Wine and the environment, organic, biodynamic, and natural is our third book. It is about organic wine production and organic wines, biodynamic farming, “sustainable” winemaking, fair trade, natural wines and other related phenomena in wine growing, wine making and wine consumption. It also talks about environmental issues in general in the vineyard and in the wine cellar.
The book was elected Best Wine Book for Professionals in Sweden 2012 and World’s Best Drinks (wine) Education Book, runner-up, 2012.
A large part of the book is dedicated to explaining what organic, and the other types, of wine production actually means; what are the rules, what can a winemaker do in the vineyard and in the cellar to call it “organic wine” (as well as the other labels), what are the allowed processes, additives, chemicals etc.
The second part of the book is a selection of wine producers that fall into one of these categories and that we recommend. They explain how they work and why.
The intention with the book is first and foremost to explain what these things are; the book does not primarily argue for or against these principles. We give the facts to the reader and then it is up to him to decide.
This is how the publisher presents Wine and the Environment
“Vinet och miljön. Ekologiskt, biodynamiskt och naturligt”, boken om allt som handlar om miljö, hållbart och liknande runt vin.
Society is more and more impregnated with a consciousness of the importance of caring for the environment. Also when it comes to wine, the vineyard and the making of wine both wine producers and wine lovers pay much attention to the more concrete production history and methods of the noble beverage.
“We constantly notice when we are out talking to winemakers in different wine regions that more and more producers pay attention to how what they do in the vineyard affects the environment. One after the other of winemakers that we meet start their “conversion” to organic farming. There are rules for what that means – what an organic farmer can do and what is forbidden – rules that come both from public or government organisations and from private organisations. In addition to organic people now also talk more and more about other, related or similar concepts: biodynamic, natural wines, sustainable farming. All and each of these things are different and in the book we explain them all”, it says in the book.
The wine experts Britt and Per Karlsson are very familiar with these subjects and have deep knowledge of the world of wine, be it in France, Italy, Spain, south Africa, Portugal or other wine countries. For the first time the reader can get with Wine and the Environment a thorough explanation in text and images of what the concepts really mean: organic farming, biodynamic wines, natural wines, sustainable winemaking as well as how the winemaker can fight against weed, pests and maladies of the vine. A number of wine producers are interviewed and talks about their experiences.
Wine and the Environment is the first book that Britt and Per Karlsson publishes after The Creation of a Wine (2009) that was awarded Best Swedish Wine Book and World’s Best Wine Book for Professionals (2010).
Wine and the Environment has won two awards from The Gourmand World Cookbook Awards:
- Best Wine Book for Professionals, in Sweden, 2012
- World’s best drinks (wine) education book, 2012, second place
Gourmand World Cookbook Awards motivation:
“The wine world ferments with new and old philosophies and bold ideas. With great ambition and in detail Britt and Per Karlsson guides both the professional and the wine enthusiast to organic, biodynamic and natural wines.”
Britt and Per Karlsson
We live and work in Paris since many years. Under the name BKWine we are authors, journalists, photographers, wine judges, wine course and wine tour organisers. We also publish an international wine newsletter, The BKWine Brief. Our first book was a pioneering work on the wines from the south of France: Languedoc Wines (2007) and two years later wt published the prize winning book The Creation of a Wine (2009).
Book Facts
Title: Wine and the environment, organic, biodynamic, and natural
Original’s Title: Vinet och miljön. Ekologiskt, biodynamiskt och naturligt
Author: Britt Karlsson
Photographer: Per Karlsson
Publisher: Carlsson Bokförlag
Presentation: Hard-cover, richly illustrated in colour
Language: Swedish
Published: 2012
Dimensions: 330 pages, 500 grams
ISBN10: 9173315281
ISBN13: 9789173315289
More information
There is much more information on the Swedish language book pages!
Here is a selection of photography from Wine and the Environment.
This post is also available in: Swedish
English
Svenska 
Hi. Any idea if this book will be published in english in the near future? It would be really great and helpful! Regards.
Nothing definite yet. We’re in talks with a publisher so we hope to be able to give you some better answer soon.
Thank you Per. Please if possible send me an email when you have something definite, im really looking forward for a book like this, there isnt much. By the way does the book talk about organic viticulture practices, like soil, vineyard treatments, pruning, things like that? Best Regards.
I will try and remember but the best way to know is to sign up for our newsletter (see sidebar). We will be sure to mention it in the newsletter.
The book talks about all the things you mention. The basic idea is to explain what organic (etc) means. We’re not primarily arguing for or against it, just explaining what it means, in quite a lot of details. It’s for you to decide if you think it’s good or not so good.
And then we let many of the winemakers talk about what they do and why.