Sustainable sipping at Sea Star Vineyards

When you pick up a bottle of wine to go with dinner, you may not be thinking about its entire backstory. Yet, creating it is at least a year-long affair, ranging from bud break, to harvest, to bottling. Visiting a winery offers a glimpse into this journey, and it’s a beautiful one at Sea Star Vineyards and Winery on Pender Island. 

A winding road leads the way to a building tucked in the forest, boasting smooth lines of glass and wood that seamlessly fit into the surroundings. The winery has changed ownership in the past few years, resulting in slow but significant changes on the vineyard front. Fruit quality and yields have since improved, producing wines that are a mix of estate-only and purchased grapes. As both a family and community-run business, Sea Star continuously seeks ways to positively impact its environment. Whether that be hosting local artists or coordinating group harvests, the team prioritizes direct engagement. 

A Sustainable Look at Wine

As much as the social and cultural aspects of the winery make it a positive hub on the island, it holds a great deal of responsibility to the environment as well. A vineyard is a farm, and with it comes a multitude of agricultural decisions. Sustainability extends from farming practices to water and energy management, as well as sourcing quality recycled paper for bottle labels. While the efforts in the background are ongoing, Sea Star also invites customers to participate in these endeavours.

Smaller wineries might not have the shelf space to compete against large corporations, but they can make up for it by targeting local issues and affecting change closer to home. One cause that is especially important to Sea Star is the Raincoast Conservation Foundation. The organization works to protect the province’s land, waters, and wildlife with research-based projects. The winery first joined forces with the foundation to help protect the Salish Sea orca population.

Protecting Our Nature

Their J35 Sparkling wine refers to a killer whale of the same name, who attracted attention in 2018 when her calf died shortly after birth. J35 transported the calf for over two weeks and 1,600 kilometers in the Salish Sea, offering a view into the very human emotion of grief, displayed in another living being. The 2021 vintage of this sparkling wine showcases Bowen Island artist Di’s work on the label, which depicts J35 with her healthy calf born in 2020 in the Salish Sea, symbolizing the promise of the future. Sea Star produced 150 cases of wine to support killer whale protection, donating 100% of the profits to the Raincoast Conservation Foundation’s continued research. 

The winery also partnered with the foundation, as well as with the Pender Island Conservancy, by donating a portion of the money from its wine tastings. The target of the fundraising was to help the Conservancy purchase a sizeable portion of land immediately next to the winery. This area, known as the Kingfisher Forest, is an important element in the environmental well-being of the island. With acres of coastal Douglas fir trees and wetlands, successfully protecting this land will have a ripple effect on its microclimate and the surrounding ecosystem for years to come.

For Sea Star, sustainability exceeds the confines of the vineyard and winery. While care and intention go into the many steps of the viticultural process, respect for the natural environment is greater than that. A bottle of J35 Sparkling wine might light up a celebration, but it goes beyond mere consumption. By engaging in these various ventures, Sea Star reveals itself as more than just a stop for wine tasting and vineyard views. 

Written by Lucia Capretti