Mountain Peoples Wine Distributing, the largest and oldest California distributor focused on organic wine, added organic craft spirits to its offerings.
Launching with 19 products from 5 different producers, the portfolio showcases a range of small-batch, USDA-certified organic spirits, and includes Old Town Distilling (Fort Collins, CO), Topo Distillery (Chapel Hill, NC), Western Reserve Distillers (Lakewood, OH), Celestial Tequila (Jalisco, Mexico), and Highland Harvest (Scotland).
“Consumers are becoming more conscientious towards how they spend their money – and they want to know the story behind the products they buy. Was is sustainably produced? Were ingredients locally sourced? They want to know that their hard-earned dollars are going to the kind of producer they want to support, and our aim is providing more choices consumers can feel good about,” explained Laura Fung, MPW’s President.
While researching potential spirits producers to launch with, MPW looked for smaller distilleries committed to producing the highest quality organic products while caring for the planet through social and environmental responsibility.
Each of the producers in MPW’s new spirits book go beyond minimum requirements of USDA organic certification.
- Western Reserve Distillers uses heirloom 60+ year-old seed stock and is committed to local sourcing, using only non-GMO ingredients, repurposing spent seed as compost, and zero waste at the distillery.
- Old Town Distilling sources all raw ingredients from within the state of Colorado and works closely with neighboring organic farmers for grain and botanicals.
- Topo Distilling’s efficiency has earned them the only Green Plus certification for a U.S. distillery.
- Tequila Celestial allows their agave plants to flower with the goal of increasing biodiversity and is working towards bat habitat & pollinator certifications. “They aim to reduce their overall carbon footprint and actually give back to the environment, while ensuring consumers know what’s in their glass,” added Fung.
Michael Michel, owner and CFO at MPW said, “Our customers include natural grocery stores, wine & spirits shops, high-end restaurants, and everything in between. After 25 years in organic wine, this is an exciting next step as we are continually looking to improve and broaden our portfolio for our customers.”