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Jeff Quackenbush | North Bay Business Journal
How much it will cost a grower or vintner to obtain Napa Green certification of sustainability practices depends on the program and certifier.
“The direct costs are minimal,” said Nate Weis, director of winemaking for Silver Oak and Twomey, which have production facilities and vineyards in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties. “But the indirect costs, depending on what is already implemented, can be significant.”
The Duncan family is behind the iconic Silver Oak and Twomey wine brands. The organization has pursued third-party sustainability certification of its holdings through several groups, both known in the wine and construction businesses as well as not yet front of mind for many.
More than a dozen and a half Duncan family sites in those three counties were certified by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance over a number of months. And its Napa Valley facilities also were certified last year under U.S. Green Building Council and Napa Green Winery programs.
After a two-year process, the Silver Oak Cellars main winery in the Oakville area of central Napa Valley last summer was certified at the highest level — platinum — under the council’s Existing Buildings: Operation and Maintenance designation that’s part of the Leadership in Environmental and Energy Design (LEED) rating system. That certification helped with the Napa Green Winery certification, Weis said.
“We had already done quite a bit to get ourselves up to snuff there,” he said.
Silver Oak’s winery in the Jimtown community of Sonoma County’s Alexander Valley is being outfitted to meet platinum-level LEED standards as the facility is readied for occupancy this summer. Elements of the Living Building Challenge certification by the Seattle-based International Living Building Institute also are being implemented.
For the Napa Green Land program for vineyards, the two avenues to certification are the Fish Friendly Farming program (fishfriendlyfarming.org) offered by the Napa-based California Land Stewardship Institute and level 2 of the LandSmart program (landsmart.org/vineyard) via the Napa Resource Conservation District. The LandSmart option was added last June.
Fish Friendly Farming started in Sonoma County in 1999 as a way for vineyard operators in the Russian River watershed to have verified that they were using best practices to protect listed fish. It expanded to Napa County in 2002 and now is used in Mendocino, Sonoma, Napa, Solano and El Dorado counties.
The fee for the Fish Friendly Farming program is $11 an acre, but grants cover all but $4 per acre of that, according to Napa Valley Vintners.
LandSmart was developed by resource conservation districts (RCDs) in Napa, Sonoma and Mendocino counties. Grants cover the cost to participate in the LandSmart program.
For vintners pursuing Napa Green Winery certification, the cost of a an integrated resource assessment by Sustainable Napa County project engineer Bill Bennett is roughly $1,000-plus, depending on winery size. Napa Valley Vintners offers some financial help with this, bringing the average out-of-pocket cost to $200–$400 per winery, depending on size, according to the trade association.
Bennett was a plant engineer for the Budweiser-focused brewery in Fairfield for three decades before joining Sustainable Napa County in 2010. The Napa-based Gasser Foundation started the organization in 2007 to promote energy and water conservation in Napa Valley.
ViewCraft of the Sonoma County community of Graton has been involved with Bay Area and wine industry sustainability programs since the early 1990s, even being involved with the crafting of the Code of Sustainable Winegrowing that became the heart of the CSWA program. Today, the company is helping wine businesses navigate the Napa Green programs. Part of that is help coordinating site visits required by the assessments.
“We calculate water intensity for gallons of water used per gallon wine, energy intensity in kilowatt-hours per case of wine produced and waste diversion, getting recycling and composting numbers from waste-management companies,” said Anna Brittain, MESM, head of ViewCraft communications.
Getting to the zero-waste goal a number of wineries shoot for can be quite a challenge, said John Garn, ViewCraft founder.
“If you count all the pomace in the solid-waste stream, it would be 70 to 80 percent diversion,” Garn said, referring to the grape skins, seeds, stems and other organic leftovers from crush. “But it takes a lot to get to 90 percent or above.”
Beyond goals of being good neighbors and good stewards of the environment, vintners are starting to hear from the marketplace that sustainability matters, and verifiably quantifying “sustainability” matters even more, according to Brittain.
“We’re hearing about some increased distributor interest in this information, especially in Scandinavia” she said. “From what we heard, they want some evidence if it is third-party certified and what that means in resource tracking and greenhouse-gas emission tracking.”
And some ViewCraft client vintners that have done case studies on sustainability in marketing have noted that properly communicating and displaying sustainability certifications and achievements can boost sales, sometimes as high as 20 percent.
But Weis of Silver Oak and Twomey has found sustainability in marketing, even putting certification marks on the label, to be a mixed bag.
“We have chosen not to put those symbols on our label,” Weis said. “In traveling the country, I’ve found some are interested in it in some places, and in some places they’re not. It’s certainly not going to hurt you.”
PROGRESS TOWARD SUSTAINABILITY
Roughly half the vineyard acreage in Sonoma and Napa counties has been certified as sustainable as part of ambitious goals by trade groups to have an independent label of authenticity stamped on its claims in the next few years.
In January 2014, Sonoma County Winegrowers announced a goal of 100 percent certified vineyards by 2019, and the county passed the 60 percent mark early this year. That’s 35,000 of the county’s 58,235 vine acres.
In 2015, the Napa Valley Vintners trade association set the goal for all its 435 members with eligible wineries in the Napa Valley involved in the Napa Green program in five years. About 45 percent of Napa County’s vineyards, or about 20,000 acres, are certified under the Napa Green Land.
The Sonoma County vineyard program uses four programs with third-party auditors: CSWA, Fish Friendly Farming, Lodi Rules and Sustainable in Practice (SIP).
The Napa Green program was developed in the early 2000s by more than 20 stakeholders from the wine industry, environmental groups, government and regulatory agencies. Napa County’s vineyard and winery programs are certified by the National Marine Fisheries Service, county of Napa, San Francisco Bay Regional Water Quality Control Board and the California Green Business Program.
The first Napa Green Winery certification was in 2008. There are now more than 55 certified vintners. Recertification is required every three years, based on tracking water and energy use and waste diversion and demonstrating continuous improvement in resource conservation.
Jeff Quackenbush (jquackenbush@busjrnl.com, (707-521-4256) covers construction, commercial real estate and wine.
About Napa Green: The Napa Green 501c3 is a global leader in sustainable winegrowing, setting the highest bar for sustainability and climate action in the wine industry. Napa Green facilitates whole system soil to bottle certification for wineries and vineyards, and provides the expertise, boots-on-the-ground support, and resources to continually improve. Learn more at https://napagreen.org/participating-members/.
Anna Brittain
Napa Green
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Take action this Earth Month with Napa Green. Our team of experts is ready to assist you in achieving your climate action goals for both your vineyard and winery, no matter where you are in your sustainability journey.
🎥 @robot_productions
#earthday #earthdayeveryday #earthmonth #climateaction #sustainabilty #climatesmart #regenerativeag
🍴Wednesday April, 23rd is the day NOT to miss lunch at @cliffamily!!
Come enjoy delicious food while supporting Napa Green! See you there.
Uniquely, Napa Green isn’t just a roadmap of leading practices. Napa Green provides an expert, boots-on-the-ground consulting team that develops:
✅ Regenerative Carbon Farm Plans (to enhance soil health, biodiversity, resilience, and carbon storage)
✅ Irrigation Distribution Uniformity Assessments (to maximize water efficiency)
✅ Integrated Resource Assessments (to reduce energy, water, waste and emissions in production)
✅ Action Plans for continuing improvement (tailored to the opportunities and goals of each vineyard or winery)
Additionally, we support soil sampling and analysis, provide resource assistance, run practical training and education workshops throughout the year, and provide valuable, hands-on guidance in meeting your climate action goals.
✅ Napa Green members implement over 120 best practices in both the Vineyard and Winery. This Earth Month, learn about 21 of them with “21 Days, 21 Ways” counting down to Earth Day.
📷 @buddsocial
📍 @tressabores
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Napa Green’s vineyard team is trained to develop regenerative, whole-farm Carbon Farm Plans (CFPs). These plans review all of the current beneficial practices that are increasing soil and ecosystem health and storing carbon, and identify additional opportunities to regenerate the soil and vineyard ecosystem and simultaneously maximize carbon capture in a given property. Each vineyard’s goal is to become carbon neutral (or negative) and increase the resilience of vineyards, businesses, and our community.
✅ Napa Green members implement over 120 best practices in both the Vineyard and Winery. This Earth Month, learn about 21 of them with “21 Days, 21 Ways” counting down to Earth Day.
📷 @soilrainandhope
📍 @tressabores
#21days21ways #earthmonth #earthday #climateaction #regenerativevineyard #climatesmart #sustainablewine #regenerativeag #environmentalleadership #wineindustry #winebusiness
Clear pathways for employee advancement are essential for a thriving workforce and driving success. They boost retention, job satisfaction, productivity, and attract top talent. Napa Green Certified members develop pathways for growth, discussing career goals and progress with employees during reviews.
✅ Napa Green members implement over 120 best practices in both the Vineyard and Winery. This Earth Month, learn about 21 of them with “21 Days, 21 Ways” counting down to Earth Day.
📷 @briana_marie
📍 @dominusestatewinery
#21days21ways #earthmonth #earthday #climateaction #regenerativevineyard #climatesmart #sustainablewine #regenerativeag #environmentalleadership #wineindustry #winebusiness
Forests are not only our largest terrestrial carbon sink, they are also home to 80% of the world’s on-land diversity. We need healthy forests, which means a balanced density of native trees and plants. Healthy forests experience lower intensity fires with less tree mortality, meaning higher carbon retention and ecosystem function.
✅ Napa Green members implement over 120 best practices in both the Vineyard and Winery. This Earth Month, learn about 21 of them with “21 Days, 21 Ways” counting down to Earth Day.
📷 @abrittain
📍 @seaveyvineyard
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Napa Green Certified Wineries benefit from an on-site Integrated Resource Assessment (IRA) led by our experienced engineers and winemakers. This IRA evaluates resource metrics, monitors progress, and identifies areas for improvement to increase efficiency and save $$$.
✅ Napa Green members implement over 120 best practices in both the Vineyard and Winery. This Earth Month, learn about 21 of them with “21 Days, 21 Ways” counting down to Earth Day.
📍 @materrawines
#21days21ways #earthmonth #earthday #climateaction #climatesmart #sustainablewine #regenerativeag #environmentalleadership #wineindustry #winebusiness
All of our members are committed to using at least 60% renewable energy, whether through on-site solar and other renewable sources or by working with @mcecleanenergy to access clean power through the grid. The impact? Over 1.2 million pounds of CO2e saved by wineries and vineyards in just one year. To put that into perspective it’s the equivalent to offsetting the emissions from driving over 1.5 million miles in a typical gas-powered car!
✅ Napa Green members implement over 120 best practices in both the Vineyard and Winery. This Earth Month, learn about 21 of them with “21 Days, 21 Ways” counting down to Earth Day.
📷 @love.dream.breathe
📍 @corisonwinery
#21days21ways #earthmonth #earthday #climateaction #regenerativevineyard #climatesmart #sustainablewine #regenerativeag #environmentalleadership #wineindustry #winebusiness #renewableenergy #greenpower #greenenergy
As part of their commitment to sustainability, Napa Green Certified Winery members collaborate with key suppliers and utilize their purchasing power to support eco-friendly practices. In the same way, we can make a difference at home by choosing materials made from post-consumer recycled materials, and selecting reusable, recyclable, compostable, biodegradable, and non-toxic products.
✅ Napa Green members implement over 120 best practices in both the Vineyard and Winery. This Earth Month, learn about 21 of them with “21 Days, 21 Ways” counting down to Earth Day.
#21days21ways #earthmonth #earthday #climateaction #regenerativevineyard #climatesmart #sustainablewine #regenerativeag #environmentalleadership #wineindustry #winebusiness #greenpurchasing #supplychain
Napa Green Certified Vineyards implement climate-smart burn practices, such as Conservation Burning, Flame Cap Kilns, and Air Curtain Burners. These practices reduce smoke and emissions and create biochar. Biochar is re-fossilized wood that provides long-term carbon storage. Even more compelling, when inoculated and applied with compost, biochar aids in water retention and increases water and fertilizer efficiency.
✅ Napa Green members implement over 120 best practices in both the Vineyard and Winery. This Earth Month, learn about 21 of them with “21 Days, 21 Ways” counting down to Earth Day.
📍 @gloriaferrerwinery
#21days21ways #earthmonth #earthday #climateaction #regenerativevineyard #climatesmart #sustainablewine #regenerativeag #environmentalleadership #wineindustry #winebusiness
Napa Green Certified Vineyards implement practices to create habitat for beneficial wildlife, including bluebirds, owls, bats, and raptors. Members may also install boxes and perches if trees or other natural perches aren’t present to encourage these animals in the vineyard. These measures are part of a broader commitment to sustainable and regenerative farming practices.
✅ Napa Green members implement over 120 best practices in both the Vineyard and Winery. This Earth Month, learn about 21 of them with “21 Days, 21 Ways” counting down to Earth Day.
📷 @soilrainandhope
📍 @tressaboreswinery
#21days21ways #earthmonth #earthday #climateaction #regenerativevineyard #climatesmart #sustainablewine #regenerativeag #environmentalleadership #wineindustry #winebusiness #biodiversity
While vineyards don’t directly require pollination, pollinators still play a vital role in the overall health of our ecosystems. Increased biodiversity leads to better soil health, water retention and can attract beneficial insects. Plus, pollinators are friend shaped! 🐝
✅ Napa Green members implement over 120 best practices in both the Vineyard and Winery. This Earth Month, learn about 21 of them with “21 Days, 21 Ways” counting down to Earth Day.
📷 @soilrainandhope
📍 @grgichhills
#21days21ways #earthmonth #earthday #climateaction #regenerativevineyard #climatesmart #sustainablewine #regenerativeag #environmentalleadership #wineindustry #winebusiness #biodiversity
Join us @earthdaynapa tomorrow, April 12 at the wine booth to try some sustainable wines!
All proceeds for to the Environmental Education Coalition of Napa County’s Field Trip Bus Grant Program and the Darcy Aston Scholarship.
#earthday #earthmonth #earthdayeveryday #sustainablewine #climatesmartwine
Carbon storage is inherently site-specific, tied to unique combinations of soil types, microclimates, historical farming practices, and more. Napa Green Certified Vineyards leverage soil sampling to validate the on-the-ground impacts of their regenerative farming methods.
✅ Napa Green members implement over 120 best practices in both the Vineyard and Winery. This Earth Month, learn about 21 of them with “21 Days, 21 Ways” counting down to Earth Day.
📷 @growresiliently
📍 @sixsigmaranch
#21days21ways #earthmonth #earthday #climateaction #regenerativevineyard #climatesmart #sustainablewine #regenerativeag #environmentalleadership #wineindustry #winebusiness
Green teams offer a multitude of benefits, ranging from enhanced employee engagement and a culture of sustainability to cost savings and improved environmental performance.
✅ Napa Green members implement over 120 best practices in both the Vineyard and Winery. This Earth Month, learn about 21 of them with “21 Days, 21 Ways” counting down to Earth Day.
📷 @kikimrobinson
📍 @charleskrugwinery
#21days21ways #earthmonth #earthday #climateaction #regenerativevineyard #climatesmart #sustainablewine #regenerativeag #environmentalleadership #wineindustry #winebusiness
Napa Green Vineyard members located along waterways maintain and enhance riparian areas for wildlife habitat, erosion control, creek/river health and carbon storage.
✅ Napa Green members implement over 120 best practices in both the Vineyard and Winery. This Earth Month, learn about 21 of them with “21 Days, 21 Ways” counting down to Earth Day.
📷 @briana_marie
📍 @dominusestatewinery
#21days21ways #earthmonth #earthday #climateaction #regenerativevineyard #climatesmart #sustainablewine #regenerativeag #environmentalleadership #wineindustry #winebusiness
