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A recent photograph of the deLeuze Family
Certified Organic since 1999, ZD Wines also uses a biodiesel tractor to reduce their impact.
ZD Wines vineyards
ZD Wines, a family-owned winery operated by the 2nd and 3rd generations of the deLeuze family, is celebrating 50 years in the Napa Valley. They are a perfect case study of how embracing sustainability can support production of great tasting, world-class wines.
This medium-sized winery has a commitment to sustainability that is clear in both its facility management practices and its staff awareness and engagement. The results of this commitment are borne out by data. Water use (for processing as well as administration and hospitality) falls within a desirable range of three to six gallons of water per gallon of wine produced. Total electricity use (both from the grid and via solar photovoltaic generation) shows remarkable efficiency of less than 10-kilowatt hours of electricity required per case of wine produced. The ZD waste diversion rate (percentage of “waste” recycled and composted) is now over 70%. Looking to replicate their results? Here’s how ZD achieves their resource savings:The name ZD comes from ‘Zero Defects.’ The ZD team applies this principle to not only their wines but day-to-day operations and how they use energy and water. It shows in their results.
Serious Solar Monitoring: When investing in a solar array, a common concern is getting the most return for the up-front capital expense. If systems are not regularly monitored, an inverter could fail and not be noticed for months, leading to a very expensive “true-up” bill (the amount paid for electricity purchased from the grid). ZD Wines has staff dedicated to monitoring array performance regularly. This includes cleaning sections of the array to see if performance improves before cleaning the entirety of the system. The result is electricity generation that is still exceeding original projections.
Cool, Nighttime Air: ZD Wines utilizes nighttime air cooling effectively and allows cellar temperatures to float (with a target temperature of 70 degrees). Consequently, cellar cooling is only needed for two to three months of the year when the cellar for white wines is lowered to 47 degrees.
Using the Right Lights: ZD has upgraded all metal halide high bay lighting to high-efficiency lighting and is phasing-in an upgrade of T-8 lamps to LED lamps and drivers. They have utilized available rebates to tighten the ROI timeline.
EV Charging Readily Available: ZD has six EV charging stations available for use by both employees and guests. The availability of EV charging infrastructure motivated several ZD staff members to purchase electric vehicles, and there are now nine staff EVs that rotate through the stations.
We look at the long-term impact of our decisions, both for our family today and the generations to come. Sustainable practices aren’t only the right thing to do, they also make fiscal sense. From solar generation to fewer inputs in our vineyards to reusing wastewater, being mindful of our footprint means costs savings over time.
High Pressure, Low Flow: ZD Wines has a custom-designed fixed high-pressure and low-flow water cleaning system for tanks and floors. They also have a progressive tank cleaning process which uses only a two-step cleaning system unless a tank has heavy sediment.
Lowering the Temps: The hot water temperature is set at 120 degrees facility-wide, and portable heaters are used to boost temperature selectively as needed.
Efficient Treatment: Well water is treated through simple filtration and UV sterilization. The filtration is done via a pleated cartridge filter that is not back-flushed, which is a source of additional water savings.
Soak and Save: New barrels are hydrated by filling with cold water and soaking for 24 hours. This water can be reused once for additional barrel hydration.
ZD Wines is not only comprehensively certified in both the Napa Green Land and Winery programs but has also achieved organic certification for 40 acres of estate vineyards and participates in the California Certified Sustainable Winegrowing program.
Our commitment to our ecological approach to business and life comes from our understanding that we only have one earth and we need to take care of it!
I applaud all vineyards and wineries that achieve Napa Green certification for their commitment to conservation and care for our community.
🌿 Did you know that less than 3% of philanthropic donations go to environmental work?
Please consider donating to Napa Green this giving season with one of several ways at any level!
Head to the link in our bio for details!
With gratitude and joy, we wish you a beautiful day & start to the holiday season from all of us at Team Green!
- Ben, Meghan, Anna, Marissa, Sierra & Megan
‘If not here, where? If not now, when?’
“The onus is on us as a world class wine growing region to be leaders in sustainability & climate action.”
- Executive Director of Napa Green, Anna Brittain
It’s been a big week at Napa Green and we want to take a moment to raise a glass to salute you all.
We are overjoyed to see so much support and invigorated interest in our mission towards sustainable practices and regenerative agriculture in the wine industry.
We have many more details, paired with educational & financial resources that are already up and rolling on our website. We will continue to share them all, one by one and in great detail here on socials as well.
For now please plan on joining us at our upcoming Town Hall meeting on Dec 7th at @stsupery. You can find more details at napagreen.org.
Cheers and Happy Friday Napa Valley. We are so proud to be a part of this amazing community!
⚠️ Important Announcement
Napa Green becomes the first sustainable wine growing certification to require the phaseout of Round Up.
Please find the link in our bio for the full press release and full suite of info & grower resources.
Join us on December 7th for our Napa Green Town Hall at @stsupery.
You’re invited to join us for a very special day at @dominusestatewinery on November 30th.
We’ll be briefly interviewing our speaker @nikki_silvestri right here on Instagram today at 2:00pm PST to hear more about what to expect at this event. See you then.
Curious to learn more? Join us at @dominusestatewinery on November 30th for a rare event and luncheon. Link in bio for details.
GREEN is the new black this season!!
Head to the link in our bio now and get your shirts, help a good cause and be an honorary part of Team Green this season! 💚
Let’s hear it for our Executive Director of Napa Green, the incomparable Anna Brittain for being named a 2023 Wine Industry Leader by @winebusinessmonthly!!
In their Sustainability Stewards section (which we love to see) we find Anna named in good company with inspired fellow leaders!
Head to our stories or the link in our bio for free access to the full November issue.
Cheers to the great work of our visionary Director Anna Brittain!!
Join us for the Soil & Shadow Implicit Bias Training on Thursday, November 30th at Dominus Estate with @nikki_silvestri.
‘Exploring what Regenerative Farming Systems can teach us about Regenerative Social Systems.’
This is a rarely-available, full-day leadership opportunity. For anyone who joined us for our 2022 & 2023 THRIVES/RISE Climate & Wine Symposiums and heard Nikki Silvestri speak our guess is that for you, like us, 60-minutes wasn’t enough.
Soil and Shadow works with C-Suite executives, leaders and teams to build the relational and professional development skills for high performance, diversity, equity and inclusion.
One of the elements that makes the Soil and Shadow expertise so relevant and valuable for Napa Green leaders is that their frameworks use living systems to model healthy social systems.
Napa Green will be covering half the cost of the tickets to this event. Register asap at the link in our bio.
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📸: Laine Kuehn
Congratulations to Napa Green Certified @boeschenvineyards on being featured in @pressdemo as a first to offer hazard pay and disaster insurance to seasonal agricultural workers! Read on for more and find the link in our bio to the full story..
“To Boeschen, committing to this small safety net in times of emergency isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s the way labor relations are headed in the wine business.
When vineyard crews showed up for this year’s harvest at Boeschen Vineyards, a small winery that operates largely out of a cave dug into a pretty hillside off Silverado Trail just north of St. Helena, they were asked to listen to a three-minute presentation.
Doug Boeschen, the business’ owner, informed these seasonal agricultural workers, among the most economically vulnerable in the North Bay, that the winery was now offering them a combination of hazard pay and disaster insurance.
Boeschen will provide an option to its workers — including the seasonal labor that pours into the region’s renowned vineyards for just a few days or weeks at a time. If the Air Quality Index climbs above 150, Boeschen’s workers will be able to choose between receiving time-and-a-half to remain on the job, or to take paid time off.
Boeschen will also pay its laborers if they are forced to leave a worksite under an evacuation order.”
This article also features other notable efforts on behalf of larger companies and regions working towards the same end. We highly recommend you read the full article!
Sierra is our Soil & Climate Specialist at Napa Green and her ask this year is that everyone consider donating to our small but mighty Team Green for Giving Season!
Here is more from @regenwithsierra:
“🎃 Happy Halloween Eve everyone! Today is my birthday, and I would be beyond thrilled if you would consider a donation to @napagreen to support a nonprofit focused on climate action in the wine industry 🍷🍾
@napagreen has the leading set of standards for sustainable practices, from soil to bottle. I am most proud of the work we do with winegrape growers to adopt regenerative agricultural practices in their vineyards.
Please consider supporting us in our mission! Click the link in bio for more! “
Thank you for having us @visitnapavalley! We had a great time talking to visitors about the many sustainability practices our Napa Green wineries and vineyards employ!
Stop into the Visit Napa Valley Visitor Center in Napa to learn more!
