Bittern Imports

Bittern Imports is driven by a responsibility to exist in a thoughtful and ethical way. As consumers of wine, we want to be part of the conversation that changes how business is done, calibrating our expectations and role in the world of wine.

Ontario, one North America’s most limited markets for alcohol sales, is now at the precipice of an oncoming reclamation of wine drinking. This market and its peoples have been far ahead in terms of ethical agricultural consumerism and supporting projects that increase this land’s biodiversity. We aim to extend that thoughtfulness to wine and succeed in celebrating wine drinking as a vehicle to build bridges outside of our communities.

While we don’t focus on wine from specific regions, Bittern explores relationships with winemakers who are ethically committed to biodiversity, small scale and/or family run projects, and bottling seasons rather than strong-arming predictable cuvees. 

A lot of the time these wines are exclusively unsulphured, some wines take on very small amounts of sulphur at the time of bottling, other times, it just depends on what the process was like!

Our approach to wine is aligned with all of our experience in art and community development. While we deeply value the work of the producers we represent - we acknowledge many of these producers and their livelihood is ruled by elements that operate far beyond human control. The world is hotter, the winds are changing, the work is done over daunting lengths of time to achieve soils that are hospitable for the fruit. The are no bad vintages, only years producing more or less muscular wines, each year presenting a different set of challenges from the next.

Jenny, Glenn and Craig recognize that we operate in Tkaronto on the current and historical lands of the Mississaugas of the Credit, the Anishnabeg, the Chippewa, the Haudenosaunee and the Huron-Wendat peoples. We understand that as white people, we benefit and profit from white supremacy. We are committed to participating in the chorus of business in a different way. This means respecting ecology by working with producers with thoughtful viticultural practices on top of financial ethics. We are dedicated to engaging in business practices that emphasize connection and community and not acting with an insatiable appetite for profit. With respect, this is an ongoing dialogue and we acknowledge that our actions do not end here and each action, moving forward, must be informed in a holistic manner.