Salmon Safe Wines? Are you supporting them?

In the Pacific Northwest, salmon are important to not only the economy, but our ecology as well. 

Say you planted some vines on a sun-soaked slope of your property. That's great -- you'll have some lovely grapes in the years to come. But when you water those vines, what happens? Certainly, the thirsty plants will suck up some of it, but there will be runoff. Down the slope, and, very likely into a stream. During this process, silt and other gunk will be washed into the stream which reduces the ability for the salmon to thrive there, eliminating yet another "safe harbor" for the fish so to speak.

Salmon-Safe is an orginazation that is helping vineyards "protect important salmon watersheds and produce world class wine." (From http://salmonsafe.org/wine/index.cfm)

What can you do to help? If you are a grower, you can plant trees and ground cover on stream banks to control soil erosion and use natural methods to control weeds and pests. Salmon-Safe can help with that. If you are a consumer, you can look for the Salmon Safe label in your supermarket or wine shop. You can help keep our rivers safe for salmon.  Please encourage your local growers to support the mission of this important organization.

For more information about Salmon-Safe and to view a list of Salmon-Safe wines, visit their website at salmonsafe.org.