Last year, Maplewood was named a “Green Dining District,” by the Green Dining Alliance—the first such district around. With at least 25% of its independently owned restaurants committed to sustainability (sourcing local and organic foods, recycling, composting, sharing resources through collaboration and co-promotion), Maplewood continues to raise the bar for other areas around town.
As one of the restaurants of the district, Water Street now has a wine list that offers only organic, biodynamic, and sustainable wines. Co-owner Gabe Kveton, who oversees the bar program, was “surprised to see how easy it was” to make the change. Working with the wine reps from area distributors, Kveton has assembled a long list of glasses, half bottles, and full bottles, from white to sparkling to rosé to red.
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One of Kveton’s favorite wines by the glass right now is the Gerard Bertrand Pinot Noir; by the bottle, he recommends the Jean-Louis Chave Côtes du Rhônes, noting a St. Louis connection to the winery (Jean-Louis Chave is married to St. Louis native Erin Cannon-Chave).
The “organic” and “sustainable” labels are straightforward; organic means that the wine is produced without any artificial chemicals both while the grapes are still on the vine and during the fermentation process. Sustainable practices require leaving as small a footprint as possible on the environment and prioritizing equitable conditions for workers—something that’s often “out of sight, out of mind” for the consumer.
Biodynamic takes organic to another level, according to Food and Wine, where the “approach to grape-growing sees the vineyard as an ecological whole: not just rows of grapevines, but the soil beneath them—an organism in its own right—and the other flora and fauna in the area, growing independently.” Biodynamic farmers and vintners sometimes follow the lunar cycle when planting and harvesting their crops among other ritual practices connected to nature.
If you’re skeptical that a vinter sprinkling his or her grape vines with cow manure from a horn (one of the biodynamic rituals identified in the Food and Wine article referenced above) will improve a wine, just focus on the taste and try one of Kveton’s recommended pairings: a Poggio Anima Sangiovese with the roasted duck lasagna or a Leth Grüner-Veltliner with the chicken pot pie (right).
To see the full menu, including food, developed by Kveton’s sister Maria, click here.
Water Street
7268 Manchester
314-646-8355
Dinner Mon – Sat
On Facebook: Water Street
On Twitter: @WaterStreetSTL
