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Being good neighbors and good stewards of the land are important business and personal values in the California wine community. The state’s growers and vintners have been using sustainable winegrowing practices for decades, with educational efforts beginning as early as the late 1950’s. Today’s California wine community has made a strong commitment to sustainability and transparency, as evidenced through the self-assessment and certification programs that have emerged in the last decade.


Programs & Certifications

California Sustainable Winegrowing Program

Through the California Sustainable Winegrowing Program, the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA) – a 501(c)(3) nonprofit established by Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers – helps vineyards and wineries continuously improve in adopting sustainable practices. The program provides educational workshops and resources including the California Code of Sustainable Winegrowing, a workbook that enables growers and vintners to evaluate over 200 sustainable practices from grapes to glass.

More information can be found here.

Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing (CCSW)

Through annual third-party audits, certification provides independent verification of stringent requirements that ensure key sustainability areas such as soil health, water and energy, habitat, and human resources are addressed. Certified vineyards and wineries must also measure resources and performance, comply with restrictions on crop protection materials, and improve year after year.

For more information on this certification program, certified vineyards, wineries and wines, visit us here.

Other Certification and Regional Sustainability Programs

Several of the state’s winegrowing regions and other organizations have sustainable and environmental programs, many of which provided the foundation for the statewide California Sustainable Winegrowing Program. They all play an important role in the ever-expanding tapestry of the California wine community’s efforts to produce high quality wine that is environmentally sound, economically feasible and socially equitable.
Fish Friendly Farming
fishfriendlyfarming.org
Green Business Program logo
Green Business Program
greenbiz.ca.gov
Lodi Rules Sustainable Winegrowing
lodirules.com
napa green logo
Napa Green
napagreen.org
Sustainability In Practice
sipthegoodlife.org
Land Smart
landsmart.org