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Hello, My Name Is Fermenta

Most importantly, everything we serve will be #delicious.

Peter Nelson
A compact wine and beer bar showcasing producers that are leaders in sustainability, practice organic and biodynamic farming, and low-impact winemaking. New England Breweries are featured, especially those with larger goals including a commitment to their communities.

Hours of Operation
Open everyday at 5:00
Closed Tuesdays (for now)
Part of Foundation Kitchen’s food hall in the Graphic Lofts located in Charlestown near Sullivan Square, our laid back approach will encourage value-oriented exploration of wine and beer with good humor and hospitality.

@fermenta_graphic


Foundation Kitchen Food Hall Vendors

When you visit the Foundation Kitchen Food Hall, Fermenta’s home, you also have the opportunity to try a variety of delicious foods. Check out our food vendors:

Tchacoberry Pastel and Açaí
Delectable Eats
Rita’s Fresh Pasta

So what goes on during the day at Fermenta? Render coffee serves pastry, breakfast and lunch and…#delicious coffee and a variety of other beverages hot & cold.
Render Coffee

News/Events

Time To Party!
Host your event here at Fermenta in Foundation Kitchen!
Birthday Parties
Holiday Get-Togethers
After-Work Decompression

Available for just about any occasion!
Abundant Food Options from the members of Foundation Kitchen

Upcoming Events Featuring Top Chefs Cooking it Real at Foundation Kitchen, Home of Fermenta

Wine Tastings Every #WineWednesday 6:30 $31-$39
RSVP fermenta@protonmail.com

Saturday 10/21—Wing Night with Joe Johnson of The Bone Sauce

Award-winning chef Joe Johnson has perfected (and patented!) a wing sauce that delivers on the promise without a bunch of nasty ingredients like stabilizers and preservatives and fillers. Joe will cook up some wings and have bottles of his incredibly #delicious sauce for sale—produced here at Foundation Kitchen.

Wednesday 10/25—Hell Night with Amanda Escamilla of Tex Mex Eats
Join us for a hellacious evening of fiery small plates at Fermenta, Foundation Kitchen, as Tex Mex Eats Founder Amanda Escamilla delivers a hot, spicy, and smoky menu inspired by local farmers markets’ bountiful harvest of hot peppers. Reliving her Hell Nights at the East Coast Grill in Cambridge, we'll serve dishes like hot wings and sausage reaper kabobs. Enjoy along with #delicious wines, cold beer, and cider.

Saturday 10/28—Bar Bites with Youji and Phil


Every week offers a different menu! Acclaimed Boston Sushi Chef Youji Iwakura and Chef Phil Dwyer, operations manager at Foundation Kitchen, present delicious snacks every other Saturday. Menu posted each week on Instagram. @fermenta_graphic.

Saturday 11/11—Bar Bites and Chowder Flights with Martha Falvey of Spoon Soup with Phil Dwyer

Martha Falvey is the founder and chef of Spoon Soup producing delicious soups for sale at Farmers’ Markets. A veteran of the Boston/Cambridge culinary scene, Martha knows her chowder, and then some. Joined by erstwhile operations manager Phil Dwyer, this will be an exceptionally #delicious flight night.

Wine-Related Sustainability Programs

Porto Protocol Foundation

“A global wine community sharing knowledge and solutions to bring climate action to life.”

International Wineries for Climate Action

“An international foundation fostering climate solutions for the wine industry.”

Regenerative Viticulture Foundation

“Taking collective action to decarbonize the global wine industry.”


Certifying Organizations

There are dozens of organizations that certify, in a variety of ways, the sustainability or “naturalness” of vineyard and winery practices. While many producers are certified under these various regimens, there are all kinds of “loopholes” that allow for all sorts of additives in the winery and chemicals in the vineyard. As fermenta is “naturally” inclined, they are not included here.


Demeter

Demeter Association, Inc. is the United States’ representative of Demeter International. We are a not-for-profit incorporated in 1985 with the mission to enable people to farm successfully, in accordance with Biodynamic® practices and principles. Demeter’s vision is to heal the planet through agriculture. Rules vary from country to country, and many biodynamically-certified wineries are not exactly natural.

L’Association des Vins Naturels

Founded by one of the earliest leaders of natural wine, Marcel Lapierre of Morgon in Beaujolais. Lots of great info on their site.

Regenerative Viticulture Foundation

“Taking collective action to decarbonize the global wine industry.”

VinNatur

Founded by Angelino Maule from the Veneto in Italy. Also very informative website.

Biodyvin

Created in 1995, Biodyvin is a group of 205 winegrowers essentially in France, but also Belgium, Germany, Greece, Italy, Portugal, Switzerland and Spain. Only properties that are farmed entirely biodynamically, or those that have committed to full conversion after three years, are accepted.

Renaissance des Appellations

Created in 2001 by Nicolas Joly, there are now 175 winegrowers from 13 different countries. Its purpose is to guarantee the full expression of the appellations and wine at a high quality level and great originality.


Beverages and Beyond-Certifications to look for



B Corporation

Certified B Corporations are leaders in the global movement for an inclusive, equitable, and regenerative economy. Unlike other certifications for businesses, B Lab is unique in our ability to measure a company’s entire social and environmental impact.

Climate Neutral (certified)

Climate Neutral is trying to build a net-zero labelling system that drives change—and dollars. To earn the label, companies must not only show how they’re offsetting current emissions, but also lay out a plan for future carbon reduction.

Regenerative Organic Certified™

“…a revolutionary new certification for food, textiles, and personal care ingredients. ROC farms and products meet the highest standards in the world for soil health, animal welfare, and farmworker fairness.”

Sustainable Forestry Initiative

“SFI is a sustainability leader through our work in standards, conservation, community, and education.” Packaging, along with shipping, is the most carbon-intense factor in wine. More sustainable packaging is an easy choice. Also, SFI’s goals involve all forest products and communities.


Natural Wine Resources

RAW Wine

One of the truly great natural wine fairs founded by Isabel Legeron (see below). Events are held in New York, Los Angeles, Toronto, Montreal and London.

Isabelle Legeron MW

The first French woman to become a Master of Wine, she almost immediately turned her attention away from “conventional” winemaking to pursue wines made with low intervention (aka natural wine), focusing on transparency in winemaking.

Alice Feiring

OG English language proponent of making wine without a lot of nonsense. Alice has written a number of great books on natural wine and her blog is awesome.

Aaron Ayscough

A blogger and writer with a recently published book, The World of Natural Wine. A truly wonderful book, a delight to read and one that offers information on every aspect of natural from producer profiles, to production methods, and how to enjoy natural wine.

r/naturalwine

Exactly what you think it is. Always entertaining.

Wine Terroirs

Widely respected blog covering producers, wine bars, wine fairs, etc. Lots of coverage of Paris.

MYSA Natural Wine

A commercial site and wine club with lots of useful information.

Monty Waldin

The OG biodynamic and organic wine writer. Waldin’s work has been praised by critics and wine lovers alike. He has been called “the leading authority on biodynamic wine” by The New York Times, and “the wine world's most trusted voice on biodynamics” by Decanter magazine.


Some Products/Services Looking After the Planet

A running list. Please feel free to share your favorite sustainable/circular producers with us at fermenta@protonmail.com

Brightly

Brightly’s goal is to empower conscious consumers around the world. We recognize that small, daily actions add up to a huge impact on the world around us.

Chop Value

“Our mission is to redefine the term waste to resource, one chopstick at a time.”

Repurposed

“REPURPOSED features gifts, housewares, and accessories created from items that might otherwise take up space in a landfill.”

Defunkify

Defunkify is a household cleaning products brand that is committed to removing harmful toxic chemicals from our homes and environment.

Bootstrap Compost

Bootstrap Compost is a residential and commercial food scrap pickup service operating in Greater Boston, Providence, Worcester, and the Berkshires.


Other Ways to Invest in our Planet’s Future

1% For the Planet

One Percent for the Planet is an international organization whose members contribute at least one percent of their annual sales to environmental causes. Their mission is to "build, support and activate an alliance of businesses financially committed to creating a healthy planet." Wikipedia

Farmland LP

We’re a leading investment fund that has been successfully converting conventional farmland to organic since 2009. Our investment in state-of-the-art technologies, such as satellite imaging, electronic monitoring, and automated harvesting, drive profitability. We manage over 15,000 acres and more than $200 million in assets that showcase how large-scale sustainable agriculture is more profitable than conventional.

“The fund’s managers acquire conventional farmland and convert it to organic operations; they then lease land to farmers growing specialty crops such as berries, vegetables, and wine grapes.” Time Magazine

The Bee Cause Project

“The Bee Cause Project inspires the next generation of environmental stewards while protecting our planet’s precious pollinators. We offer a variety of grants to schools and non-profit organizations across North America, Canada, and beyond.”

Burroughs Family Farms

•1st Certified Regenerative Organic Almond Farm
•5th Generation California Family Farm

Great Wrap

“The only compostable stretch wrap made with food waste”
Certified B Corp

My Bio/Manifesto

#TLDR
This picture was taken at RAW Wine Fair in Brooklyn prior to the Dark Times. That’s me on the left, my good friend in wine and life, Noell on the right, and the late, great Lorenzo Corino. At Casa Corini in Italy’s Piedmont region, Lorenzo crafted wines of incredible depth, nuance and…life. All using truly sustainable viticulture and natural winemaking. His un-sulphured wines no doubt would compare favorably to the historic wines of any region in the world…as they were made 100s of years ago when their reputations were established—and when they were made without sulphur addition, were produced from fruit farmed organically and found markets around the globe. Lorenzo’s wines and I have crossed paths many times since 2000 when I was managing partner in The Wine Bottega in Boston’s North End. My goal then was as now, to bring #delicious, top-quality, value-oriented wines to anyone willing to just try one of my selections. Natural was barely a factor then; we focused on little known regions and grape varieties around the world, a similar approach to that of California winegrower Matt Rorick of Forlorn Hope. Organic and Biodynamic viticulture slowly but surely came to dominate our selections. Later proprietors shifted the focus to “natural” as those wines became available in Massachusetts.

Prior to The Wine Bottega—still an awesome wine shop by the way—I managed one of those tome-like wine lists containing 100s of Bordeaux and Napa Cabernets with multiple verticals, some going back over 50 years. I fell in love with Marcel Lapierre in Beaujolais, Comte Armand and Domaine des Comtes Lafon in Burgundy, Gaja Barbaresco and many others. An excellent education in the classics by any measure; but there were only a handful of antipodal wines—all Penfolds Grange—so not really comprehensive in the contemporary sense. I first knowingly drank a wine fermented with ambient yeast while working at the Capital Grille: Franciscan “Cuvée Sauvage” Chardonnay, to this day, one of the my top Chardonnays ever. I also worked at one of Boston’s most important—and delicious—destinations where fat ruled, and learned that there are wines that go with the buttery beasts California Chardonnay producers made in the 1990s. I, along with the times, have changed considerably, but I am still a Chardonnay “slut.”

Along the way, craft beer exploded. Yes, I was serving Chris Loring’s (of Notch Brewing in Salem) Tremont Ale long before 2009 (like over 20 years before) when I took over management of another shop in the North End. Back then, it was all West Coast IPA and Trappist beer and Imperial Stout and cult-like followings for brewers everywhere—even Denmark—but not so much in New England (with exceptions, naturally, but you wouldn’t find them in your local packy). Now, New England brewers are leading the way in numerous beer styles including Lagers, Session Beers and the ubiquitous hazy IPA. Perhaps, some day soon, Portland Maine will be recognized as the USA’s top beer destination! With such a wealth of incredible beer available in New England, it hardly seems necessary to offer beer from anywhere else, especially when considering carbon footprint.

My deep dive into natural wine has progressed rapidly over the last ten years. In my wine position before opening Fermenta, I managed a wine list of over 200 wines, and fully 30% were produced without sulphur addition, oh, and there were verticals, too. There were always at least 6 sulphur-free wines offered by the glass. I got to know some of the most inspiring and passionate winegrowers, people so focused on their craft, that the term “low intervention” became virtually meaningless. The producers I work with now are alert to every tiny factor that can, will or might affect their wine; they may not “intervene” so much, but to think, as the term implies, that they just stream videos while the wine makes itself, is absurd. Chemicals make winemaking easier, not the reverse. Personally, I’d rather it be a human that makes the difference, not herbicides, fungicides, pesticides, custom-built yeasts, enzymes, yeast nutrients, stabilizers, colorants, spinning cones and drones. At the end of the day, though, for many in the wine world, winemaking is a livelihood, and bills have to be paid; there are mouths to feed and roofs to fix, so sometimes, a little intervention is necessary. I like to call the wine program at Fermenta “natural adjacent” (credit here to friend and author Aaron Ayscough) because some challenges are insurmountable otherwise

For me the obvious next step is sustainability. Whatever your thoughts on the matter, the climate is changing. It may be part of a natural cycle or it may be the defining feature of the Anthropocene. No matter the cause, any steps we can take to mitigate the effects of a changing climate are worth pursuing—they may make this planet a safer place for our grandchildren and their grandchildren. Winegrowers and farmers of all kinds everywhere on earth know that change is afoot. Harvest dates are earlier year after year, droughts last longer, spring frosts are more extreme coming after periods of unseasonal warmth, rainstorms are more intense, and formerly cool-climate regions are producing the ripest fruit in, like…forever. And producers in warmer regions (talkin’ to you, California) are resorting to ever more extreme methods to reduce alcohol in their wines (without harvesting earlier). And please, let’s not get into the completely artificial and high intensity manufacture of low-alcohol wines currently being promulgated by supermarket brands and the like. The carbon footprint alone of these “wines” should scare you away. There are plenty of naturally-produced wines with low to average alcohol; just look at the label, as ABV is required by law to be listed…somewhere.

So, what steps are being taken to reduce wine’s carbon footprint? Regenerative agriculture aims to capture carbon in soil, and current research suggests it works; more and more vineyards are accepting this idea. Gravity flow in wineries reduces fossil fuel consumption as does solar, wind and geothermal power. Animal power is less carbon intense than machinery if properly managed. But the biggest contributor to wine’s carbon footprint is packaging and shipping. Guess what? Shipping wine from South Africa to the USA has a lower carbon footprint than trucking it across the country—unless it’s by train, which is problematic of late. Winegrower’s efforts to reduce their footprint—and costs by the way—include alternate types of packaging and innovative shipping methods. Wine is now coming across the ocean in sailboats! If the wine is meant to be consumed early, why not ship it in tanks or giant bladders and have it packaged at its point of consumption? And bag-in-box: no heavy glass, less cardboard, no empty space around the neck of the bottle which contributes to volume, which means less wine per cubic inch shipped, etc. What about glass? Believe it or not, there’s a glass shortage on the planet. No, the Sahara is not the answer, it’s quartz, not silica. Aluminum is the best, least objectionable option. A google search—or AI chatbot query—may suggest otherwise, but really aluminum is the answer…for now. Aluminum is the most likely to be recycled; its light weight makes it less carbon-intensive, requiring less energy and fossil fuel to ship and somewhat mitigates the intensity of its original mining and production. Back in the day, no craft beer devotee would consider craft beer in a can; in my experience, it was virtually unsellable. Well. Is wine any different? No, unless the wine sucks, which will never happen at Fermenta. But canned wine is gaining market share every day. “Natural” wine in a can? It’s happening here and everywhere. There are choices.

To close an energy-intensive diatribe, I invite you to discover wines, beers, ciders and sakes thoughtfully produced with an eye on the future of our planet, the place our children and grandchildren will occupy, for good or ill. You shop at farmers’ markets, Formaggio Kitchen or Whole Foods; you use apps like Yuca (amongst others); you may even make your own baby food. Processed foods are often the least best answer to satisfying your hunger, so you avoid them. Wine and beer and other “spirited” beverages (Johnny Walker is testing paper bottles, as is Carlsberg brewery) need to be considered the same way. All the “named generations” have come up against one “movement” or another promoting a healthy/sustainable lifestyle in some way. Spend some time delving deeper into the claims of…every company/organization you can name, then decide for yourself. The future is in your hands, and if you enjoy wine and beer, think about a sustainable approach that is chemical free, and in the end, more delicious.

MerkAveli - Logo Designer

View this profile on Instagram

MarvRek (@merkaveliart) • Instagram photos and videos

I’ve known MerkAveli for at least ten years; I met him at an art show in Somerville and bought 3 of his paintings. I have followed his career and attended numerous of his shows. I absolutely love his work, so I asked him to design my logo with the “Hello my name is…” theme. We struck a deal, which included partial payment in beer! His recent show at Fermenta and Foundation Kitchen was a great success, and I think a fitting tribute to the many artists who once called our building home, now known as The Graphic.
A comprehensive article in Beautiful Bizarre can be found here:


And here’s my favorite quote from the article by Elizah Leigh: “The graffiti kids said my art is too illustration. The art school kids said it’s too graffiti. The galleries say it’s too street. The painters say it’s too digital. That’s where I like to be, though. I know what I create is mine, and I focus on what drives me and what I feel I need to strengthen.”

Contact

Address
FOUNDATION KITCHEN
32 Cambridge Street
Charlestown, MA 02129
Email
fermenta@protonmail.com
Instagram
@fermenta_graphic

Getting Here

The best way to get here is to take the Orange line, as Fermenta is just footsteps away from Sullivan Station. Yes, the Orange line has seen its share of troubles, but really, it’s working fine now. I take it every day from Chinatown, and it takes less than 20 minutes door to door.

If you are driving, use a maps app on your phone; there are many ways to get here, and of course, traffic. I strongly recommend Waze. Parking in Sullivan Square is a challenge if you are looking for something on-street (free). Paying for parking is anathema to most no matter how much it costs, but right on the corner of Spice Street and Cambridge Street, also footsteps away, there is parking at any time for almost any amount of time for the unbelievably low price of just $6.00!

There’s always Uber, Lyft or a taxi. And if you are feeling extra special, just hire a black car; personally, I'd go for an Escalade.
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