatories, we have committed to the following five actions:

1. Develop a ‘Climate Emergency Plan’ within the next 12 months, which sets out our intentions to reduce carbon emissions over the next decade.

2. Share an initial public declaration of our ‘Climate Emergency Plan’, and update on progress each year.

3. Accept current IPCC advice stating the need to cut global carbon emissions to 55% below 2017 levels by 2030 in order to keep the planet within 1.5 degrees of warming. We’ll ensure our ‘Climate Emergency Plan’ represents actions designed to achieve this as a minimum, through delivering transparent, measurable, and increasing reductions in the total carbon emissions per customer arising from our operations and the travel services sold by us. 

4. Encourage our suppliers and partners to make the same declaration; sharing best practice amongst peers; and actively participate in the Tourism Declares community

5. Advocate for change. We recognize the need for system change across the industry to accelerate a just transition towards carbon-free tourism.

The Crew at 40 Knots Winery

Are you a Tourism Business?  Join us HERE

Grapevine Dormancy

Grapevine Dormancy

*FREE community pruning workshop.  See below for further information*

At the dawn of a new decade, we welcome a fresh start in the 40 Knots Vineyard. With 2019 behind us, we look forward into 2020 with revitalized hope, energy, and enthusiasm for a fabulous new vintage. Just like winter hibernation, the 40 Knots vines are in their dormancy stage and await the new spring sun. Winter dormancy occurs after the last autumn leaf has fallen and carries forward until early Spring.  

Shorter winter days kick-off two phases of dormancy. 

Endodormancy: (Greek word endo meaning inside) during this first stage, the grapvine become cold hardy. The plant growth regulators inside the bud prevent each grapevine from growing, even in favourable environmental conditions. Endodormancy is usually complete by the end of December. 

Ecodormancy: An external force that follows environmental conditions. In the Northern Hemisphere, the ecodormancy stage starts around February. In this stage, the vines await higher temperatures to proceed with budburst. With ecodormancy and climate change, vine growers must be vigilant to monitor low temperatures as to not kick off budburst too soon. This is where our #coolclimate region in the Comox Valley has a leg up!

With the vines seemingly lifeless and naked without leaves, the activity underneath the soil is charged in preparation for the new year with energetic vines sending out new roots. This “root flush” (think tiny hairs at the bottom of carrots and beets) reaches downward in search of nutrients from the soil. Internal starchy carbohydrates build inside the roots, trunks and cordons in autumn and until the first frost, and this stage is critical for proper flower, leaf and bud grapvine growth development for the following season.

Above the soil, the vines will dehydrate themselves as water contracts and glides into intercellular spaces. This phase almost steels the vines from the inside out, avoiding freezing during these chilling winter temperatures.  Sugar and protein compounds come together to bind water, serving as cryoprotectants. So strength DOES come in small packages!

Join us for a FREE community pruning workshop

Calling all viticulturists, farmers and outdoor enthusiasts interested in learning vineyard pruning methods for both cane and spur vines. We are hosting a complimentary community pruning workshop on February 1st from 1-4pm at 40 Knots Winery.  Click HERE to RSVP.

Unable to attend? Read about how much fun we had in my next blog post where I discuss winter grapevine pruning.

Happy New Year, from the crew at 40 Knots and me,

-Megan 

Amphorae, Oak, Tank

Amphorae, Oak, Tank

Aging wine in the cellar before bottling is a process that takes patience, diligence and the knowledge of one’s terroir. Grapes grown in cooler climate regions will need a different aging process than those from warmer climates. The trick for quality though is to know which vessel suits which varietal, and how long each one needs to rest before bottling. In the 40 Knots cellar, we age our wine in three different vessels: Amphorae, french oak and stainless steel tanks.

 

Amphorae

Remnants of these ceramic style terra cotta pots have been spotted as far back as 6000 BC, with archaeologist having found remains in the Republic of Georgia.  Once the amphorae reached the Mediterranean, ancient Greek’s and Romans used them as the main transportation and storage of wine. A huge benefit of amphorae is the stabilization of temperature through exceptional thermal insulation. With a porous surface, the wine stabilizes through slight oxidation; double the oxidative effects of oak!  In today's wine world, there has been an insurgence of amphorae in wineries that farm organic or biodynamically.  In following this biodynamic route, amphorae pots found in our 40 Knots cellar have been growing in numbers over the last year.   All three of our amphorae come from Artenova in Florence, Italy.  

40 Knots wine aged in amphorae:

 

Oak Barrels

The oak barrel is thought to be created by Spanish Celts around the fifth century BC. Embracing oak over amphorae around the 2nd century AD, the Romans and colonizing Europeans chose this transportation method for small goods and liquids. Most of the wine oak barrels that you’ll see around the world nowadays typically come from five main forests in central France or California and some of the eastern states. Wine flavors showcased from oak aging are spices, earthiness or a toasty characteristic and sometimes sweeter flavors of vanilla, caramel, and butterscotch. The barrels that you will find stacked in the 40 Knots cellar are from various areas in France.

40 Knots wine aged in oak: 

 

 

Stainless Steel Tanks

With the creation of stainless steel in the early 20th century, winemakers began the journey of aging wine in stainless steel tanks. Unlike oak, a wine created in these airtight, neutral vessels imparts no flavors and undergoes no oxidation.  Wine flavors formed to display the truest nature of the fruit, boasting crisp, clean and fresh characteristics.  The 40 Knots cellar is filled with Italian tanks from a company called Albrigi out of Italy. 

Look for these crisp, fresh wines in our portfolio.  Unlike some other terroirs, there is no need to oak these beautiful whites as they are naturally full with lots of juiciness, and far from flat.

Celebrate New Year's Eve, or any other time that demands emphasis of flavor on the celebration, with our "in bottle" fermentation, French Traditional style bubbly!

 

Gift baskets made to order or pick one up today in our store.  Got your Christmas cards out yet?  Pick up one of our gift cards or we can e-send off!  No expiry and may be used for purchases, vineyard tours, premium tastings and picnics.

Back by popular demand, check out our gift of Pinot box -  Pinot Noir sale

 

!!!HUGE SALE ALERT!!!

From December 20 to December 24, you'll receive $25 off a case of wine!  Just mention "I read about it on Megan's Blog"

 

Give us a call for Canada wide shipping options 855-941-8810, or visit us in the tasting room today.

                                                

Christmas hours: closed December 24 at 3pm, CLOSED ALL DAY December 25 & 26

New Years hours: closed December 31 at 3pm, CLOSED ALL DAY January 1 & 2

 

Thanks for following my blog posts for 2019! I look forward to picking up again next year in 2020. Please email me if there are topics you would like me to blog about, or if you ever have any questions about the blog.  Or even better yet, stop in and see me at the winery!

 

To Age Wine or Not to Age, That is the Question

 

To Age Wine or Not to Age, That is the Question

“Just like a fine wine, you keep getting better with age”.  We’ve all seen this Birthday Card for sale on the rack. The common misconception is that all wine surely does get better with age. This statement, however, is only true for a small number of wine types found around the world. 

It is estimated that 90% of the wine is meant to be enjoyed within a year of production, and 99% of wine within 5 years.

 

For some of you, the goal is to drink wine when in the prime of its life. For most of you, it’s as soon as you bring it to an awkward family dinner party. Back in the day, the Old World regions (aka. Europe) were notorious for releasing wine that demanded a minimum 5-10 year lay down (think astringent, high tannin Barolo’s). Nowadays, you will find more and more European styles following New World regions (aka. anywhere that isn’t Europe) with wine that is ready to drink now. 

Studies have shown that the average person waits 21 minutes between purchasing and opening a bottle of wine. 

 

              

Tannin and acidity are structural elements that act as naturally occurring preservatives, allowing the wine to evolve without falling apart. Sugar and alcohol also factor in, but the body must be supported by tannin and acidity.

Because white wine grapes rarely go through skin contact after harvest, the lack of grape skin tannin is your first clue that white wine doesn’t have much age-ability (with the exception of Orange Wine). Many Chardonnay’s, however, have seen some barrel aging. This adds tannin from the oak barrel and creates the potential to lay that bottle down for several years. Because of current wine trends, an unoaked style of Chardonnay is quite popular in today’s market. 

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40 Knots White Wine

With all of our white wine grapes grown right here on Vancouver Island, our crisp and dry style white's are a perfect pairing with anything that comes out of our local ocean.

USUALLY BEST IN THE FIRST THREE YEARS

ONE FOR YOU AND FIVE FOR THE CELLAR, ENJOYABLE EVERY YEAR FOLLOWING

 

 

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40 Knots Red Wine

Unlike wine from warmer climate regions, our estate reds are light in body and have soft tannins and moderate acidity.

STICK THIS ONE IN YOUR CELLAR!  

Drinkable now and try on each year for the next 6-8 years.  Prime is expected 3-5 years after vintage year.

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DRINK NOW OR SAVE FOR MANY, MANY YEARS.

Sparkling bubbles will become very refined and soft with a baked brioche flavour, Trie Emily will be soft and deeply luscious, drink Safe Haven in 10 years while you sink deeply into your armchair and reminisce.

 

 

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Stall Speed Collection Red Wine

These reds boast grapes coming in from the Okanagan Valley where the climate is slightly warmer. 

DRINK NOW!

At 40 Knots we have already done the aging process for you, with vintages ranging between 2008 and 2011.

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If you DO decide to lay something down for a period of time, be sure that it is away from sunlight, vibrations, and temperature fluctuations. A cool basement emulates a cellar, so this is your best bet. 

Ready to cross some Christmas gift purchases off of your “to-do” list? Visit us in the tasting room and get your custom gift basket- wrapped with your choice of goods, to your price point.

To barrel or not to barrel, to amphorae or not to amphorae: what are the different aging techniques BEFORE a wine is bottled? Stay tuned for my next blog post.  

The Vineyard Floor at 40 Knots

Wine, Wind, Sea & the Vineyard Floor

The life cycle of the grapevine can be discussed at great lengths.  From budburst to harvest, the hours and energy put into vine, canopy and fruit management are extensive.  Some of that attention, however, should be directed beneath our feet to the life found along the vineyard floor.  This important cover crop has profound significance for the vineyard ecosystem, productivity and inevitably, wine quality.  Here are just a handful of native and foreign plants, and even weeds, that help our 40 Knots Vineyard work with Mother Nature to achieve our increasing biodynamic farming practices.

 

White Clover (Trifolium Repens)

Chances are, you’ve seen this shamrock shape not only in a vineyard.  Incredibly common in North America, this herbaceous perennial is a part of the bean family.  Eventually, within its life cycle, a small white flower will draw in many bumblebee visitors, which are powerful pollinators. Into maturity, the white flower will begin to turn pink.  Its ground coverage helps balance nitrogen levels and maintain soil health.  If you happen upon one with four leaves instead of three, some would say you’d be blessed with the luck of the Irish!

 

Dandelion (Taraxacum Mongolicum)

The Taraxacum Mongolicum has been used in Eastern medicine for thousands of years, providing many health benefits.  When aged, how beautiful the feathery filaments appear when caught up in a summer’s breeze.  Kind of nostalgic, isn’t it?  For the vineyard though, this perennial's wide-spread root systems are amazing for loosening soil and pulling up calcium from the depths.  Grape vines require proper aeration and drainage to produce quality fruit set.  Less is more when it comes to water!

 

Hairy Bittercress (Cardamine Hirsute)

This little white flower is part of the mustard family.  In this particular photo, you can see the long slender seed pods getting ready to burst and spread themselves along the vineyard floor.  Flourishing in damp, sunny and loose soil conditions, the vineyard is just the spot for the annual Cardamine Hirsute to thrive.  It is also edible.  It can add a little zip to your salad with peppery flavours, a perfect 40 Knots Pinot Noir pairing!  Just like all other types of plants within the mustard family, this one is loaded with nutrients.  It’s a spring weed, so as temperatures increase, the sight of them decreases.

Fescue Grass (Festuca Arundinacea)

The grass is basically the bodyguard of the vineyard, its main goal is to protect.  The grass' heavy root system safeguards the soil from eroding and compacting. In the heat of the summer, it will enter dormancy and turn brown.  This is favourable because it no longer competes for water.  It also reduces excess moisture, avoiding unwanted heavy vine vigor.  

 

Where this foliage thrives, so do bugs that feed our vineyard animals.

 

Biodynamic law teaches that everything has a purpose.  With the knowledge of this, we can truly revel in the bounty that is found all around us. 

 

“Look deep into nature, and then you will understand everything better.” –Albert Einstein. 

 

 

With Spring upon us, we invite you to partake in one of our newly introduced guided vineyard tours.  While you’re sipping our 40 Knots wine amongst the vines where it all began, see if you can find some of these vineyard helpers in between your feet! 

40 Knots grows and crafts high quality, ethical, clean wines that are distinct to Vancouver Island.

What Wine are YOU Drinking?

What's in 40 Knots Wine:

This entry is dedicated to learning about what it is that we're drinking when we pick up that delicious glass of vino.  Wondering what is specifically in 40 Knot's wine?  Read on!

What's NOT in 40 Knot wine?  No chemical or unnatural preservatives are used.  No added flavoring is used.  Our wines are vegan and gluten-free.  We achieve our GOLD for our efforts.  And we often have customers come to us, surprised, and say they can drink wine again with no adverse effect.  

Wine-making methods:  First and foremost, there are conventional methods.  Sulfites, eggs, milk, and fish are sometimes found in the conventional process of winemaking.  Although by law these additions must be stated on the label, this is not always the case, so if this is important to you, read the label or ask the winery.  The next level is the certification of organic.  It costs a lot of money to get certified and it doesn't always guarantee that what you're drinking is 100% preservative free or that the methods are good for the environment.  Us at 40 Knots?  Well, we're above organic standards.  The term biodynamic has come up a lot over the last couple of years, and while we're working towards fully achieving this certification, you can always rest assure that what you're drinking out of our 40 Knots Cellar is clean, natural, and rooted in our cool climate to give you fruit forward juicy and elegant wines.

What's found in All Wine:

Now let’s take a look at a broader scope and discuss the components found in all wine all over the world.

The number one ingredient found is actually water.  No, water is not added, this is the natural "water" found in the grape.  Around 75% of wine in fact. Shocking, right? Following this is alcohol, typically ranging anywhere between 8-16%. Doesn’t leave much left. But this is where it gets interesting.  

Traditional wine is always made out of a few strains of winemaking grapes. Vitis-vinifera is the most common type used. So when people say they taste blackberries, cherries, or spices- this doesn’t normally mean that those flavors have been added. Although some producers do sneak flavoring into wine, 40 Knots does not.  Each grape varietal brings out different characteristics, depending on soil and climate. The only other way that different kind of fruits would be used, would be where the producer would state that what they carry is a “fruit wine” or country wine, as they define it in Europe. So rest easy, you are always drinking juices from grapes that have been affected by a fermentation process! 

So moving on, let’s look at what makes up the rest of that 5-10%. 

Acids - this is naturally derived from the grape skins. White wines will typically have more acids than reds. There is also a small amount of amino acid found. Volatile acidity, mostly acetic acid, is what would give the wine its vinegar taste if gone bad. 

Acetaldehyde - this is a volatile compound that is created when a wine starts to slightly oxidize.  It sometimes gives off aromas of yellow apple.  Some winemakers purposely oxidize before bottling if they are looking for a result of these flavors, but mostly only found with very old wines.

Glycerol - this is a sugar alcohol that is not technically sugar and gives wines their sweetness. Sugar is also found when the grapes don’t ferment all the way, leaving the wine with residual sugar, or RS for short. Dry wines will have less, typically 0-8 g/liter, off-dry will typically have 8-15 g/liter, and sweet wines will have 20+g/liter.

Higher Alcohol - these are found in very small amounts and will help aid in the wine's primary aromas.

Minerals - calcium, zinc, iron, magnesium, potassium, and manganese. Get your daily dose by drinking some wine!

Esters and Phenols - these are compounds that give off aromas of a wine.  

Sulfites - this is a naturally occurring preservative of all fruit (easily seen as the white on blueberry skins), and something of a conversation piece.  Levels of sulfites range in a wine, but they all have it.  Most have an addition of sulfites to help preserve it, especially if being shipped from other countries, or if it is a big commercial winery, or if the wine is packaged in a lesser stable container like tetra boxes or boxes with spouts.  Even VQA wines are allowed to have large volumes of sulfites added.  People claim that sulfites are what create headaches, this is up for debate.  Some people say its the histamines.  Varying countries have different histamines and the person's reaction might come from certain parts of the world and not others.  If an Australian wine gives you a headache, try Italian.   Easier yet, if you get a headache from wine, perhaps it's simply dehydration!  Best using the one to one method.  One glass of wine, one glass of water etc.

Antioxidants and healing properties?  Just google "is wine good for you", and you will come up with many, many claims that it is.  Articles say that a daily glass of wine can help with brain function, heart function, ovary function, blood clots, stress, and the list goes on.   Hmmmm... is that why it is common to cheer "here's to your health"?!

 

40 Knots grows and crafts high quality, ethical, clean wines that are distinct to Vancouver Island.