St. Helena, CA – The Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) nonprofit trade association announced today it has reached an important sustainability milestone: 50 percent of its eligible members (those who own a winery, vineyard land or both) are now in the Napa Green environmental sustainability program.

Napa Green is a third-party certification program for vineyards and wineries in the Napa Valley. It employs a comprehensive, ‘soil to bottle’ approach to stewardship, integrating holistic management practices throughout the grape growing and winemaking process, making it the most rigorous environmental certification program in the wine industry. Certification of farms and winemaking facilities is provided by the National Marine Fisheries Service, Napa County, the Regional Water Quality Control Board and the California Green Business Program. The program was developed in the early 2000s by more than 20 stakeholders from the wine industry, environmental groups, government and regulatory agencies.

In March of 2015, the NVV announced its goal that all eligible members will be in the Napa Green program by the end of 2020. Of the trade association’s 533 members, 435 own their own winery or vineyard land, making them eligible. As of today, half of those eligible NVV members are enrolled or certified in the Napa Green program.

“When the NVV Board of Directors set our 100 percent Napa Green by 2020 goal, we knew it was ambitious,” said Michael Honig, chair of the NVV Board of Directors and president of Honig Vineyard & Winery. “We couldn’t be more proud to be halfway there, just two years after making the announcement. Participation in Napa Green is exacting – every detail matters. Getting certified requires a high level of commitment from winery and land owners and their employees, but it’s the right thing to do for our community and for future generations.”

Honig’s family winery is certified both Napa Green Land and Winery and he notes that all 10 of his fellow NVV board members are also participating in the program, setting an example for their vintner colleagues.

To celebrate the 50 percent milestone with the local community, the NVV is participating in the Earth Day Celebration at the Oxbow Commons in downtown Napa on Saturday, April 22. From 11 a.m. to 4 p.m., there will be educational exhibits and activities centered around sustainability themes. The NVV is hosting a booth featuring wines from Napa Green producers. The public is encouraged to attend to learn more about sustainability in general and the Napa Green program specifically. More information can be found at napaenvironmentaled.org