Napa Valley wineries dive into sustainability program
With a goal of having full participation in three years, Napa Valley Vintners said it has reached the half-way point of members that own a winery, vineyard land or both being enrolled in the Napa Green environmental sustainability program.
In 2015, the association announced the goal to have all the 435 members with eligible wineries in the Napa Valley involved in the Napa Green program in five years.
Certification of farms and winemaking facilities is provided by the National Marine Fisheries Service, county of Napa, Regional Water Quality Control Board and the California Green Business Program. The program was developed in the early 2000s by more than 20 stakeholders from the wine industry, environmental groups, government and regulatory agencies, according to the vintners’ group.
The first Napa Green Winery certification was in 2008 and the group stated that today there are 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, the group stated.
About 45 percent of Napa Valley’s vineyards are certified Napa Green Land – about 20,000 acres.
“When the NVV board of directors set our 100 percent Napa Green by 2020 goal, we knew it was ambitious,” Michael Honig, chair of the association board and president of Honig Vineyard & Winery, stated in the announcement. “We couldn’t be more proud to be halfway there, just two years after making the announcement. Participation in Napa Green is exacting – every detail matters. Getting certified requires a high level of commitment from winery and land owners and their employees, but it’s the right thing to do for our community and for future generations.”
Honig’s family winery is certified both Napa Green Land and Winery and he notes that all 10 of his fellow association board members are also participating in the program, setting an example for their vintner colleagues.
