illustration: DANIELLE GRINBERG
In 1998, California’s Napa Valley was grappling with an unpleasant reality. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Napa River was impaired by so much sediment and pesticides, the salmon and trout were dying. In response, Napa Valley Vintners, a nonprofit trade organization of area wine producers, banded together to implement standards and guidelines to protect the local ecosystem — establishing a fish-friendly program to eliminate harmful pesticides, manage erosion, and restore the rivers back to their previous health.
It wasn’t enough.
At the same time, a growing body of science surrounding climate change made it clear that unless changes were made sooner than later, the wine industry could be facing a future in which no one could grow grapes at all. In a place like Napa Valley, where 90 percent of the wineries are family-owned, this was an especially devastating possibility. Generations of hard work and tradition were at risk of being lost. Something had to be done. The Napa Valley Vintners may not have been able to change the rest of the world, but they did have the power to alter their own practices.
Over the next few years, the organization researched best practices and established a program that would eventually come to be known as Napa Green. The program offers two certifications. One is awarded to vineyards that demonstrate a focus on practices like managing erosion, reducing and eliminating harmful inputs, conserving water, and contributing to the health of the Napa River watershed. The other certification is for the practices of wineries themselves, including waste prevention, efficiency with energy and water, reduction of carbon footprint, and social equity.
Between the two certifications, Napa Green works with individual wineries and vineyards to develop customized plans for sustainability all the way from soil to bottle. The program is not one size fits all. Instead, it takes into account participants’ current practices in order to set ambitious yet tangible goals for improvement. Participants in the program are constantly pushed for advancement. In order to maintain their certifications, vineyards and wineries must be re-evaluated every three years and demonstrate improvement over past metrics.
Since the program’s inception in 2004, 657 Napa wineries and vineyards have obtained Napa Green certifications, covering more than 80 percent of Napa’s vineyard acreage. And participating wineries have discovered that preserving the environment pays off in more ways than one; collectively, the wineries have saved over 12,600,000 gallons of water and more than 4,125,000 kilowatt-hours of electricity, resulting in almost $1 million in electricity savings.
According to Anna Brittain, executive director of Napa Green, members do not have to obtain both certifications to participate. Despite this, Emma Swain, CEO of St. Supéry Estate Vineyards and Winery, says she was eager to pursue both certifications to do her part to ensure the long-term vitality of both the environment and the wine industry. “Operating a sustainable business for future generations is not enough. It is essential to continuously improve and expand our commitment for the future of our company and our planet,” she says.
For St. Supéry, improving on energy usage has included small changes like switching to more efficient light bulbs, as well as major changes like converting to solar energy. The estate is also aggressive about conserving and recycling water.
Dan Petroski is the winemaker at Larkmead Vineyards and one of the early adopters of Napa Green. He believes good environmental practices aren’t just important to the planet; they are also key to wine quality. “I love old-vine wines and wines that come from 40-, 50-, 60-year-old vines. They have such complex notes and flavors and chemistries and textures,” he says. Petroski is emphatic that winemakers can’t cultivate their vines for that kind of longevity if they don’t take care of their land.
Larkmead Vineyards is its own little ecosystem. Its water comes from wells on the property, and the water it uses to clean its equipment gets recycled in the vineyard. Anything Petroski puts into the ground finds its way into the water and eventually becomes part of the vines themselves. He says the key to longevity for grape growers is recognizing this and taking baby steps, like participating in Napa Green and practicing organic farming. He maintains that extending the life of vines will not only return winery owners’ investments, but will allow customers to enjoy their favorite wines for years to come.
Swain echoes Petroski’s sentiments.“We didn’t get to climate change overnight,” she says, “so we can’t flip the switch on turning it back. The more people that start the continual process of improvement, the better we are.”
Kristina King, director of consumer experience and office manager at Kenefick Ranch, another Napa Green participant, says Kenefick Ranch believes the key to long-term farming is having the best soil possible. This is important in the vineyard but also in the surrounding area, as the chemicals used in one vineyard eventually find their way to neighboring rivers and farms. When more vineyards participate in sustainable practices, it benefits the community as a whole, she says.
Brittain says it’s important to recognize that it isn’t just the wine industry that needs to be more mindful of the environment. She contends much of the responsibility for sustainability lies with consumers. “One of the biggest things people can do to take care of the environment is to use their purchasing power to support conscientious, responsible businesses that participate in programs like Napa Green,” she says.
In the end, for the vineyards and wineries, it’s about leaving the planet a little better than they found it. “If we can make great wine that makes people happy and take care of the environment at the same time, you gotta feel good about that,” Swain says.
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!