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George Jacob, president & CEO, Bay Ecotarium
Environmental engagement has never been stronger in California, especially in the wine county, with more and more wineries embracing sustainable green practices.
NAPA Green certification is led by Anna Brittain(above main photo) who has worked locally, nationally, and internationally on environmental management and policy with organizations ranging from the environmental economics think tank, Resources for the Future in Washington, DC to the International Union for Conservation of Nature in Hanoi, Vietnam. She has spent ten years working on sustainability in the wine industry, with an expertise in communications and certification standards. She has helped lead the growth of the Napa Green program for the past six years.
As the name suggests, NAPA GREEN is a comprehensive program designed to encourage sustainable wine growing practices that care for nature and nurture exemplary stewardship to stem climate change. The program extends into how winegrowers and employers extend the quality-of-life experience to their employees, communities and customers.
With twin focuses on both the Land and the Winery, the Green practices are aimed at optimizing resources and offering a 360-consumer curation that meets certain environmental compliance standards. The Green Land Certification requires a plan that articulates prevention of soil erosion and sediment run-off and conservation of water resources through efficient irrigation, frost protection and restoration of riparian habitat. While the Napa Green Winery is a soil to bottle certification in both the vineyard and winery. It requires growers to generate waste prevention methods, composting, reduction of Green House Gas emissions and carbon foot-print in their packaging, transportation, and resilient practices. Currently, there are 92 Napa Green Certified Wineries, 621 that are Napa Land Green Certified, and 60 wineries that are Soil to Bottle certified.
Napa and Sonoma have a 200-year history of wine-making that has steadily gained in tourism and worldwide consumption over the years. With hundreds of wineries in the Napa Valley, it produces a whopping 6 million cases bringing billions of dollars in sales attracting nearly 4 million tourists a year. Wine is one of the most valuable agricultural produce exported from California, rising to international acclaim after winning in both Red and White categories at the historic blind Paris Wine Tasting of 1976.
As the most significant tourism driver in California after Disney, it has seen major set-back with Covid impacting growing grapes, manufacturing, supply chain and consumption. According to a recent Wine Institute Business Impact Report, the estimated 2020 losses are upwards of $4.2 billion with
16,369 in direct job losses, and an additional 26,000 in allied sectors. Its devastating impact can be seen in 70% drop in hotels and retail revenues, with smaller establishments going bankrupt or debt-burdened.
As the sublime nectar duels with the pandemic grapes of wrath, the wines will weave their magic, yet again, in not too distant a future. Cheers California!
George Jacob FRCGS is the President & CEO of Bay Ecotarium- the largest non-profit watershed conservation group in San Francisco Bay Area with seven branches, including Aquarium of the Bay, Sea Lion Center, Bay Academy, Studio Aqua, Bay Model, Eco-Xpeditions and the Bay Institute, celebrating its 40th year in environmental advocacy.
Making the commitment to third party certification takes time and effort, but it is worth it to demonstrate our commitment to the community and to protect our watershed, our land and the air we breathe.
Hear from Winery Program Manager @love.dream.breathe about Energy Efficiency & Savings, one of our pillars of sustainable winegrowing leadership
We want to sincerely thank everyone who donated either space, time or proceeds of bottles/food sold to Napa Green during Earth Month! We are a small non-profit that greatly relies on donations of these kinds and we’re so grateful for our supportive community.
Let’s hear it for:
📍@trefethenfamily
📍@pineridgewine
📍@cliffamily
📍@neotempowines
📖 @karenmacneilco
Social Justice, Equity & Inclusion. Perhaps our most important pillar of our six pillars of sustainability leadership.
Thank you for the beautiful description @growresiliently!
Register now at the link in our profile! 💦
May 23, 2024
Silver Oak Winery, Oakville
9:00 am - 12:15 pm
One of the most critical agricultural concerns with our changing climate, and more frequent & intense weather extremes, is precipitation and water availability. The good news is opportunities abound to optimize irrigation efficiency, and implement regenerative practices that improve soil health, water infiltration, and retention.
Join us for The Future of Water, with highlights including a keynote from Peter Gleick, one of the world’s leading water experts, and Mimi Casteel, not only a viticulturist and winemaker, but also a forest ecologist with a vision for water resiliency.
Join us for The Future of Water Workshop, to explore our water future, with highlights including a keynote from Peter Gleick, one of the world’s leading water experts (all guests will receive a copy of Peter’s most recent book, The Three Ages of Water) and Mimi Casteel, not only a viticulturist and winemaker, but also a forest ecologist with a vision for water resiliency.
Wine grape quality is closely tied to the right amount of water, at the right time. One of the most critical agricultural concerns with our changing climate, and more frequent & intense weather extremes, is precipitation and water availability. We’ve swung from historic drought to atmospheric rivers. Our community has huge swaths of unmanaged, unhealthy forests full of non-natives and overrun by firs, amplifying fire risk and undermining one of the most critical systems for groundwater recharge.
The good news is opportunities abound to optimize irrigation efficiency, and implement regenerative practices that improve soil health, water infiltration, and retention. A watershed coalition has also formed in Napa County to pilot and model creek & forest restoration for localized water resiliency and climate cooling.
Come learn more on Thursday, May 23rd at 9:00am at @silveroakcellars.
Sustainably sourced ingredients with Chef Sarah Heller 🌱 Purchase your tax deductible ticket to our Opus One x Napa Green dinner at the link in our profile!
As we wrap up an amazing Earth Month, we want to thank you all for the support & for coming to see us at our events!
Let’s keep the momentum going and remember that Earth Day is Every Day! 🌎
Hear from @marisataylorwines about the importance of water efficiency & savings and what we can all do to conserve this precious resource.
Join us for a not to be missed dinner experience at @opusonewinery while supporting philanthropic efforts on behalf of climate action.
An intimate group of 20 guests will be in attendance on the rotunda overlooking the estate vineyards. Chef Sarah Heller will prepare a four-course, locally-sourced dinner paired with Champagne Barons de Rothschild, Opalie de Château Coutet, and three vintages of Opus One wines.
You will have the chance to share transformative conversations and form deep connections with industry leaders and change makers.
Please find full invitation details at the link in our profile.
Happy Earth Day Napa Valley! It’s an incredible joy to work with you all and see the forward progress being made all over this gorgeous place we call home. Thank you for caring, thank you for stepping up and thank you for making a difference!! 🌎💚
Thanks to everyone who came out to @earthdaynapa and visited us at the @napagreen wine booth!
Cheers to @amici_cellars @cakebreadcellars @domainecarneros @handwrittenwines @robertmondavi and @whiterockvineyards for donating the certified sustainable wines to raise money for the Environmental Education Coalition of Napa County and helping make it a great event!
We’re pouring some stellar Napa Green wines tomorrow at @earthdaynapa to include:
@cakebreadcellars, @domainecarneros, @whiterockvineyards, @handwrittenwines, @amici_cellars & @robertmondavi!
Come by the booth! 🍷🌎
What you can do in the vineyard & what you can do at home! 🌼🦋
#happyearthday #earthmonth #sustainability #biodiversity #pollinators #herbicidefree #napa #napavalley #cheers
Come get involved this Earth Month! 🌎🌱
🌷 Earth Day Napa - Saturday, April 20th 11am -4pm at Oxbow Commons
🌷All Things Bottle Sustainability Workshop - Friday, April 26th at @pineridgewine from 9am -12:30pm. Registration is $20
🌷 All Things Bottle Sustainability Dinner! Friday, April 26th at @neotempowines with Karen MacNeil & Chef Dave Cruz!
Message us directly or head to the link in our bio for info!
