Oregon winery upcycles wine bottles

Cowhorn, a small Applegate Valley winery in Oregon, US, has just sent its first shipment of 1,000 used wine bottles to The Green Glass Company where they will be upcycled into heirloom goblets, pitchers, tumblers, vases, and votives.

From the Mayor of New York to the King of Spain, Green Glass Company goblets can be found on the dining tables of wine lovers the world over who want to enjoy new wine in old glass.

In a complementary program, the Ashland Food Co-op, Southern Oregon’s first and only Certified Organic retailer, has partnered with Cowhorn, the wine region’s first and only certified biodynamic estate winery, to convert used corks into reusable, compostable wine packs guaranteed to contain a minimum of 99% recycled content. Corks collected at the Co-op’s Ashland store and the estate’s Applegate Valley tasting room are sent to Corvallis-based Western Pulp, a company known for making high-quality biodegradable packaging and planters from recycled pulp.

At Cowhorn, even the soft metal bottle cap covering the cork gets a new life through Rogue Recycling. The winery invites Rogue Valley residents to recycle torn tins and natural corks from any winery and used Cowhorn bottles at its Applegate Valley tasting room.

“Everything in nature flows in cycles, and there really is no such thing as waste,” says Barbara Steele, co-owner of Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden. “It’s not enough for us to endeavor to grow great grapes and produce world-class wine. Being biodynamic is also about closing all of the loops and that means taking responsibility for our packaging. We provide our local community a way to upcycle glass and recycle corks, and hope to inspire other wineries and wine lovers to do the same in their region. One of the greatest aspects of the emerging biodynamic wine world is that there is genuine spirit of friendly competition in an all out race to the top to do the right thing.”

About Cowhorn

Hidden away in a remote river valley of a region historically known more for gold than grapes is Cowhorn Vineyard & Garden, a boutique Demeter-certified biodynamic estate winery.
Cowhorn sits alongside Southern Oregon’s Applegate River. The farm is fringed by frontier forests on the edge of America’s great western wilderness and supported by soils that are perfectly suited for Grenache, Marsanne, Roussanne, Syrah, and Viognier.
Currently the only certified organic and biodynamic winery in southern Oregon, it is among the first certified biodynamic estate wineries and commercial farms in the US. Guided by holistic-estate advisor Alan York, consultant winemaker Ken Bernards, and environmental designer Buddy Williams, the winery planted its first 11 acres of vineyard in 2005. Using state-of-the-art technology, winemakers Bill and Barbara Steele gently nudge native yeast through the fermentation process on a mission to make fine wine with few inputs, going from grapes to glass as purely as possible.

For more information

COWHORNWINE.com
Demeter-USA.org
GreenGlass.com
WesternPulp.com

1 January 2010 - Felicity Murray