Grgich Hills Estate Wins Napa Green Rise Green Award for Soil Health and Biodiversity

The first round of Napa Green’s Rise Green conference – six days of sustainability programs and world class speakers – kicked off last week with an amazing array of speakers and topics.  Appropriately on May 1, May Day, the topic was soil health and biodiversity

Grgich Hills is the poster child for practices that promote carbon cycling on all five of its estate vineyards. (It grows all of its own grapes). Its vineyard workers are paid $23 an hour plus benefits and yet it still manages to grow grapes and make certified organically grown wines for $4,000 less per acre than the Napa average.  

As a role model, it would be hard to find a more eco-ecological vineyard and winery champion in the entire state. 

Thus, it was a pleasure to see Violet Grgich receive this accolade from Napa Green at the Rise Green event last week. 

When I drive by their Yountville vines, on Highway 29, I breathe a sigh of relief. So much green on the vineyard floor and under the vines. Carbon yoga! The soil is breathing in and breathing out.