Be Sustainable, Drink Local

Most of us choose our drinks based on taste or what’s popular. And the last thing on your mind when imbibing an alcoholic beverage is how sustainable it is. When you do think about it, with the gathering of ingredients, mass production and transportation, adult drinks aren’t exactly models of sustainability – unless they’re local. Which leads me to wonder, are you being more sustainable by drinking local? Let’s start with the first distillery in Washington state since Prohibition, Dry Fly Distilling, which literally wrote Washington’s book on the topic prior to its 2007 opening. Since there hadn’t been a craft distillery in close to 100 years, Dry Fly owners Don Poffenroth and Kent Fleischman helped craft the state’s legislation concerning craft distilleries, making sure that sustainability and the use of local ingredients were determining factors for this designation. To become a Washington craft distiller, you must now source at least 50 percent of your ingredients from within the state. Dry Fly has set an even higher standard for itself. “We source 99.9 percent of ingredients from within Washington,” said Poffenroth. “We decided to use the best possible resources and raw materials close to us and focused on making sustainability a priority in our operations and the operations of future craft distilleries.” Dry Fly features wheat as the main ingredient in its vodka, gin and whiskey. Not unusual for vodka and gin, but Dry Fly is the first distillery to produce a 100 percent wheat whiskey in more than a century. What is so special about its wheat? It comes from Wisota Farms, a family-owned operation 50 miles south of Spokane. Poffenroth insists that it’s the Palouse sustainable grains that define Dry Fly’s spirits. “In this area we have some of the best-grown grains in the world,” he said. “People love the way our products taste, and the local grains are at least half of this.” Dry Fly’s sustainable efforts don’t stop with their ingredients. It prides itself on the hands-on approach it takes with all aspects of production, particularly bottling. Instead of buying a mechanized system, Dry Fly brings in volunteer groups Thursdays and Saturdays to bottle. Not only does the bottling get done in a sustainable manner at the 1003 E. Trent location, but it gets neighbors excited. “We have voracious local fans and they’ve been a huge part of our success. Spokane and this community deserve part ownership,” said Poffenroth. (For more about Dry Fly, visit www.dryflydistilling.com) Another example of sustainable adult beverages is a short drive west of Spokane near the shores of Lake Roosevelt, where Whitestone Winery keeps a local focus while producing award-winning and sustainable wines. It began as a vineyard in 1994, and had its first harvest in 1996. For several years, its grapes went to Walla Walla for use in that area’s fine wines. “Those awards that the wineries were winning, which brought so much recognition to them, were won with Spokane grapes,” said Michael Haig, Whitestone’s winemaker and general manager. In 2005 Whitestone decided to use 100 percent of that year’s crop exclusively for Whitestone Wine, and it’s been that way since. This move, along with changes to packaging and shipping, including lighter weight eco-friendly glass, created a unique system that starts in the vineyard and ends at the table of local restaurants. “Every little detail counts and can make a difference with a winery that produces 2,000 cases each year,” said Haig. “If someone in Spokane buys a bottle of our wine, from vineyard to table, that bottle has traveled less than 80 miles. Not many vineyards can claim that.” Whitestone further shortened it sustainability chain last summer by opening a Spokane tasting room. “When you’re drinking local, you’re drinking your neighbor’s product and you’re still getting the same quality, just without the price and the shipping,” said Haig. “Trust your tastebuds and try the local stuff. The quality is here.” (For more details visit www.whitestonewinery.com) Spokane truly is unique when it comes to local producers of libations. Fifteen wineries, three breweries and one distillery call us home. So the next time you’re sitting down for a drink and pondering what to order, make sure you think sustainable and drink local. Joe Johnson is a freelance writer and former Destination Marketing Associate at the Spokane Regional Convention & Visitors Bureau. For more information visit www.visitspokane.com.