Bonde Fine Wine Shop curates exclusively eco-responsible wines from small-scale Authors' winemakers, primarily from the US.

What makes a wine eco-responsible?

Eco-responsible wine is made from wineries with grapes that have been grown with respect for the fruit, the land, and the people who tend it, and has been vinified at a human scale with integrity, without the use of industrial chemicals or mechanical processes. While there are various certifications in the realm of “sustainability”, such as organic, biodynamic, and regenerative, those reflect only the farming practices and say nothing of the winemaking process. So, a wine could be certified sustainable and still be made on a massive scale using industrial chemicals in the cellar—this would not pass our standards. We instead rely on strong relationships with our producers to understand how our wine was produced, both in the fields and in the cellar. We know the vineyards that the grapes for all of our wines come from, and the winemakers that make all of our wine. 

What is an “Authors' wine”?

Authors' wines are the opposite of the standard, mass-produced wines that make up most of the market. Instead, they are produced on small scales with an expert winemaker at the heart, reflecting the whims of the weather and the mood of the author. Because the author winemaker does not rely on market trends to guide them, they make their wine as they want, without compromising on the wine’s quality and integrity.

Authors' wines are not necessarily marginal: they are present in most of the world’s legal "appellations", and can be anything from relatively unknown to wines so elite and high-end that they are unavailable to the general public. Because they are not manipulated to taste a certain way, they can have very different profiles depending on the vintage. Each author’s wine has its own personality, and it is up to us to accept them as they are, and to remain loyal to the winemakers, because they need our support to continue their work.

Why American wine?

The focus on sustainable, small-production American wineries gives the consumer an opportunity to understand the wealth of quality, economically accessible wines grown and made here in the United States. America has an incredible diversity of climates and soils, not to mention no governing body dictating how wine must be made in a certain area. There are small winemakers here in America that are producing world-class wines, often available at the fraction of a price of “Old World” wines of a similar quality. We aim to support our own winemakers.

You can shop all of our wines here. Or, let us guide you by diving into the experience here.