Discover "Green" Wine
Cooper-Garrod Vineyards and Other Organic, Sustainable California Wineries Celebrate Eco-Friendly Winemaking.
Wineries across California are gearing up to celebrate the eighth annual Down to Earth Month in April, putting the focus on sustainable and eco-friendly wine growing. An impressive 25% of the state’s vineyards and nearly 75% of wine case production is Certified California Sustainable Wine (CCWS) by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, including local wineries Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards, Kathryn Kennedy Winery, Clos LaChance Winery and Bargetto Winery.
“You feel good when you’ve done everything as natural as can be,” says Cooper-Garrod’s Bill Cooper. “Sustainability is continual improvement, goals you can work towards, things that will benefit your operation.”
Bill was an early adopter in sustainable winemaking, helping develop green guidelines covering grape growing, cellar practices, energy efficiency, waste and water management and employee and community relations. His winery was one of the first to earn CCWS certification.
For Down to Earth Month, Bill Cooper leads Walk with the Winemaker through the Cooper-Garrod winery and vineyards on April 6. Plus Cooper-Garrod Vineyards offers an on-foot Earth Day Eco Tour and a horseback Eco Ride every Sunday in April. Other Silicon Valley winery events include Santa Cruz Mountains April Passport Celebration Day on April 20 and eco-events at Windy Oaks and Clos LaChance Vineyards. More events are listed at DiscoverCaliforniaWines.com.
Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards is not only CCSW certified, its vineyards are California Certified Organic Farmers (CCOF). The difference? While sustainability means being good stewards of the land, environment and community, organic farming, whether of wine grapes or lettuce, follows specific guidelines, including farming without harmful or toxic pesticides, fertilizers or GMOs. Sustainable wine growing can also include organic farming practices.
You’ll find eight Santa Cruz Mountains wineries with CCOF-certified organic vineyards along the Organic Wine Trail of the Santa Cruz Mountains (organicwinetrail.org). Bill helped create this guide that includes Cooper-Garrod, Ridge, Big Basin, Alfaro Family, Silver Mountain, Portola, Four Gates and Kathryn Kennedy wineries.
“It started with an aha moment about exposure to pesticides for me and my family and my dog in the vineyard,” says Kathryn Kennedy’s Marty Mathis. “It quickly evolved to ‘I don’t want that for my customers either.’”
Sustainable wine growing involves a broad set of practices from the ground to the glass. Statewide and local wineries have embraced this mission to be good to the earth with gusto, leading the world in adopting these principles. Not only are they protecting the quality of our soil, air and water for future generations, these winemakers are producing great wines, happy customers and healthier communities.
Photos provided courtesy of Cooper-Garrod Estate Vineyards in Saratoga, California.
