Merchants tap into 'green' wine, reports Allan Tunningley, The Westmorland Gazette, 9th May 2008

"Lakeland wine importer Organico is used to bringing red, white and rose wines into the country – but the company is about to break new ground by giving customers the chance to enjoy a tipple of 'green' vino.

The Ambleside-based business has revealed ecologically-friendly plans for its spacious new organic wine warehouse, which has opened at Staveley Mill Yard.

One of its key innovations will be to handle imported wine from around the world in bulk containers – doing away with the need to ship in wines by the eco-unfriendly bottle.

Boss Peter Jackson said: "We plan to import the wine in 1,000 litre foil bags – like very large versions of the bags you find inside wine boxes, which will be almost a cubic metre when filled.

The idea is that the customers have bottles filled here at the warehouse and these can be returned and re-filled, thereby saving the need to import thousands of bottles which would require to be recycled.

It really makes sense for the environment because it will mean a 60% reduction in carbon emissions because we are not transporting glass. And only 50% of imported green glass bottles is recyclable in this country – the remainder has to go to China for re-use."

Organico, which bills itself as 'the UK's largest organic wine shop', has been importing wine for 12 years. It opened its Old Lake Road shop at Ambleside in 2005 and Mr Jackson and his son, Chris, soon decided that developing a substantial warehouse would be the next logical business step.

Mr Jackson added that future plans for the building included opening a Mediterranean-style wine bar and bistro."

Pour & Explore with Derek Kingwell, The Westmorland Gazette, 29th June 2007

Yves Ruffin Champagne Premier Cru Extra Brut NV France

Time to Get Fruity - wine and strawberries. "Fresh yeast and apple aromas lead to refreshing green apple acidity before a big dry tang on the finish. Totally refreshing drop that's exclusive to Organico and perfect for Wimbledon. Full of fruit-driven bubbles that cut beautifully through sweet succulent strawberries."

Peter Jackson and Kevin Sharkey of Organico featured on the front page of
Off Licence News 18th May 2007

Organico's James Dixon contributed a Top Tip to Off Licence News 12th January 2007

"It's important to source wines direct, to build up a fantastic relationship with the growers themselves, and of course to select only the best wines through exhaustive research. This results in bottles that you believe in and knowledge that your customers will enjoy them too. Wine is for drinking and it's to be enjoyed, all our efforts are for this purpose."

Pour & Explore with Derek Kingwell, The Westmorland Gazette, 7th July 2006

5 Stars for Guy Bossard Muscadet Sevre et Maine Sur Lie 2004 Loire, France

"Fresh dry lemon and mineral aromas deliver more vibrant and concentrated tangy citrus and bitter almond flavours that stay mildly nutty to a dry finish. Beginning to mature but still very clean, very direct, very Muscadet and very drinkable."

Pour & Explore with Derek Kingwell, The Westmorland Gazette, 24th March 2006

"What a treat to taste these wines from Organico, Ambleside, which featured recently in Food & Drink. Each had such character and individuality that my star rating didn't drop below five."

5 Stars for Badia di Morrona San Torpe DOC 'Feliciaio' 2005 Tuscany, Italy.

"A sunny, lively mixed bowl of nut and lemon fruit aromas leads to aromatic preserved lemon flavours that dry gently to a lingering finish. A simple but fine balance of fruit and dryness on a tightrope of refreshing acidity."

5 Stars for Castello di Arcano Superiore Sauvignon Fruili Grave DOC 2005 Friuli, Italy.

"A richer than expected nose of butter and almond with a sprinkle of sage and peppers opens to a full bodied flavour of artichoke and fresh herbs while keeping good acidity before a fruity spiced dry finish. A must for Sauvignon Blanc fans just to see how different the grape becomes, full bodied yet still possessing good refreshing acidity, here in the north east of Italy."

5+ Stars for Antica Enotria Falu Rosso IGT 2004 Puglia, Italy.

"Classic spiced ripe plum and cherry aromas serves up everything you expect in light to medium bodied flavours of fresh cherry with that refreshing bitter edge that rolls on and on to a drier prune-soaked finish. Simplicity is always best. Anyone can be obscure but it takes a genius to be simple. A stormer - probably the best Montipulciano I have tasted in a decade."

5 Stars for La Spinosa Chianti Colli Fiorentini DOCG 2003 Tuscany, Italy.

"Intensely perfumed scents of red and blackberry fruits with a hint of mild marzipan delivers a juicy rush of fruit flavours before a complementary tannic structure pulls the mouth to the finish with a bitter cherry edge. A cracking Chianti that once again is confident in its simplicity."