The Napa Valley is just 35 miles long and 5 miles wide, but we’re home to more than 400 wineries. Fortunately, most of these are committed to sustainable winemaking. More than 65 percent of Napa Valley Vintners’ members participate in the Napa Green Certified Land and/or Napa Green Certified Winery programs, and more than 40 wineries have comprehensive Soil to Bottle certification in both. Over 55 percent (more than 24,000 acres) of Napa Valley’s vineyard acreage is certified Napa Green Land. It’s clear that our vintners are committed stewards of the land and its resources for future generations of winemakers.
According to Wine Spectator magazine, “sustainable” refers to a wide array of practices that are not only ecologically sound, but also economically viable and socially responsible. Within this general classification, there are several options:
Organic—An organic listing on a wine label means one of two things: It’s either made from organically grown grapes, without any added sulfites, or it’s made from certified organically grown grapes, avoiding all synthetic pesticides.
Biodynamic—This technique is similar to organic farming in that it avoids synthetic chemicals, but it also views the vineyard as an entire ecosystem, observing factors such as astrological influences and lunar cycles. Biodynamic wines are also made without common manipulations such as yeast additions or acidity adjustments.
LEED certification—This certification indicates that the winery itself has been built and is operated in an ecologically sound manner. LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used green building rating system in the world and recognizes five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, material selection, and indoor environmental quality.
Here are a few of Napa Valley’s best-known sustainable wineries:
St. Supery Estate Vineyards and Winery was just declared a Global Winner for Sustainable Wine Tourism by Great Wine Capitals. As a Napa Green Land and Winery, it has left more than two-thirds of its 1530+ acres untouched, encouraging biodiversity through a variety of plants and wildlife, integrated pest management, and composting. Over the past three years, the winery has reduced its water usage by 50 percent and its solar panels have saved 923 tons of CO2.
Round Pond Estate Winery practices sustainable wine-growing with natural processes that promote soil health, including erosion control, native cover crops, and composting. It promotes positive plant-soil interactions and emphasizes a reduction in the use of chemicals and pesticides. In addition, Round Pond believes that sustainable wine-growing also supports the people who work the land—treating them fairly and with dignity.
CADE Estate Winery was the first LEED Gold-certified winery in California. It was built with 98 percent recycled materials—including concrete and steel, as well as blue-jean scraps for insulation—and its simple design and earthy colors blend seamlessly into the surrounding landscape. The winery is fully solar-powered and farmed organically, and guests are briefed on its sustainable approaches.
Cakebread Cellars has been a Napa Green Certified Winery since 2008—only the second winery ever to receive the distinction. In 2010, the winery’s team reduced total waste by 12 percent and recycled 81 percent of its total waste. All of its vineyards have been certified in the Napa Green Land program, promoting sustainable farming practices, restoring fish and wildlife habitats, and improving water quality in local streams. In 2010, Cakebread Cellars’ Suscol Springs Vineyard was the first vineyard presented with a sustainability award by the Napa County Resource Conservation District and received recognition as a model hillside vineyard development.
Odette Estate Winery like its sister property, CADE, became LEED Gold-certified in March 2017. It’s a member of California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF) and utilizes 100 percent organic farming methods, featuring an 8,500-square-foot planted living roof and 2,500-square-feet of solar panels that generate 30,000 kilowatts of solar power per year. The winery building includes polycarbonate paneling to create light without the use of energy, and shipping containers have been recycled into offices and other facilities.
HALL Wines ’ (pictured) winery complex has also earned a LEED Gold Certification. Its vineyards are certified organic, employing only natural products for weed and pest control with careful attention to the natural health and biodiversity in the soil. HALL practices fish-friendly farming practices, plants cover crops to minimize erosion and sedimentation of local waterways, and has incorporated the use of 50 percent biodiesel fuel in its farming operations to reduce its overall carbon emissions.
Spottswoode Winery was one of the first in the valley to adopt organic practices in 1985 (it was certified in 1992). Beth Novak Milliken and Lindy Novak—daughters of the founder, Mary Weber Novak—work with specialists to use biodynamic practices like composting, planting cover crops, and incorporating the lunar calendar. There’s even a charging station for your electric vehicle.
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.
- Susan Boswell, Chateau Boswell Winery
🌿 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!