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Napa Green news

Happy fall,

I was thinking this weekend about the intentions I set for this year, and I was telling myself I still had plenty of time to get more accomplished. Then I remembered itโ€™s almost Thanksgivingโ€ฆhmm.ย 

Together with our members, Napa Green has accomplished a lot this year, including hostingย EIGHT educational and inspirational events,ย and surpassing 80 vineyards and 40 growers certified to the Napa Green Vineyard regenerative certification.ย 

Most recently, we organized an Economics of Organic Viticulture discussion at Grgich Hills. Some highlights are available here:

We will create a landing page with all of the presentations. If interested, keep a lookout for that in early December.ย 

Weโ€™re getting really excited about plans and content for ourย 2025 RISE Climate & Wine Symposium.ย As an example, weโ€™re going to have an important forum during our May 7 Supply Chain event, asking, โ€œDo Consumers Care about Sustainability & Climate Action?โ€ Weโ€™ll have Esther Mobley (SF Chronicle) moderating, with speakers Dom De Ville (The Wine Society) and Randi Kronthal-Sacco (NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business), and one more speaker TBD.ย Get your early bird tickets now!

We would love to catch up with you before the New Year at ourย Annual Member Meeting at Clos du Val on December 12, from 4:30-6 pm. I hope you have a lovely Thanksgiving with just the right amount of food and family. Thank you, Anna Brittain Executive Director

NAPA GREEN MEMBER MEETING

Join Us for Napa Green Member Meeting At Clos Du Val

We want to connect with you and your teams before the New Year, sharing program updates, and answering any questions. Clos du Val is our generous host for this happy hour event on December 12 from 4:30-6 pm. There will be appetizers and wine, and plenty of time to mix and mingle.

When: December 12 from 4:30 – 6:00 pm
Where: Clos du Val
Cost: FREE

Register Now:ย https://www.eventbrite.com/e/napa-green-annual-member-meeting-tickets-1075104710129

Changes To Napa Green Fee Structure

In 2021, the Napa Green nonprofit originally set fees as low as possible to accommodate for the financial strain COVID placed on our members. Since that time, our fees have remained relatively unchanged in order to include as many vineyards and wineries in the program as possible. Unfortunately, these fees have not captured the true costs for our sustainability experts to facilitate certification and provide technical assistance services.ย 

Beginning in 2025, we will be making several necessary changes to our fee structure to better reflect the costs associated with both certification and the additional expert services Napa Green provides.ย Please see theย Napa Green Vineyard and Winery fee overview.ย We know that any adjustments like this are never easy and that this is a challenging time for vineyards and wineries, especially smaller operations. To that end, we have worked diligently with our Board to accurately assess our service costs and to balance impacts, with little to no change for our smallest members.

Weโ€™ve also heard from many of you about adjusting our invoicing schedule. Moving forward, instead of receiving invoices in March/April,ย Napa Green will begin invoicing annually on Dec. 2.ย These will be Net 30 invoices so you can pay in the new year as needed.ย If there is any hardship with the changes in fees or timing, we ask that you please let us know and we’ll explore accommodation.ย 

RISE 2025

RISE Climate & Wine Symposium โ€“ Save The Dates

We are well into planning for our third worldclassย RISE Climate & Wine Symposium,ย again hosted at the Charles Krug Carriage House.ย SAVE THE DATES: April 29-May 1 and May 6-8.ย 

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This is a series of six half-day events organized around ourย Six Pillars of Sustainable Winegrowing Leadership. RISE is a uniquely action- and impact-oriented Symposium, with more than 70 expert speakers, 40 Sustainable Services & Solutions Sponsors, and we plan to engage 1,000 guests in 2025.

We have our first three Marquee keynote speakers confirmed โ€“ย Ray Isle, Executive Wine Editor, Food & Wine | Author, โ€œThe World in a Wineglassโ€;ย Mark Arax, Journalist and author, โ€œThe Dreamt Landโ€;ย Chris Renfro, Founder, The Two Eighty Project โ€“ along with nearly 20 other speakers. We are continually updating content and speakers.ย 

GET YOUR EARLY BIRD TICKETS NOW! Napa Green members you can useย code NGMEMBER to receive 15% off tickets. And donโ€™t forget that six-pack bundles can be shared amongst your team.ย 

If you are interested in sponsorship please reach out to Megan Scott,ย megan@napagreen.org, and she will share the RISE Sponsorship deck.

Reminder: Roundup/Glyphosate Phaseout

Reminder: Roundup/Glyphosate Phaseout by End Of 2025

A year ago, we announced that we would beย the first sustainable winegrowing certification program to require the phaseout of Roundup/Glyphosateย by January 1, 2026, and ultimately all synthetic herbicides by January 1, 2028. We developed and continue to add to our uniqueย Weed Management Toolkit.

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There is just over a year until all Napa Green members will need to be Roundup/Glyphosate free.ย Nearly 2/3 of our members have already achieved this goal, and for the rest of our members we are here to provide support in this transition, including the opportunity to connect you with mentors.

There has been misinformation circulating that there are some automatic offramps from this requirement.ย That is not the case. Growers will have the opportunity to submit a request for variance for exceptionally cost-prohibitive circumstances. These requests will be considered by a Peer Review Committee. Any variances will be granted on a select basis, which is to say we do not anticipate granting more than a small number of variances. For the limited number of growers that may receive a variance it will only extend their Roundup-free transition timeline.ย 

Prohibited & Restricted Pesticidesย is one of six elements of our Napa Green Vineyard certification focused on regenerative agriculture, climate action, and social equity.ย You canย review the full elementย and detailedย spreadsheet here.

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APPLY FOR CALIFORNIA GREEN MEDAL AWARD

The application for the Californiaย Greenย Medalย Sustainable Winegrowing Leadership Awards program is officially open through Feb. 5, 2025. California vineyards and wineries that participate in a sustainability program in California are eligible toย apply in four award categoriesย (Leader Award, Environment Award, Community Award and Business Award). Learn more and apply atย greenmedal.org.

Twelve Napaย Greenย members have been recognized with the California Sustainable Winegrowingย Greenย Medalย award since its inception in 2015.

The Californiaย Greenย Medalย is presented by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, California Association of Winegrape Growers, Wine Institute, Napa Green, Napa Valley Vintners, Lodi Winegrape Commission, Vineyard Team, and Sonoma County Winegrowers.

On a related note, we will be sharing a call for RISE Leadership Award applications in January, which includes a chance to present during the RISE Climate & Wine Symposium.

Napa Green Sponsors

Napa Green is grateful to our sponsors, who help fund our expanding operations and programs. If you are interested in becoming a Napa Green Sponsor please reach out to Napa Green Executive Director, Anna Brittain.