Sustainable Winemaking Practices in Napa Valley
For many years, Napa Valley has been at the forefront of sustainable winemaking practices. California wineries have long been leaders in environmentally-friendly practices because they recognized early on that wine grapes are one of the susceptible crops to global warming. The state’s most famous wine region is also home to some of the world's oldest and most respected vineyards – and it’s not just because of their incredible wines! It is also because of their incredible commitment to caring for the land around them.
Napa Valley is known for its meticulous attention to detail and commitment to quality. However, many people don't know that many Napa Valley wineries were among the first in California to use sustainable farming methods like organic pest control and biodynamic soil management techniques. They've also led by example when it comes to energy efficiency. Many wineries use solar panels or wind turbines for power generation instead of relying on fossil fuels like oil or coal. These practices are so important because climate change affects all aspects of life—including our ability (or inability) to make quality wines from sustainable grapes grown in healthy soil.
What makes sustainable wine?
The world of wine is a vast and varied one. From how it's produced to how it's consumed, wine is a complex and dynamic beverage that has existed for thousands of years. But what makes a wine “sustainable”?
Sustainable wines are more than just the production process. It is about creating sustainability at every stage of the winemaking production –from growing the grapes to recycling glass bottles to adopting social responsibility for the communities surrounding the vineyard.
The standard practices involved in making wine sustainable include:
water and energy conservation
sustainable packaging
reduction in carbon emissions
fair compensation for employees
social responsibility to surrounding communities
As a consumer, there are many ways in which you can help make sustainable wines available for everyone. You can start by supporting small, micro-production wineries that use sustainable practices. You can also look for labels that show how the wine was made.
The Most Important Eco-Friendly Wine Certifications
Choosing a good quality, sustainable wine can be tricky. If you don’t know your local winemakers, asking direct questions about growing practices and winemaking processes can be hard. A wine tasting may help you understand the effects of different agricultural methods and conditions.
Next, look for labels on the back of the bottle. Several third-party certifications can help you know that your wine is made with great care for both people and the planet: Sustainability has become increasingly important in the wine industry, so many labels now include it on the label. Here are just a few compiled by LeafScore:
LIVE certification
LIVE is a non-profit organization that certifies winegrowers in the Pacific Northwest. To receive LIVE certification for sustainable wine, vineyards must maintain up-to-date farming records that reflect biodiversity, irrigation, and fertilizer use. At the same time, winemakers must provide records showing energy use and greenhouse gas emissions, water management, and labor condition at production facilities.
Vineyards and wineries must also meet Salmon Safe criteria to qualify for LIVE certification. This means the vineyard does not use pesticides or other chemicals that may be hazardous to salmon and other aquatic life.
LIVE is an internationally accredited standard with 344 vineyards and 42 wineries currently certified. The certification has been around since 1999, and the organization provides regional education to preserve natural and human resources within the wine industry.
The California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance
The California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance offers education and certification opportunities to winemakers in the state and has seen a 50% increase in the number of certified vineyards in 2019 and a 4.2% increase in the number of certified wineries.
The CSWA not only offers certification, but it also helps educate those in the winemaking business. Specifically, the CSWA offers a Code of Sustainable Winegrowing Practices workbook, which includes 15 self-assessment chapters to translate sustainability principles into winegrowing and winemaking practices.
LODI Rules
LODI Rules was created by the Lodi Winegrape Commission, a group of farmers who came together in 1991 with the shared goal of adopting a more sustainable way of farming that ‘meets the needs of today without compromising the ability of future generations to create their own livelihoods.’ These farmers live and work in Lodi, California (near Sacramento), where nearly a fifth of California grapes are grown.
Vineyards are certified annually, and wineries may use the LODI Rules seal on a label if at least 85% of the grapes are from certified vineyards. There are now more than 1,000 vineyards certified by LODI Rules, including wineries in California and Israel. These seals emphasize environmentally and socially responsible practices while considering economic feasibility for long-term business success.
Napa Green
Napa Green is a sustainability certification program that takes a soil-to-bottle approach to environmental stewardship. This program requires wineries and vineyards to demonstrate continuing excellence and continual improvement for certification renewal.
The Napa Green Winery program offers soil-to-bottle certification to wineries implementing more than 100 sustainability and stewardship standards. These standards encompass such things as energy and water conservation, waste prevention through recycling, composting, and purchasing policies, emissions reductions and carbon footprint, and social equity.
Unlike some certification programs, Napa Green Winery certifies the whole facility, from production to administration, to hospitality.
SIP
SIP is Sustainability in Practice, a certification launched in 2008 with 3,700 acres of certified vines. Today, there are 43,600 acres of certified vineyards in California and Michigan and two SIP-certified wineries. SIP estimate that they have certified more than 43 million bottles of wine.
To qualify for SIP certification, a vineyard or winery must satisfy the criteria in the areas:
Social Responsibility
Water Management
Safe Pest Management
Energy Efficiency
Habitat
Business
Always Evolving
EMS ISO 14001 / ISO 14004
You might see wine labels that mention Environmental Management Systems (EMS) ISO 14001, especially for wine from Chile, Australia, and a handful of other countries. EMS focuses primarily on waste reduction and minimizing environmental impact, including ensuring winemakers have policies and procedures to properly handle wastewater so as not to contaminate the local environment.
California Green Medal
Although not a certification, the California Green Medal is a good sign that a winery is doing things right regarding sustainability. These awards are presented by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, California Association of Winegrape Growers, Wine Institute, Lodi Winegrape Commission, Napa Valley Vintners, Sonoma County Winegrowers, and the Vineyard Team.
Four Green Medals are presented annually in the following categories: Leader, Environment, Community, and Business.
The GEN 7 Commitment
We believe that great wine starts with the land in which it's grown and that the quality of life for everyone involved in the process is paramount. That's why we work only with vineyards that care about these things as much as we do. We also know that working together means more than just finding good partners; it means building relationships based on trust and mutual respect for one another's ideas and values.
We believe in supporting the people who improve our world, and we want to help you do the same. So when you purchase a bottle of GEN 7 wine, you are not just buying a bottle of delicious wine – you are also buying into a system of care and support for the people who work hard to bring it to your table.
Wine is meant to be enjoyed with friends and family. It can be an incredible experience for everyone involved—from the farmers who grow the grapes all the way through to the sommeliers who serve them. We want you to feel like part of that community whenever you open a bottle of wine made from sustainably grown grapes or drink in our tasting room.
