1. California Sustainable Winegrowing
We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us.
When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to
use it with love and respect.
- Aldo Leopold (1887-1948)
Ecologist, Scientist, Environmentalist, …
2. What’s Your Story, Morning Glory
• Fun Facts About California Wine
• Terms of Endearment: Sustainable, Organic, Biodynamic
• A Case for Eco-Certified Wines
• A Bit of History: California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA) & Certified
California Sustainable Winegrowing (CCSW-Certified)
• California Code of Sustainable Winegrowing
• CSWA Certification
• California Green Medal Award
• 2015 CSWA Status
• Sonoma County Sustainability Goal
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3. California Wine Fun Facts
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608kWinegrowing Acres
<1% CA Terrain, 49 of 58 Counties
Wine Grape Growers
110-120 Varieties
5,900
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4,600Bonded Wineries
>50% US Wineries, 85% of U.S. Wine
Top 5 Agricultural Crop
#1 Finished Agricultural Product by Value
Largest Producer in World
Behind Italy, France & Spain
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$B Full Economic Impact
Grapes & Wine
5. Terms of Endearment
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3 E’s of Sustainability
• Environmentally Sound
• Socially Equitable
• Economically Viable
Examples of Best Practices
• Sheep & birds to control weeds and pests
• Cover crops, drip irrigation & wastewater process ponds to
conserve water
• Compost, recycle, reuse
• Protect air & water quality
• Preserve local ecosystems & wildlife habitat
• Set goals, assess results and make continuous improvements
Sustainable wine growing can include organic and biodynamic practices
6. Terms of Endearment
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- Jaime Lerner (1937- )
Architect, Urban Planner, Governor Parana Brazil
“Sustainable winegrowing is being used by winegrape
growers and vintners throughout California to grow and
make high quality grapes and wine.”
- California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance
“If you want creativity, take a zero off your budget. If you
want sustainability, take off two zeros.”
7. Terms of Endearment
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Wines labeled “made with organically grown grapes”
• 100% come from organic vineyards farmed to the USDA National Organic Program
guidelines and certified by California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF).
• No nonorganic materials applied in the vineyard for at least three years
• Natural alternatives to soil enrichment and pest, weed, and vine disease
management
• Typically up to 100ppm added sulfites
< 3% of Total US
5% of World
8% in France
To Certify or not to Certify
• Potentially higher farming costs.
• Presumption of high certification overhead & fees ($750/1st Year, +/- $575/year after for
winegrowers, $1,250/1st year, $950/year after for wineries/processors)
• Organically-grown wine grapes rarely, if ever, go unsold BUT consumers won’t pay more for
eco-wine (2014 Delmas)
• Many renowned winemakers swear that organically grown wine grapes taste better (as wine
made organically? — more on this later)
• Ridge Vineyards, with 300 certified acres, largest in Sonoma County, “Organic more
marketable than Sustainable”
Wines labeled “organic wine”
• “a wine made from organically grown grapes without added sulfites”
• Only naturally occurring sulfites, < 10ppm
US Legal Limit, 350 ppm added sulfite
8. Terms of Endearment
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Biodynamic farming treats the vineyard as a
closed system
• Created by Rudolf Steiner, Demeter USA owns “Biodynamic”
• Employing organic practices and natural alternatives for eliminating
waste and promoting a healthy ecosystem.
• Must be certified through the Demeter Association and adhere to the
Demeter Farm Standard, with practices including:
• Natural pest predators to control pests
• No synthetic pesticides or nonorganic chemicals
• Compost teas and natural preparations to enrich soil and jumpstart
decomposition of compost piles, & promote microorganisms
• insectaries to control pests
• Planting and pruning determined by the phases of the moon
70 Total US
27 Sonoma
Most in France, Italy
To Certify or not to Certify
• In addition to NOP Certification, Demeter Certification is $300/yr
+ 0.05% gross sales > $100k
9. A Case for Eco-Certified (Org or Bio) Wines
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According to Journal of Wine Economics
•A review of Wine Advocate, Wine Spectator and
Wine Enthusiast scores of > 74k CA eco-certified
wines from 1998-2009 found that on average they
rated higher by 4.1 points
•Larger effect for Red (5.6) than White (1.3)
•Ratings were standardized across publications
and reviewers
•Did not include organic wine
•Prelim results found the same for French eco-
certified wines
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California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA)
• Promotes environmental stewardship and social
responsibility in the California wine community.
• Created the California Code of Sustainable
Winegrowing self-assessment workbook covers
more than 200 vineyard and winery sustainability
practices - from grapes to glass
• 2,100+ (20%) vineyard and winery organizations,
participated in Sustainable Winegrowing
Program (SWP) Self-Assessments
• 550 Workshops, 14,000 Participants
• 69% of winegrape acreage and 79% case
production.
• As the 4th-Largest wine-producing region in the
world, California’s SWP is one of the most
comprehensive and widely adopted.
A nonprofit created in 2003 by
Wine Institute and the California
Association of Winegrape Growers
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California Code of Sustainable Winegrowing (3rd Ed., 2012)
1.Sustainable Business Strategy
2.Viticulture
3.Soil Management
4.Vineyard Water Management
5.Pest Management
6.Wine Quality
7.Ecosystem Management
8.Energy Efficiency
9.Winery Water Conservation & Quality
10.Material Handling
11.Solid Waste Reduction and Management
12.Environmentally Preferable Purchasing
13.Human Resources
14.Neighbors & Community
15.Air Quality
• Over 200 Best Practices (138 Vineyard + 103 Winery)
• 4 Accuracy (or Scoring) Categories (1-4, 4 = Best, or N/A)
• 15 Chapters
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California Code of Sustainable Winegrowing (Soil Management)
1.Plant Tissue Analysis
2.Soil Nutrient Analysis
3.Nutrient Management
4.Nitrogen Management
5.Fertigation
6.Amendments for Water Penetration
7.Amendments of pH
8.Preserving or Increasing Organic Matter
9.Soil Compaction
10.Surface Water Diversions for Erodible
Soils
11.Management of Erosion from Roads,
Ditches & Culverts
12.Non-Point Source (NPS) Pollution
Prevention Within the Vineyard Block
• 12 Focus Areas
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Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing (CCSW-Certified)
• CCSW-Certified is a third-party certification
program Launched in 2010
• Verifies vineyard or winery has adopted,
implemented and improving sustainable
practices in the California Code of Sustainable
Winegrowing
• Meets all Prerequisite criteria (50 Vineyard, 32
Winery)
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California Green Medal
• Four Awards
• Leader: Balance & Excel 3 E’s of Sustainability
• Environment: Maximize Environmental Benefits
• Community: Employment, Neighborhood & Community
Innovation
• Business: Innovation, Efficiencies, Cost Savings
• Criteria
• 3 Year Self-Assessments
• Demonstrate outstanding achievement in each area
• Major Accomplishments, Measurable Results
• Innovative Practices/Projects
• Certification = Bonus Points
20. 2015 California Sustainability Status - Report Based on 3rd Ed. Code
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483/91
Vineyards/Wineries Certified
16.6% Vineyard Acreage
63.6% Wine Production
Vineyards
Used the Code to Evaluate &
Improve Practices
802
9584
85
% Micro-Irrigate
Drip Irrigation or Micro-Sprinklers
91% Use RDI, 75% Measure Use
% Use Cultural Pest Mgmt
Leaf Removal, Cover Crop, Hedge Rows, …
73% Monitor Vineyards Weekly
% Encourage Nutrient Cycling
Grow Resident Vegetation
61% Reduced/Eliminated Tillage
85
% Use Plant Tissue Analysis
49% Made Site-Specific
Nutrient Applications
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Sonoma County Winegrowers
SONOMA COUNTY COMMITS TO BECOMING THE FIRST
100% SUSTAINABLE WINE REGION IN THE NATION BY 2019
• 59,218 Acres Planted to Vineyards (6%)
• 1,800+ Sonoma County Winegrowers Association Members
• 16 Unique American Viticultural Areas (AVAs)
• 450+ Wineries
• $13.4B Economic Impact
• 54,297 Full Time Jobs
22. Parting Thought (Fib)
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How Much Water Was Used to
Produce Your Glass of Wine?
California
Europe
~ 15 gallons / 4 oz
(some as low as 3 gallons)
~ 29 gallons / 4 oz
