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Chateau Montelena is installing the first 277 volt Tesla charging station in Napa Valley.

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CivicSpark Fellow Margot Stert is working with Sustainable Napa County to create a comprehensive resource guide for new and existing EV charging stations in the county.

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Charging stations vary in configuration. A new report expected in fall 2016 will provide detailed use information for all Napa Valley charging locations. Photo credit: 'the rabbit' on flickr

It's Electric!

Electric vehicles (EV) are growing in popularity, making a winery’s decision to install EV charging stations not only a sound environmental investment but an opportunity to attract eco-conscious consumers. Wineries with EV charging stations are hearing the same story: A guest was in need of a charge, found that the nearest station was at a winery and decided to stop in for a taste while plugged in. Not your typical gas station experience!

EV stations are one small part of our entire sustainability initiative, but it's a really important part. We find that we're able to find customers for life.

At Chateau Montelena the decision to install an EV charging station started with a wine club pouring at a San Francisco Giants game. Matt was asking club members when they had last visited the winery and a few said they would come up more often – but their electric vehicles would require a charge. “Just as (vine) leaves serve as solar panels for our fruit, we thought we should take advantage of our solar panels for the winery and use them to benefit customers.”

Chateau Montelena was the first winery to install a DC fast charging station. “While people charge their vehicles, we invite them to come on in, see our grounds, taste our wines – it’s an opportunity to tell our story and share our sustainability message.” Now, Chateau Montelena is installing the first 277 volt Tesla station in the valley along with a new universal charging station. Both will be up and running by the end of May.

In addition to more than 20 EV charging stations at wineries, there are at least 30 additional stations installed by the county, cities and private businesses throughout Napa Valley. But there isn’t yet a comprehensive map of locations, station types and power levels for Napa County – which is where Margot Stert comes in.

Margot is a CivicSpark fellow working with Sustainable Napa County (SNC). As part of her fellowship, she is creating a map of Napa Valley EV charging stations with detailed use information. It includes guidelines for installation, considerations for use restrictions or fees and a list of electric vehicles on the market plus the type of charging stations that work best for each. If a winery is interested in installing an EV charging station or considering purchasing an electric vehicle, Margot’s report will be publicly available later this fall through SNC.

In the meantime, for a complete listing of wineries with EV charging stations, share the NVV Winery Finder with your customers and remind them to choose the EV Charging Station filter. With EV here to stay, this list will only continue to grow.

I applaud all vineyards and wineries that achieve Napa Green certification for their commitment to conservation and care for our community.

A live check in with @abrittain & @reyeswine.mw!
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🌿 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!
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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
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‘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
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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!
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⚠️ 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.
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Don’t miss the awe-inspiring @nikki_silvestri at @dominusestatewinery on Nov 30th!
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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.
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Curious to learn more? Join us at @dominusestatewinery on November 30th for a rare event and luncheon. Link in bio for details.
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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! 💚
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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!!
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Drink Green this Halloween! 💚
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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! “
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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!
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