'Winery School' Is Ultra-Green

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The new Research and Teaching Winery at the University of California at Davis is scheduled to open this month, with a goal of becoming the first winery on Earth to achieve LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Platinum status.

Even during peak capacity times - which occur often in California's Central Valley - the building will use solar power for all of its energy needs...

A New 'Recycling' Option for Old Wine Bottles

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Wine bottles have been recycled for years, but now there's an even better option for those focused on protecting the environment.

A company called Wine Bottle Renew is gearing up to offer a wine bottle washing service - a process that investors say will save 95 percent of a bottle's carbon footprint.

The practice of reusing wine bottles is fairly common in Europe, but the concept has never caught on in the United States. Wine Bottle Renew hopes to change that, and this month plans to wash the first of 200,000 cases of used bottles at a plant in Stockton, Calif., formerly occupied by Del Monte...

Mendocino: America's 'Greenest' Wine Region

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One of America's most spectacularly diverse wine regions, Mendocino County is truly the nation's "greenest" wine region.

It's as famous for its untamed beauty, wide open spaces and earth-friendly farming and ranching as it is for the wines produced in its diverse soils and microclimates.

Aficionados pursue limited-production Mendocino heritage vine Zinfandels and small-lot Cabernets and Merlots from the warmer interior Coast Range valleys and mountain vineyards...

'Green' Going Strong in Napa Valley

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     Napa Green is one of the wine industry's most comprehensive "best practices" in land use and wine production.

     The voluntary program, developed by the Napa Valley Vintners, is open to all Napa County vintners and grape growers, and focuses on building environmentally sound, sustainable practices...

Spring Mountain Honored for Pest Management

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     Diane Dillon and the Napa County Board of Supervisors have honored Spring Mountain Vineyard with a proclamation outlining the winery's leadership in integrated pest management.

     The estate was similarly honored in March with an Innovator Award by the California Environmental Protection Agency.

     Spring Mountain is one of only three wineries honored with an Integrated Pest Management Innovator Award since the program began. It was selected for its...

Oregon Wineries Embrace 'Green' Philosophy

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     No state takes the "green movement" more seriously than Oregon, and that certainly goes for Oregon's grape growers and wine estates.

     When the governor of the state put forth the Carbon Neutral Challenge Initiative, more than two dozen wineries got involved right away...

Chilean Winery to Gauge Its Water Footprint

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     Concha y Toro has taken an additional step in its sustainable development strategy.

     In partnership with Fundacion Chile and the Water Footprint Network - an international organization with a mission of promoting the transition to sustainable water use by production systems - the company announced that this year it will become the first winery in the world to measure its corporate water footprint.

     The methodology, used worldwide, has been developed by the Water Footprint Network. Fundacion Chile will provide...

Benziger's 'Green' Initiatives Recognized

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     Many companies look for "something green" to do for Earth Day, but Sonoma County's Benziger Family Winery is making a sustained commitment to healthy living with new eco-friendly packaging, carbon reductions through Carbonfund.org's program, and assistance to the farm worker community.

      Benziger has launched an "eco-friendly" packaging initiative that includes lighter bottles and new labels. The new bottles weigh 30 percent less than a traditional wine bottle, which amounts to 289,600 pounds of glass saved per year, as well as the resources required to ship that weight.

     The new labeling not only reflects a new look for the Benziger Family Winery line of wines, but uses...

Another Award for Central Coast Vineyard Team

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     The Sustainability In Practice certification program of the Central Coast Vineyard Team has been awarded an IPM Innovators Award by the state of California Department of Pesticide Regulation.

     It marks the second time the Central Coast Vineyard Team has been honored by the California DPR.

     The annual awards recognize diverse groups of businesses and organizations which lead by example in providing...

Beckstoffer Contributes Conservation Easements

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     Andy Beckstoffer, recently elected to the Culinary Institute of America's Vintners Hall of Fame, has contributed two new conservation easements totaling 92 acres to the Napa County Land Trust

     The two new easements are part of the Beckstoffer Georges III Vineyard, which produces fruit for such award-winning Cabernet Sauvignon wines as Schrader GIII, Zahtila and 12C. 

     "What makes Napa Valley unique is the quality of the grapes we grow here," says Beckstoffer. "We have to preserve that, because if we fall short...

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