Eileen Crane, founding winemaker and CEO emeritus of Domaine Carneros. Submitted photo
Since its founding in 1987, Domaine Carneros has made sustainability a priority. Founding winemaker and CEO emeritus Eileen Crane has made sure that the winery lives as lightly on the land as possible while producing top quality grapes and wine. Indeed, she believes that growing grapes and making wine sustainably actually makes better wine. She has led the winery to be on the cutting edge of numerous green, renewable, and climate-sensitive programs.
In recognition of these efforts, Crane and Domaine Carneros have been named as the Napa Climate NOW! 2020 Climate Champion in the Business category.
Design for Environment
The company’s commitment to sustainability started in the beginning with the facility design phase. The production facility was built partly into the hillside to provide natural insulation and designed to make extensive use of skylights for lighting, and night cooling systems to save energy. Plumbing and irrigation were planned to reclaim and reuse two-thirds of the water. The cellar was designed and constructed to take advantage of gravity flow for wine movement.
In 2003, Domaine Carneros installed the largest solar collection system of any winery in the world. Back at a time when solar power was still largely viewed in the business sector as a hippie eccentricity, it captured enough energy to power 230 homes for a year (as measured in 2017).
Crane recalled, “I went to a conference where Paul Dolan (then from Fetzer) touted four solar panels on their office building. That got me thinking, we have so much sunshine here, it seems so logical. I work for a French company, so I went to them with the idea, and they said, ‘We’ve already looked at that and it’s not going to work.’ I said, “Yeah, but you’re in Northern France — we’re in sunny California!’ And they agreed.”
As word spread about Domaine Carneros’ solar installation, Crane received numerous calls from wineries and other businesses looking to go solar. Domaine Carneros became a model, freely offering assistance and practical advice. Work is now underway on a solar microgrid, to be completed in early 2021, which will supply Domaine Carneros with 75% of its energy needs and allow it to be self-sustaining during power outages.
Managing waste
Organic waste, when buried in landfills, is one of the largest sources of climate pollutants, primarily methane and carbon dioxide, greenhouse gases that trap heat in the atmosphere. It is also an opportunity lost, since such wastes when properly managed on-site can produce healthy compost that can be recycled back into the soil, closing the loop and helping to sequester carbon.
In response, Domaine Carneros has been a strong advocate for composting. Its composting program, combined with programs for recycling and reuse, together divert more than 90% of its solid waste from landfills. The vineyards are farmed sustainably, with agricultural waste being recycled as mulch or feed for local cattle. Waste corks are repurposed into yoga mats, cork floors and shoe inserts, and proceeds go towards planting more cork trees in sustainably managed forests. Cardboard boxes and inserts are reused for in-house purposes, saving an average of $75,000 per year.
Engaging employees
A crucial component of any effective sustainability policy is involvement and buy-in from all of the employees. At Domaine Carneros, employee hiring is guided by principles of diversity, equity and inclusion, and its staff covers the spectrum in age, race, gender, and orientation.
For many years, Crane has managed the business based on principles of “open-book management,” in which all employees are encouraged and rewarded in having a say in the operations of the company.
“Some of the best green ideas have come from employees,” Crane said. The composting program, converting grape waste to cattle feed and the waste cork and cardboard programs were all suggested and carried out by employees.
Crane retired in late 2020, and Remi Cohen has capably stepped into the role of CEO. A 20-year veteran of the local wine business, with experience at the helm of other Carneros properties, Cohen is keenly focused on furthering the winery’s commitment to sustainability.
Domaine Carneros is certified Sustainable by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, Bay Area Green, Fish Friendly Farming and Napa Green Land & Winery.
Long recognized for its conservation efforts, Domaine Carneros received the 2019 California Green Medal Business Award and the Sustainable Winegrowing Leadership Award for “demonstrating smart business through efficiencies, and innovation from implementing sustainable practices.”
“Napa Climate NOW! is pleased to name Domaine Carneros a 2020 Climate Champion,” said Dave Kearney-Brown, chairperson of county-wide climate non-profit. “Its deep commitment to sustainability, and a broad range of initiatives— all of which help lower its carbon footprint — make Domaine Carneros an exemplary business and a climate champion in the region.”
Congratulations and thanks to Eileen Crane and Domaine Carneros for their visionary leadership in the wine industry.
Actions you can take
Donate to Napa Green (https://napagreen.org/donations/)
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!