Drink & Be Merry…
Organic & Local Options

With all media attention focused on food miles and organic production, most of it spotlights food and only rarely do beverages warrant a mention. Yet here we are sipping away at wines and beers made from heavily sprayed grapes, hops, and barley. Likely as not imbibing an unexpected cocktail of insecticides, herbicides, fertilisers and other nasties like fungicides. Then for the vegetarians and vegans amongst us is the worry that virtually all commercially mass produced wines and beers have had some animal or fish derived ingredients used in their production.
It is also said by some that drinking organically produced wines and beers is less likely to result in hangovers. This seems logical, as if drinks are free of nasty chemicals they have to be less harmful but this should not be seen as an automatic green light to over-indulge. Instead savour the better quality and treat all alcohol – organic, vegetarian or vegan – and your body, with respect.

Cider, Cider Brandy & Apple Juices
It never ceases to amaze us that so many products are allowed to be called cider when they clearly haven’t had so much as a whiff of an apple near them. That these poor chemically derived imitations can actually achieve sales in this region seems incredible as there are so many local farm produced ciders, organic and traditional, available from specialist suppliers and from the farm gate.
The same principle applies to cider brandy – why buy imported calvados when there is a superb cider brandy produced in Somerset? And as for apple juice it seems ludicrous to buy cheap second rate imported juice which is usually made from concentrate when we have a wealth of producers – organic and traditional – pressing local apples for juice right here in the West Country. Here we cannot merely ensure that we reduce the food miles involved and their environmental impact but also ensure that are supporting local producers as well as enjoying wholesome products with full traceability.

UK Grown & Produced Wines
The last few years have seen steady expansion in the number of vineyards being established in clement areas of the UK and the West Country is no exception. There are now some very good quality wines in production, primarily whites, which easily rival equivalents produced in Northern France, Germany, and Spain. Sparkling wines can be particularly good and with most of the UK producers being relatively new to production they are less likely to rely on animal and fish derived products like gelatine (made from cows and pigs hooves) isinglass (fish bladders), or egg white to refine their wines when kaolin can do the same job. However, there is nothing to stop an organic vineyard or farmer from using animal blood and bone meal as fertiliser instead of chemical products… so the more locally and directly you buy, the more likely you are to be able to establish exactly what has been used in the production of your tipple. There are, of course, many organic wines and UK produced bottles now finding their way onto the wine merchants’ shelves though they are still in the minority and in some instances appear more as a knee jerk reaction to media coverage than as a concerted push to encourage more of us to buy local and/or organic.

Beers
It surprises many people to learn that isinglass (fish bladders) is often used to filter beers just as it is used in wine production. There is however a growing number of small breweries which have opted to specialise in organic beer production and to make their production processes fully acceptable to both vegetarians and vegans. Many of these smaller breweries (micro-breweries) are attached to public houses and in addition to selling their products over the pub counter will happily sell by the keg to restaurants and to the public.
If your passion is for well crafted, locally brewed beer with provenance then seek it out at source or take a look at the range of bottled brands at one of the many specialist independent licensed grocers. You will be surprised at how wide the choice is these days for local and organic beers. Cheers!

Make your own
If you want to be really sure that the drinks you imbibe are free of nasties then making your own is a viable option if you have the space to store it while it is fermenting. There are many traditional recipe books on the market which explain exactly how to make alcoholic drinks from basic ingredients as diverse as rice, potatoes, parsnips and the ubiquitous elderberry… Simply use organic fruits, grains and/or vegetables – ideally home grown when at their peak – along with organic sugar and natural yeast… after a few months you could be sipping your very own concoctions. It is, of course, a little late to be starting now for this Christmas but you could perhaps start collecting up the basic equipment you will need – demijohns, bottles, fermenting buckets, bubblers, bins, etc.. You can also buy kits which include everything you need other than the sugar and the water… there is even one such wine kit, Solomon Grundy’s, which takes a mere 7 days from start to finish.

Cordials, Juices & Smoothies
If you are trying to get your kids off fizzy drinks and onto more healthy alternatives then think about investing in a juicer or smoothie maker and encouraging them to make their own blends. Carrot & apple juice is an easy and delicious kids favourite and can be diluted for the younger ones. A few bananas whizzed up with any juicy fruit will make a yummy smoothie. Look out too for organic pure fruit based cordials
which are free of colourings and the usual copious amounts of sugar or chemical sweeteners. There are some really delicious natural cordials around which go a long way and are a whole lot better than their cheap and nasty supermarket counterparts. Some are a delight for adults too, like for example, ginger & lemongrass, elderflower…

More you can make
Ginger beer, root beer, traditional lemonade… all delicious, alcohol free, and easy to make. Save up your screw top bottles for these – be sure to sterilise both bottles and caps immediately before use and follow any one of the simple recipes you can find online or in the library. These brews can cost as little as 20p for a full pint and taste every bit as good as the premium traditional brands which can cost over £1.30 for a single serving.