21 years of being green

Napa River

Napa River is Impaired

The EPA lists the Napa River as impaired due to excessive sediment loading.

Collaborative Watershed Initiative

Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) joins with over a dozen local environmental and agricultural groups, along with regulatory agencies, including Napa RCD, Napa Valley Grapegrowers and NOAA Fisheries, to develop a voluntary program to prevent erosion and enhance watershed health.

Launch of Napa Green Land

NVV and partner organizations establish Napa Green Land, a certification program focused on erosion prevention and sustainable vineyard practices, in collaboration with the Fish Friendly Farming program.

Napa Green Winery established

The Napa Green Winery certification is created to promote environmentally responsible practices in winemaking operations, expanding the sustainability mission beyond the vineyard.

Participation Goals Set

NVV sets a target for 100% member participation in the Napa Green Land and/or Winery programs by 2020, marking a significant commitment to regional sustainability.

LandSmart Program Recognized

Napa RCD’s LandSmart program becomes a second pathway to achieve Napa Green Land certification through sustainable land management practices.

Comprehensive IRAs Launched

Napa Green introduces IRAs to provide comprehensive evaluations of energy, water, waste, and emissions at winery facilities, helping track sustainability metrics. By 2024, over 240 IRAs had been completed.

Regulatory Alignment

The San Francisco Bay Regional Water Board adopts General Permit vineyard Waste Discharge Requirements. Compliance with Napa Green Land certification practices becomes necessary for vineyards over 5 acres.

Independent Nonprofit

Napa Green transitions to an independent nonprofit organization to support the growth and broader adoption of its sustainability programs. Longtime program consultant and sustainability thought-leader, Anna Brittain, is hired as the organization’s Executive Director.

Industry Participation goals

94% of NVV members are actively participating in either the Napa Green Land or Winery certification programs.

Napa Green Vineyard Certification

New Napa Green Vineyard standards are released, addressing the critical issues of today and tomorrow – regenerative farming, climate action, and social equity. Napa Green Vineyard is a whole-property certification that facilitates regenerative, resilient viticultural practices, and includes custom Carbon Farm Plans and Irrigation Distribution Uniformity Assessments.

Six Pillars Introduced

Anna Brittain develops the Six Pillars of Sustainable Winegrowing Leadership: Water Efficiency; Energy Efficiency; Supply Chain & Waste Prevention; Proactive Farming, Soil Health & Biodiversity; Social Justice, Diversity & Inclusion; all under the umbrella of Climate Action & Regenerative Agriculture.

Vineyard Program Growth

Three wineries – Opus One, Spottswoode Estate, and Dominus Estate – become the first to achieve Napa Green Vineyard certification. Napa Green receives a $490,000 Specialty Crop Block Grant to grow the new Napa Green Vineyard program and support implementation of regenerative farming practices.
Napa Green Certified Sign in front of a vineyard

Specialty Crop Block Grant

Napa Green receives $490,000 CA Dept. of Food & Agriculture Specialty Crop Block Grant to grow the new Napa Green Vineyard program and support implementation of regenerative farming practices.

Climate & Wine Symposium launch

Napa Green launches inaugural THRIVES (now RISE) Climate & Wine Symposium, a series of six half-day events organized around the Six Pillars, with over 65 speakers, 40 sponsors, and 600 guests. Keynotes include Climate Writer & Activist Bill McKibben and New York Times Wine Writer Eric Asimov.

Climate Champion award

Napa Green receives the Napa Climate NOW! Community Group Climate Champion award, which recognizes those in our community who consistently act in exemplary ways as they speak up and reach out to inform the community of the impact of climate change on our local environment.

Charles F. McGlashan award

The award recognizes changemakers for their outstanding dedication to environmental leadership and commemorate the legacy of MCE’s founding Chairman, Charles F. McGlashan.

Symposium Expansion & Action

Napa Green organizes second RISE Climate & Wine Symposium, with over 70 speakers and 750 guests, and more than a dozen winery commitments to action. Keynotes include Wine Writer Jancis Robinson and regenerative leader Mimi Casteel.
Anna Future 40 2023

Industry Recognition

With the support of her expert team, Executive Director Anna Brittain named Wine Enthusiast Future 40 Tastemaker, and Wine Business Monthly Wine Industry Leader.

Global Leadership

Napa Green becomes the first sustainable winegrowing certification globally to require the phaseout of glyphosate-based herbicides (e.g., Roundup) by 2026 and all synthetic herbicides by 2028.

Napa Green Vineyard Milestone

Napa Green achieves milestone of 80 vineyards and 40 growers certified as regenerative Napa Green Vineyards.

BEYOND GREEN Launch

Napa Green introduces “BEYOND GREEN,” a new regional brand that expands Napa Green’s expert services and rigorous certification program to vineyards and wineries across California’s North Coast.

RISE Returns with commitments

Napa Green organizes third RISE Climate & Wine Symposium, with over 70 speakers and 650 guests, and more than twenty winery commitments to action. Keynotes include Ray Isle, Cathy Corison and Grace Corison Martin.

HISTORY OF NAPA GREEN LAND

The Napa Green Land (NGL) program was originally developed by the Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) in collaboration with more than 30 local environmental, community and regulatory stakeholders in the early 2000s. Because the Napa River was known to have excessive sediment at that time, NGL was originally developed for participants to meet and exceed environmental compliance standards to prevent erosion and improve the overall health of the Napa River watershed.

Beginning in 2004, NGL functionally acted as an umbrella program that recognized growers who were third-party certified through a program called “Fish Friendly Farming” (FFF), customized for the Napa County regulatory context. In 2016, NGL recognition expanded to include LandSmart, an open-source program managed by the Napa County Resource Conservation District (RCD), designed with similar goals and best practices to facilitate compliance and watershed stewardship.

In 2017, the San Francisco Bay Regional Water Board adopted vineyard Waste Discharge Requirements (WDR), which applied to all Napa and Sonoma County vineyard watershed properties of five or more acres. Both of the pathways recognized by NGL – FFF and LandSmart – provided participating growers with certified farm plans that met the WDR requirements and facilitated this new level of regulatory compliance.

All things must grow and evolve. For over 16 years the original Napa Green Land model has done great things to prevent erosion, improve the health of our watershed and help the Napa River begin to rebound. Now we must shift our attention to two of the most critical issues facing our industry: climate action and social equity.

Learn more about the leading standards of the Napa Green Vineyard Certification and Napa Green Winery Certification.