Down to Earth Wines: Sustainability in a Bottle

Consumers are considering sustainability in ever-increasing numbers when purchasing food, so it’s no surprise that sustainable, organic and biodynamic wines are a hot trend in the wine industry.  As the biggest producing wine state in the US, California is leading the way in wines made with a nod to sustainability.

From the iconic vineyards of Napa Valley to producers in Temecula Valley, winemakers are creating great wine that is also great for the environment.  

Some of the California wineries and wine regions with a strong focus on sustainability include: 

Frey Wines
Thirty years ago, Frey Wines became the USA’s first biodynamic and organic winery. Today many other winemakers in Mendocino County have followed suit. Visit this trailblazing winery and taste a wide variety of reds and whites made with sustainability and taste in mind. The wines are also vegan and gluten-free. 

Urban Winery
Centralas is an ecologically focused winery in the heart of Los Angeles. The owners make all their decisions with the goal of protecting and/or benefiting the environment, working with local farmers to make their wines. Most of its wines are certified organic or biodynamic and dry-farmed. The winery is leading the trend to list all ingredients in the wine on its labels for total transparency, and bottle using glass that is 30-50% lighter than average to reduce the carbon footprint to get the wine to your table. 

Sustainable Sonoma
In Sonoma, join a tractor tour at the Benziger Family Winery to get an up-close view of the biodynamic wine-growing process. Continue with a wine-tasting tour visiting Hamel Family Wines, Abbot’s Passage, Bartholomew Estates and Gundlach Bundschu, all of which farm using organic and biodynamic practices. Grab bottles of sustainable, organic and biodynamic wines to take home at Valley Bar + Bottle or Darling Wines, both located on the famous Sonoma Plaza. 

Madera Wine Trail
If you think Yosemite is only about its iconic park, think again. Madera County is one of the oldest wine-growing regions in the country. Today many vintners are using sustainable practices. Idle Hour Winery works with sustainably grown grapes and uses natural yeasts and gravity flow in its winemaking process. Last year Quady Winery became a Certified Sustainable Winery, and San Joaquin Winery’s founder, Steve Schafer, advocates for sustainable practices with the California Association of Wine Growers. 

More examples of California’s sustainable wine industry: https://media.visitcalifornia.com/story-inspiration/discover-story-ideas/down-to-earth-wines