Following its recognition for excellence in environmental work with the Green Medal Award, Domaine CHANDON California held an interactive, โRooted in Sustainabilityโ panel on April 11, discussing the wineryโs work with regenerative agriculture and kicking off its Earth Day weekend celebration.
The panel was held outside under a group of oak trees, reflecting the wineryโs 3:1 replanting policy for biodiversity restoration and oak plantings; since 2023, the winery has planted 1,500 oaks. Panelists included CHANDON Viticulturist Margarita Postoronca, Napa Green Executive Director Anna Brittain, Spottswoodeโs Global Sales and Environmental Manager Molly Sheppard and Janna Olson, founder and coach, Regenerative Vines Consulting.ย
CHANDON, part of the LVMH family of wines and luxury goods, has long been a proponent of sustainable and environmentally-friendly farming practices and has several related certifications, including Fish Friendly Farming and Napa Green Vineyard and Napa Green Winery certified, just to name a few.
In kicking off the panel, Postoronca asked audience members to raise their hand if theyโve thought about regenerative farming in the context of whatโs happening in the ground below their feet. Several people raised their hands.ย
โI do want to acknowledge that everybody here should really raise a glass to themselves because the latest study across the United States indicating how many of us even have heard the term regenerative agriculture was just released two weeks ago,โ Olson said. โAnd we are up from a whopping 4% of our population in 2023, to 6.8% right now, so you’re in a very unique percentile. And of course, we’re in Californiaโinnovation oriented.โ
While the average American may not be as familiar with regenerative farming concepts, more and more wineries in California and Napa are taking up regenerative ag practices as well as sustainable initiatives. According to Napa Green, 40% of California certified sustainable wineries are Napa County wineries. Additionally, when driving down Silverado Trail or Highway 29, one may notice the bevy of Napa Green Vineyard and Napa Green Winery-certified wineries. Other regions such as Paso Robles are also embracing regenerative farming with theย One Block Challengeย where vintners are encouraged to trial regenerative farming on one vineyard block (donโt miss the May issue of WineBusiness Monthly where โTrials & Troubleshootsโ feature author Bryan Avila provides details on the process and the results of the pilot One Block Challenge at Robert Hall Winery led by Caine Thompson of OโNeill Vintners & Distillers).ย
The Principles of Regenerative Ag
In a nutshell, the basic principles of regenerative farming practices include keeping soils covers with cover crops to retain moisture and prevent erosion, minimizing soil disturbance, maintaining living roots, maximizing plant diversity and integrating livestock to help with soil health and nutrients and weed control.
In other words, โIt’s about building a healthy ecosystem in our soils to feed the future and creating a system that works with nature, but not against it,โ Postoronca said.
Brittain likened building a healthy soil ecosystem to building a strong human immune system that can better defend against foreign invaders like diseases or other threats like extreme heat.
To improve soil health the winery has implemented composting, cover cropping and sheep grazing.
To bolster biodiversity, CHANDON has planted 8.9 hectares (around 21.99 acres) of green hedge throughout its vineyards, installed owl, bat and blue jay boxes to attract beneficial predators, established bee boxes to facilitate the pollination of wild flora, and planted oak trees throughout.ย
Conserving water is also a top priority for the winery with automated irrigation tech in use and real-time moisture monitoring on 257 vineyard acres as well as the use of drought-tolerant rootstocks. In addition, according to theย Green Medal Awards announcement published April 4, โover 80% of the water used in their vineyards is recycled, ensuring efficiency without compromising vine health.โ
In helping reduce its carbon emissions, the winery has achieved a 10% emissions reduction by developing lightweight glass for sparkling wine from 900g to 835g per bottle, a significant achievement considering how difficult it is to lightweight glass destined for bubbles programs when sturdier, heavier glass is typically necessary.
Theyโve also installed solar panels over the years, producing an average of 1,340 MWh per year, have switched to a fleet of electric tractors and company cars, and added charging stations.ย
Waste reduction has also been a goal and to help achieve that, CHANDON recycles its corks which find a second life as home insulation. Label webbing is recycled into new resources and a pallet sharing program ensures thatย shipping pallets are re-purposed instead of heading to landfill. Crown caps and bidules are also separated in order to be recycled, and kitchen waste is fed to the property chickens or composted for maximum use.ย
For all these comprehensive efforts, CHANDON received the Green Medalโs Environment Award, which is given to the vineyard or winery that best demonstrates excellence in environmental stewardship.
Spottswoode has also been a leader in sustainability and was also a Green Medal Award winner this year, getting recognized for its leadership in sustainability with the Leader Award. This honor is awarded to a winery/vineyard that excels in the three EโS of sustainability: Environmentally sound, socially Equitable and Economically viable practices.
During the panel, Postoronca asked Sheppard of Spottswoode what are some key practices that sheโs seen in the valley when it comes to sustainable and or regenerative farming.
She cited the use of animals and cover cropping.ย
โWe’re seeing it everywhere,โ she said. โYou’ll drive down 29 and see mustard, you’ll see flowers, you’ll see a lot of beautiful growth, and we’re starting to shift that paradigm of what beauty is. I think a lot of people historically might have thought of beauty asโฆ very manicured systems, and now it’s just this really beautiful acceptance of what nature looks like, and it’s not perfect. It should be a little messy and it should be a little overgrown, and that means beauty.โ
To learn more about regenerative viticulture, clickย here. To learn more about all the Green Medal winners, clickย here.
In the aforementioned Green Medal Awards announcement, Allison Jordan, executive director of the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, said of the Green Medal winners, โAs the California Green Medal enters its second decade, this yearโs winners exemplify leadership and innovation in sustainable winegrowing.โ
About Napa Green: The Napa Green 501c3 is a global leader in sustainable winegrowing, setting the highest bar for sustainability and climate action in the wine industry. Napa Green facilitates whole system soil to bottle certification for wineries and vineyards, and provides the expertise, boots-on-the-ground support, and resources to continually improve. Learn more atย https://napagreen.org/participating-members/.
Anna Brittain
Napa Green
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๐ท Our last itinerary for Cheers to Climate Smart Wines and itโs a good one! Thank you @frankfamilyvineyards, @aubergedusoleil & @seaveyvineyard!
Follow this itinerary for a stunning day in Napa!
Book your tastings at @napagreen certified @chimneyrockwinery @etudewines and @domainecarneros and stay at the luxurious @carnerosresort for a day that will delight all of your senses!
#visitnapa #winetasting #winetastings #winelover #sustainablewine #wineandfood #winecountry #winecountryliving
If you missed last nightโs amazing climate smart wine tasting @klwines you can join us tonight Thursday, July 24 for another great lineup of @napagreen certified wineries @dominusestatewinery @chimneyrockwinery @domainecarneros and @beringervyds
You wonโt want to miss this! Ticket link in bio.
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๐Phifer Pavitt Wines in Calistoga!
A gorgeous family winery & vineyard that goes above and beyond in climate smart practices and quality of wine! ๐ท
Canโt make it to Napa? Experience climate smart wines @klwines in downtown San Fransisco.
Join us Wednesday, July 23, 2025 to taste wines from @napagreen certified members @spottswoodewinery @pineridgewine @etudewines and @frankfamilyvineyards
You wonโt want to miss this! Ticket link in bio.
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Come join us this week at @klwines!! Tickets can be found at the link in our bio. Cheers! ๐ท
๐ This one is a gem! Book your tastings at Napa Green Certifed @mummsparkling & @spottswoodewinery and enjoy a stay at the incredible @solageauberge!
Sustainability & Luxury truly make a great pairing. Cheers to Climate Smart Wines! ๐ท
๐๏ธ: @mvino1
โ ๏ธ Donโt sleep on this one! Get your $15 tickets to taste INCREDIBLE wines from @spottswoodewinery, @dominusestatewinery, @chimneyrockwinery and many more at @klwines in San Francisco on July 23rd & 24th!
You know where to go โก๏ธ link in bio or www.napagreen.org. See you there! ๐ท
๐ฃ Calling all wine lovers! Weโre partnering with some amazing wineries, restaurants and resorts to celebrate Cheers to Climate Smart Wines Month and weโre giving away an incredible โExperience Napa Valley Dayโ to one lucky winner! ๐ท
The winner will receive:
โจA one-night stay at @solageauberge
โจWine tastings at @seaveyvineyard and @rutherfordhillwinery
โจA gift certificate to @charlies_nv
How to Enter:
1๏ธโฃ Make sure youโre following @napagreen & @visitnapavalley
2๏ธโฃ Like this post
3๏ธโฃ Tag your favorite wine lover in the comments.
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Giveaway ends Friday, July 18th. Winner will be announced here and contacted via DM by Monday, July 21st.
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Good Luck! ๐ฅ
Sustainability is beautiful ๐ผ
Experience this wine tasting itenerary for yourself on your next trip Napa Valley! ๐ท
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Fairy tale like settings? Delicious, ethically & sustainably produced wines? Yes please! ๐ธ
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๐๏ธ: @mvino1
๐๏ธ$15 wine tasting with the winemakers!? Join us at @klwines in San Francisco July 23rd & 24th tasting @spottswoodewinery, @dominusestatewinery, @chimneyrockwinery, @etudewines and many more from 4:00-6:00pm.
Pick up your tickets asap at the link in our bio!
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Cheers to Climate Smart Wines Month is back this July and we couldnโt be more excited!
We have built some truly fabulous and sustainable experiences which you can find on www.napagreen.org and this year we have included hotels as well!
Tag us in your posts when you visit our amazing Napa Green Certified wineries so we can share your Green adventures!
Team Green is thoroughly enjoying visiting a few of our Napa Green Certified wineries today! ๐ฑ
Pictured here are the STUNNING new Sky Lofts at @rutherfordhillwinery. We strongly recommend a visit, itโs spectacular!
Wondering what this sign hung outside of the winery that you work at means? Want to be able to talk more about what it means to be @napagreen certified??
Join the Napa Green Ambassador training at Clos du Val on Wednesday, June 25 from 9-11 am to learn the answers and more.
Tickets are free but space is limited so reserve your spot from the Workshops & Events link in our bio.
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๐ Do you want to learn more about what it means to be a Napa Green Certified Vineyard or Winery?
๐ Do you have new team members who still arenโt sure what that Napa Green Certified sign hanging out front actually means?
๐ Are you curious about this term thatโs suddenly popping up everywhere โ regenerative?
๐ Want to know what exactly does it mean to be climate smart?
Join us Wednesday, June 25, 2025 @closduval to learn how to talk about being @napapagreen certified.
Use the event link in our bio to register.
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