February 2021 Newsletter

NAPA GREEN NEWS

NAPA GREEN NEWSLETTER |
February 16, 2021

A month dedicated to Black History and love is a perfect time to send out a Napa Green Newsletter.

In a real sense all life is interrelated. All men are caught in an inescapable network of mutuality, tied in a single garment of destiny. Whatever affects one directly, affects all indirectly.

- Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

We started 2021 with a bang by reaching more than 300 people through five online events – Napa Valley Sessions: Leading Climate Action, two St. Supéry Estate virtual tastings, a Green Packaging & Purchasing webinar, and a Gamble Family Vineyards virtual tasting organized for the Williams College NorCal Alumni Association (my alma mater).

We are nearing the end of a more than year-long process to redesign our Napa Green Vineyard certification to focus on two of the most critical issues facing our industry and the world: Social Equity and Climate Change. Developing this next level certification has involved extensive collaboration with the Napa County Resource Conservation District, the input of a Social Equity Working Group and a Pesticide Working Group, and requesting and incorporating feedback from several community organizations.

We will be rolling out the new Napa Green Vineyard certification standards by March 22, and then we will host a number of workshops to help familiarize growers, vineyard management companies and the community with the new standards and the certification process and costs.

In addition, we pushed this back due to the impacts of COVID-19 on our members, but in order to continue to sustain and grow the services of the new Napa Green nonprofit we will be rolling out Napa Green Winery Annual Dues on April 1. You can learn more here: https://napagreen.org/winery-certification/

In the meantime we are enjoying the start of spring and the mustard bloom. Our Napa Green dog, Lily, enjoys a good photo op.

Please do reach out anytime with questions – anna@napagreen.org.

Thanks,

Anna Brittain
Executive Director
Napa Green

Join Us at these Upcoming Events

March 11-12, 8:30 am-12 pm: Soil Health Symposium

March 19, 9-11 am: Conservation Burn Workshop, which will include access to a step-by-step guidance video of an actual conservation burn in Carneros in late-February

April 19-21: 2nd U.S. Sustainable Winegrowing Summit

TENTATIVE DATE: Week of April 26, Climate-Friendly & “Clean” Farming Workshop in collaboration with Monarch Tractor, including a tractor demonstration

TBD: We plan to partner with the Wine Institute and the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance to offer a workshop on the new Water Board winery Waste Discharge Requirements within the next few months.

Did you miss our Green Packaging and Purchasing webinar? The recording and presentations are available on our website.

$500 Incentive for Current & New Napa Green Wineries

Our Napa Green Winery certification is focused on saving members money by improving efficiency and reducing resource use. Of course, some upgrades require an initial investment – low-flow toilets, LED lighting, glycol pipe insulation, installing a Variable Frequency Drive.

Our Napa Green Wineries are also recognized as part of the California Green Business Network, which is providing a $500 incentive that is available to our members. However, time is running out – this incentive is slated to end June 30, 2021. Here are the details:

CAGBN in partnership with CalEPA is pleased to offer rebates of up to $500 per green business.
The rebate can be used to defray costs for services and/or items. The purchase/upgrade must be pre-approved (email megan@napagreen.org).
Purchases must relate directly to measures on the Napa Green Winery checklist.
Receipts must be provided for each expense.
Rebates are subject to availability of funds.

California Sustainable Winegrowing Green Medal Awards

We are proud that eight of our Napa Green members have won a Green Medal award since 2015. The 2021 application process is now open, and applications are due by April 2, 2021. Awards are available for four categories: Environment, Business, Community and Leader.

If you plan to apply it is important to ground your achievements with quantified resource savings and other accomplishments. For instance, Clif Family Winery, which won the 2020 Green Medal Community award, shared, “In 2019, we supported 344 different charities through product and time donations. We also donated 20% of proceeds to local non-profits through our Sip and Support program, which began in 2013. We close the business one day/year for community service, and the staff has served 950 volunteer hours.”

Full Disclosure: Napa Green Executive Director, Anna Brittain, is on the Green Medal Judging Panel.

Napa Wildlife Rescue and Barn Owl Boxes

If you don’t follow the Napa Wildlife Rescue on Facebook we recommend you get on that. They pair engaging stories of their wildlife rescue and rehabilitation work with some fantastic photos and video.

But did you know that Napa Wildlife Rescue does more than rescue wildlife? They also assist with Integrated Pest Management through their Barn Owl Maintenance Program (BOMP). They will install, monitor and maintain barn owl boxes on vineyard properties. Learn more here: http://www.napawildliferescue.org/bomp/

Napa Green Sponsors

Napa Green is grateful to our sponsors, who help fund our expanding operations and programs. If you are interested in becoming a Napa Green Sponsor please reach out to Napa Green Executive Director, Anna Brittain.