Ever since Kermit the Frog intoned, "It's not easy being green," winegrowers with an environmental bent have been trying to prove him wrong--and make a buck doing it, too. In the battle to farm the vineyard for the present while keeping its vitality for future generations, new solutions to solve that dichotomy are coming into play. One approach to the environmentally uncertain techniques of the conventional-agrochemical processes is sustainable farming.
Dr. Cliff Ohmart, head of the Lodi Rules sustainable certification program and sustainable winegrowing director for the Lodi Winegrape Commission, sees this farming method as a practical and rational way to achieve long-term vineyard maintenance. "Conventional farming emphasized genetically enhanced plant varieties and high energy off-farm inputs, such as mechanization, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides," he explained. "[While] this movement resulted in high food production at a low cost to the public, some people believe this type of agriculture could not be sustained in the long-term.
"The true dollar cost should take into consideration issues like air pollution from using fossil fuels, soil degradation due to intense use of synthetic fertilizers, habitat destruction, air and groundwater contamination from pesticides, and the steady decrease of the farm population as family farms are out-competed by corporate farms," he said.
Ohmart believes that any sustainable viticulture method must maintain the environment along with the vineyard. The key, then, is to avoid the degradation of the land and maintain the health of the workers, ecosystem and consumer. Sustainable theory sees land as a potentially finite item. Basically, use it properly--through sustainable farming--or lose it.
Actually, sustainable farming, while an outgrowth of the organic-green movements of the past 25 years, is essentially an old concept. It has been the mainstay of farming practices throughout the world, going back to the Greeks, the Chinese and the Native Americans. The basis for the present sustainable programs comes, in part, from the holistic definition adopted by the American Agronomy Society in 1989: "A sustainable agriculture is one that, over the long term, enhances environmental quality and the resource base on which agriculture depends; provides for basic human food and fiber needs; is economically viable; and enhances the quality of life for farmers and society as a whole."
The recent added prize and perhaps speeding this movement along is that more wine drinkers are buying green. In a 2007 survey by the Hartman Report, 66 percent of those polled said they would buy sustainably-produced products and believed such purchases had a beneficial impact on society. In addition, 75 percent of them said they were "nearly four times as likely to pay a 10 percent premium for sustainable products."
Christian Miller, founder of Full Glass Research and the Wine Opinions panel and author of a recent study conducted in partnership with the Oregon Wine Board, said, "The leading reason [why customers do not buy sustainable wines] was, by far, a perceived lack of availability. Accessibility is a key barrier to purchase." What was necessary, Miller's report concluded, was a greater distribution of sustainable wines along with a guarantee of certification so consumers can access them.
Prior to the development of third-party certification programs, most sustainable wine growers have relied on self-assessment and self-correction, but without authentication. Today, a number of select organizations in California and Oregon have developed third-party certification programs. Those who meet the standards set by those associations gain credibility as sustainable winegrowers and are able to advertise that fact on wine bottles.
Lodi Rules
The Lodi Rules for Sustainable Winegrowing are California's first third party-certified sustainable winegrowing standards in California, according to Ohmart. The program began in 2005, and 10,000 vineyard acres were certified in 2008, which is 10 percent of the region's winegrapes.
"The Lodi Rules Program is third-party certified by Protected Harvest, an environmental non-profit organization that endorses farmers' use of stringent environmental farming standards," Ohmart said. "This insures that the standards have been reviewed and endorsed by an organization that is not connected to the Lodi Winegrape Commission. Protected Harvest has received the highest rating by the Consumers Union as an eco-label with meaningful, verifiable and transparent standards."
The program requires growers to use a wide range of sustainable practices that result in continual improvement of all aspects of their farming operations. "It is not just a do-no-harm program, which consists of practices that should not be used, but rather one that will lead to measurable improvement in the environmental health of the surrounding ecosystem and society-at-large, and wine quality," Ohmart said.
Under the Lodi Rules program, a vineyard qualifies for certification if it meets these criteria:
1. The farming practices being used must achieve a score of 50 percent or better for each chapter from the Lodi Rules farming standards. Chapters include Ecosystem Management; Education Training and Team Building; Soil Management; Water Management; Vineyard Establishment; and Pest Management. "Scoring below 50 percent on any chapter, even if the scores are very high on all the others, disqualifies the vineyard from certification," Ohmart said.
2. The environmental impact units for the pesticides being used in that vineyard for the year, as calculated by the Protected Harvest's Pesticide Environmental Assessment System (PEAS) model, cannot exceed 50 units.
3. Each vineyard must qualify for certification every year, with an independent audit or by inspecting the vineyard to ensure compliance and to verify that pesticides used in the vineyard for the year have not exceeded the environmental impact unit threshold.
4. A grower joining the Lodi Rules program must pay a sign-up fee of $2,150, which covers the first year of certification. To continue in the program, there is an annual application fee of $1,300 and an annual dollar fee for each acre the grower seeks to certify. For those growers out of the Lodi appellation, the fee is $3 per acre. These fees pay for administration and auditing of the certification program by Protected Harvest.
To warrant use of the Lodi Rules logo, at least 85 percent of the fruit must be from a certified sustainable source. "Most of the wineries will probably go 100 percent sustainable," he said, "but we decided on that number taking into account blending and topping up needs."
Bokisch Ranch: 1,000 Acres of Certified Fruit
Liz and Markus Bokisch are winegrowers in the Clements Hills AVA, east of Lodi, California. They farm 1,180 acres and sell grapes to wineries located in northern California including Napa and Sonoma and have their fruit certified by the Lodi Rules.
"Caring for our environment has been one of our highest priorities at our ranches. We farm all of our vineyards sustainably, utilizing low chemical inputs and high biological diversity," Markus said. "We power our wells, shop and house entirely with solar energy and are beginning to phase in cleaner and renewable biodiesel."
Bokisch, whose family had migrated to Spain from Czechoslovakia before arriving in California, said he became interested in sustainable farming from his parents. His interest returned again in 1989 when he worked as a viticulturist at the Joseph Phelps Vineyards in Napa. "They were working with organic farming, and I saw the need to become more environmentally sensitive. In 2000, I also helped with the first workbook on sustainable farming for the Lodi Rules."
His vineyards received their first certification in 2006. "We have 900 acres already certified and hopefully will have the remaining 280 acres also certified by August 1, this year," he said.
In addition to the "feel good" attitude that comes from going green, he sees economic and quality advantages as well. "One winery is already giving a bonus for certified fruit, which helps subsidize the costs of all the monitoring and related record-keeping needed to be certified," Bokisch said. "Hopefully this will encourage other wineries to do the same. I also think being certified gives you a leg-up on the competition. Even if the price-point is the same, I think a winery would rather have the certified fruit. Plus, just being able to comply with the certification rules makes you know you're doing a better job with your vineyard. The more time you spend in your vineyard, the more you see all of the inter-relationships that are going on, and that relates to better quality fruit."
Bokisch specializes in such Spanish varietals as Tempranillo, Albarino, Graciano and Garnacha, both red and white, as well as Chardonnay, Pinot Grigio, Cabernet Sauvignon, Zinfandel and Merlot. They also have a 2000-case winery located in Victor, California. His family has been selling grapes since 1996 and helped to develop the seven appellations for the Lodi area, including the Clements Hills AVA in what was historically grazing land. --John Intardonato
Central Coast Vineyard Team's SIP Program
Another program is the Sustainability in Practice (SIP) Certification Program, administered by the Central Coast Vineyard Team (CCVT), a non-profit dedicated to sustainable winegrowing since 1994.
"Our original program began as a self-assessment tool for winegrape growers to evaluate their sustainable farming practices," CCVT executive director Kris O'Connor said. "After more than a decade, we decided to move toward third-party certification. Our standards were reviewed by over 30 federal, state, environmental, social, agricultural and university experts, and their recommendations are now incorporated into our rules. CCVT does not grant certification. Instead, an independent advisory council--consisting of academic, regulatory, government and industry professionals--makes the determination based on the findings of the auditors."
Rigorous guidelines cover a variety of farming issues. "Not everyone could meet the minimum eligibility requirements which are actually quite high," she added. "The standards address everything from air quality, biodiversity, energy efficiency, water quality and employee benefits, just to name a few topics."
In order to be certified, O'Connor said growers must meet all of the requirements and achieve enough of the management enhancements to receive 75 percent of the total available points. Using materials that fall into specific high-risk pesticide categories is prohibited. In addition, each point must be proven through documentation and verified by both a records audit and on-site inspection. The advisory committee, comprised of industry, regulatory and academic experts, grants final certification based on the auditor report.
The first-year application fees are $500 for members and $1,000 for non-members. In addition, growers must pay for the audit and licensing fees (based on certified acreage), and wineries that use a certified seal on their bottle or in marketing materials pay a licensing fee based on cases. These licensing revenues support the program's important outreach component, which involves a variety of strategies to reach both trade and consumer audiences.
To use the SIP logo on a bottle, O'Connor said, a minimum of 85 percent of the grapes must come from sustainably-certified fruit, as verified by a chain of custody audit. She noted that the seal is not limited to Central Coast growers only, and that decision was based on input from many different stakeholders because of the complicated blending issues.
"We welcome any grower and winery that wishes to be involved with our program and use our logo," O'Connor said.
CSWA Pilot Program
The Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) are working on a voluntary third-party certification program that is tied to the California Sustainable Winegrowing Program (SWP), which gives growers and vintners educational tools to increase adoption of sustainable practices. A pilot program is presently in place under the direction of the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA), a San Francisco-based 501(c) 3 nonprofit group, which the two organizations created. Sixty percent of California's wine production and winegrape vineyard acreage are participating in the CSWA program, representing about 5,000 attendees at more than 250 workshops since 2002.
CSWA executive director Allison Jordan said that nearly 20 wineries and vineyard companies participated in the pilot, which ran from February to May 2009. "The group is a mix of our members, to give us geographical and size representation in order to better understand all aspects of certification," she said. "We are reviewing the data and will be finalizing all certification documents and details over the next several months." The CSWA, the Wine Institute and CAWG will make the final decision some time before the end of the year.
Jordan said the pilot is a next step in the program's evolution. "We chose a process that involves continuous improvement because we want to buoy the entire industry. This program is about demonstrating and verifying continuous improvement and doing what you say you are doing," Jordan said.
In addition to advancing the industry as a whole, CSWA's certification program is also intended to support members at all stages of the sustainability journey, while enhancing the credibility of the program through third-party verification.
No decision on the third-party selection has been made at this time. "One of the objectives of the pilot program is to determine qualifications for third-party auditors," Jordan said. "So far, we're working with a mix of auditors, and we anticipate that we will have multiple auditors accredited for the program when it is opened to the entire wine industry."
As far as sustainable certification costs, Jordan said they are working to find a balance between the cost-effectiveness and the rigor that will be required to enable wineries and vineyards to participate while also ensuring the integrity of the program. The basic requirements are annual self-assessment; identification of priority issues based on self-assessment scores; environmental, economic and social considerations and regional and industry priorities; and development and implementation of annual action plans for improvement.
Another issue that is being explored is the certification label the wineries will be authorized to use. CSWA has not yet made a final determination regarding if and how a logo or claims can be used on the bottle. "It's a very complicated issue because we must take into consideration eco-label protocols, chain of custody issues and the interface with other existing and future certification programs that may be relevant for wine," said Jordan.
At this point, the primary audiences are policymakers and regulators, and market gatekeepers including retailers, restaurants and the media that influence them. Certified wineries and vineyards will be given documentation of certification to use for these audiences and will also likely use third-party certification on their website and marketing materials.
Napa Green
The Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) has also developed a third-party certification program under its Napa Green label. It is a dual program that offers certification for either vineyards or wineries--or both. According to program manager Anne Steinhauer, the land certification originated in 2003 and is in partnership with California's Fish Friendly Farming® program. The winery certification was developed in 2007 and went live in 2008.
"Napa Green is third-party certified and focuses on building environmentally sound, sustainable practices that meet and exceed more than 20 local, state and federal land and production standards," said Steinhauer. "It's available to all Napa County vintners and grape growers, whether members of the NVV or not. The programs cover winery operations and farming practices, and it's tailored specifically to each property."
Steinhauer said their Napa Green land certification is a year-long program and involves attending four workshops during the months of January and February and then patterning the vineyard to those proposals. Before receiving certification, the land is audited by three authorities: the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Napa County Department of Pesticide Regulation and the Regional Water Quality Control Board. They determine certification.
"Our land program is also available to non-farmed areas, such as wild land, roadways and stream banks," Steinhauer said. "It's not just for vineyard land, but to all vintners and grape growers who seek to restore, protect and enhance the regional watershed." Over 33,000 acres are currently enrolled in the program and approximately 17,000 acres are certified.
The Napa County Department of Environmental Management (DEM) handles the winery certification program. "It's based on the Green Business Program of the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG)," Steinhauer said.
Vintners must attend a one-hour workshop and then fulfill the checklist requirements of the ABAG program. They must then pass audits on their energy and water use and solid waste recycle methods. "ABAG's winery-specific checklist was updated and adopted as the certification method for Napa Green Certified Winery because it puts all the regulatory pieces into a comprehensive format that goes beyond compliance," Steinhauer said. "The ABAG program is set to become the standard for the state."
Certifications are for a three-year term and allow the member the right to use the Napa Green certified logo in their advertising, as a sticker on their door and on bottle neckers, according to federal regulations. "We believe consumers are willing to pay extra for this certification acknowledgement," Steinhauer said. It also gives the member access to the NVV marketing list.
Anyone interested in entering the programs needs to fill out an application, which can be done online. There are no fees to enter the programs, but enrollment is offered to a defined number of wineries so that the DEM can manage inspections and certifications.
LIVE
One of the pioneers in developing a third-party sustainable certification program is the Oregon group LIVE or Low Input Viticulture and Enology, Inc. This refers to the production of winegrapes through integrated science-based, environmentally sensitive production practices. The outcome is a conservative use of raw materials (inputs such as pesticides, fertilizer, water, chemicals, fuel, etc.) applied in vineyard and winery production to only that which is needed to maintain the highest quality fruit.
"We provide education and independent, third-party certification for vineyards and/or wineries in Oregon and Washington state," said Jason Tosch, board member and technical committee chair for the LIVE program and a viticulturalist at Anne Amie Vineyards. "Our program is based on the international standards of sustainable viticulture provided by the International Organization for the Biological and Integrated Control of Noxious Animals and Plants (IOBC). Our goal is to encourage farming practices that create a high biological diversity in the whole vineyard. Our enology practices are based on international standards and are peer reviewed and backed by the state as well."
LIVE program manager Chris Serra pointed out that the "vineyard program looks at biodiversity and all of your inputs into the vineyard. The winery program looks at energy use, worker health and safety, and your inputs in the winery, such as chemicals you use in the winemaking process, cleaning products, for instance."
The vineyard certification program has been in place for 10 years; the winery certification is just one year old. "The winery program was a crucial step in our evolution of the program," said Serra. "Everyone who went through the winery certification program in Oregon last year had a really good experience and said it was necessary to tighten their record keeping and how they look at their practices in the winery."
To achieve vineyard certification, members must complete two years of farming under LIVE standards and then undergo rigorous third-party inspections to verify these practices. Every year, LIVE members are required to complete a checklist of practices and reporting requirements; and the checklist is available for the public to view online. Through its partnership with the Northwest's Salmon-Safe, LIVE certifies the entire property the vineyard resides upon. "If you are growing hazelnuts or boysenberries next to your wine grapes, LIVE requires these crops to be certified by Salmon-Safe," Tosch said.
LIVE currently certifies 20 percent of the total planted vineyard acreage in Oregon with another 8 percent enrolled awaiting certification. There is a one-time $100 processing fee and annual dues of $175 up to 20 acres plus $2 per acre over 20 acres. Once a vineyard is certified, inspections occur every three years for a fee of $275 to $300.
For wineries, there is a one-time processing fee of $100 and annual membership dues of $500. In addition, there is an inspection fee based on the total case production for the vintage prior to registration: $600 (under 10,000 cases), $900 (10,000 to 50,000 cases) and $1,200 (over 50,000 cases). Winery members are inspected the first year and every third year thereafter.
Wineries can source fruit from wherever they wish. However, only bottles of wine produced from 97 percent LIVE-certified fruit can carry the LIVE label.
"I think the biggest benefit to going LIVE is the fact that it requires a grower to view the farm as whole system," added Tosch. "As scientists discover more of the interrelations between plants, fungi, insects, soil, microbiology, etc., our program is able to quickly incorporate these concepts as we strive to become more sustainable."
VINEA
VINEA is a Walla Walla, Washington-based sustainable winegrowing group that is presently working with the LIVE certification program in Oregon, according to LIVE program manager Serra. "The vintners have been on the program the past four years, and the wineries in Walla Walla will also be included beginning this year," he said. "If they meet all the requirements in our program they will be entitled to be LIVE certified." Fees are the same, except there is an additional charge of $25 for the vintner program to cover out-of-state travel.
OCSW
While LIVE is a certifying body for sustainable viticulture in Oregon, the Oregon Wine Board created the Oregon Certified Sustainable Wine (OCSW) program in 2008 to unify all of the certification agencies (LIVE; Food Alliance; Oregon Tilth/organic; Demeter Biodynamic™) and talk about their shared principles. These include responsible agriculture, responsible winemaking and third-party certification.
According to Oregon Wine Board executive director Ted Farthing, "The OCSW is designed to help consumers understand sustainable farming and winemaking from vine to bottle. The new OCSW logo is a further guarantee that the wine in that bottle was made using responsible agriculture and responsible winemaking practices as well as being certified by an independent third party."
Hannelore Buckenmeyer, OCSW project director, explained: "We are really in partnership with the certification agencies in the state. With our certification logo, we hope to create a unifying platform to help consumers easily identify and purchase sustainable wines. We're bringing the certification to another level for our wineries."
The fee for the additional OCSW seal is only one cent per bottle, according to Buckenmeyer. Currently, 12 Oregon wineries have earned OCSW certification, totaling 480,000 bottles of wine.
"Consumer awareness of sustainable wines is growing, but the growing awareness also highlights that there is lingering confusion in terms of exact definitions among the various certifications," said Farthing. "We believe it is our industry's responsibility to communicate with consumers in a way that brings clarity and simplicity to a potentially confusing topic. We have learned that price and quality are not barriers to trial and purchase of sustainable wines--it is accessibility to certified products." wbm
