Apr 7, 2021

Web database spotlights organic, biodynamic and sustainable vineyards, wine

A new website helps consumers, wine trade and other visitors find sustainable wines, wineries and vineyards in California that are certified with a rigorous third-party audit.

The California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA) recently launched the new website dedicated to the Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing program at californiasustainablewine.com, according to a news release. Developed for trade, media, consumers and visitors who want to find sustainable wines, wineries and vineyards that are certified with a rigorous third-party audit, the website also illustrates how sustainable vineyards and wineries are making wine in an environmentally and socially responsible way.

“The new certification website is a tool to convey key sustainability messages and to connect certified wines, wineries and vineyards with interested trade and consumers,” said Allison Jordan, CSWA’s executive director, said in a news release. “The California wine industry is a global leader in sustainability and well-positioned to meet the growing interest we’ve seen in recent research.”

According to the news release, feature pages of the new site are:

FIND– Users can search for certified wines, wineries and/or vineyards, and sort by varietal, region or appellation. With 2,247 Certified California Sustainable Vineyards that farm 204,000 acres (32% of California winegrape acres; another 22% are certified by other California sustainable winegrowing programs), 171 certified wineries producing 255 million cases (80% of California wine) and 9.4 million cases (113 million wine bottles) bearing the certification logo or claims, the search function is a valuable new tool to discover California wineries and vineyards that are committed to sustainability.

VISIT– Visitors can browse an interactive map to plan a wine country trip to certified wineries with tasting rooms open to the public. The website allows users to identify certified wineries within a specific wine region, or see the broad embrace of sustainability across California.

LEARN– An overview of certification addresses requirements, key areas of sustainable winegrowing and why supporting vineyard and winery sustainability efforts matter. Additionally, there are insights on Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing’s logos, other California sustainability programs (e.g., LODI RULES, SIP Certified and Napa Green), and definitions for sustainable/organic/biodynamic wines.  Via the Learn page, users can also “dig deeper” for even more details about the program.

The California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance is nonprofit organization incorporated in 2003 by Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers.