A Holistic Approach to Sustainability

V. Sattui Winery is dedicated to the prosperity and sustainability of the Napa Valley for generations to come. For decades, our organization has spearheaded environmental initiatives that not only protect and champion the vineyards and land of Napa Valley, but also focus on the impacts of our business on a global scale. We’re proud to support and collaborate with vendors and agencies that match our fervor for a climate-positive future. Only by working together can we achieve our goal to preserve this unique, beautiful, and delicate ecosystem – both in the Napa Valley and for the planet.

The Right Thing to Do: Regenerative and Organic Farming

• Our sustainability and environmental efforts are rooted in the vineyard, with long-running farming programs that improve soil health, increase biodiversity, and reduce water use across all our estates and vineyard sources.
• We’re proud to farm 100% organically across 200 acres and four counties. We’ve eliminated caustic chemicals (like RoundUp) that leach into the ground, respecting not only the land, but our neighbors, staff, and guests who use the well water. We propagate cover crops in the vineyard that provide essential nutrients to the vines and build organic matter for healthy soil, while our livestock grazing program naturally controls weeds and fertilizes the soil. In this way, we work with nature, rather than against it.

Water Conservation

• We employ several strategies to conserve water, including the selection of drought resisting rootstocks, strategic irrigation, and dry farming (zero irrigation) when possible.
• Dry farming is an older method practiced in the early days of the Napa Valley, in which established vines seek their own water sources as deep down as 50 feet or more. Our School House Creek Old-Vine Zinfandel is completely farmed without adding irrigated water, relying on the old vines tapping into the underground spring of School House Creek. While this method tends to limit vine growth, it intensifies flavor in the fruit.

Conserving Energy

• In 2006, we installed our first solar panels to power our onsite warehouse.
• Over its 30-year life, this single installation is projected to eliminate 946,440 pounds of CO2, 873 pounds of NOx, and 257 pounds of SO2.  Throughout our properties, we’ve also replaced over 1800 bulbs with LED lights. This will ultimately result in saving over 3.5-million-watt hours annually — the equivalent of running a 100-watt light bulb for 4 years. 

Doing Our Part to Reduce Waste

• Visitors to the winery and marketplace will notice our deep commitment to reducing waste.
• We engage in glass and cardboard recycling, and use only biodegradable utensils, keeping 116,000 plastic utensils out of landfills in 2022 alone. We use near zero plastic packaging (no sytrofoam, ever!), and a offer a water refill station that saves over 35,000 plastic bottles from the landfills annually. We also compost green and brown waste and are currently in negotiations to adopt 100% compostable plastic wrap in our marketplace. Considering our busy deli and robust cheese counter, this is a game-changer – potentially saving up to 228,000 yards of plastic wrap per year. In the winery, we further reduce waste by using plate and frame filters that use diatomaceous earth (DE) as the filter medium, which is then recycled instead of disposed of.

Reducing Our Carbon Footprint

• At V. Sattui, we’re committed to reducing the CO2 we release into the atmosphere and have taken several steps to help us towards that goal.
• In April of 2023, we converted 200 acres of our Estate vineyards to organic farming. Organic farming requires more passes with vineyard tractors to churn the soil between the vines, but using diesel-powered vehicles more frequently causes additional harmful emissions to be put into the environment. To solve this problem, we’ve incorporated four zero-emission electric tractors into our farming practice. Our electric tractors are clean, efficient, reduce air and noise pollution, and cause less disturbance to nearby wildlife and neighbors. What’s more, by using electric power instead of diesel we’re dramatically decreasing carbon emissions — by nearly 54 metric tons of CO2e per tractor annually. In addition, we use Fisher Twister weeders, known for their hydraulically powered high-speed bio-brushes, ideal for environmentally conscious growers.
• In combination with the electric tractors and weeders, our livestock graze the vineyard weeds, further reducing the need for chemicals and fuel. The animals also help us improve soil health by feeding on existing microbes in the soil and returning macro nutrients back to the land. Happily, this also increases the tonnage, quality, uniformity, and consistency of our vineyard blocks.
• We don’t just look to reduce our carbon footprint through our farming practices – we’ve also implemented a robust Employee Rideshare Program that pays for the cost of commuting, as well as a Vanpool for farmworker transport. These programs reduce traffic and emissions while providing a welcome service for our employees. 

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