Eco 411
Eco Author | 5:21 pm | October 9, 2009 | Winery | Add a comment
Merryvale Vineyards is a family owned Napa Valley winery dedicated to passionate winemaking and the fine art of living well. Merryvale is committed to protecting and preserving the environment through sustainable farming practices. Our Estate Vineyards have received Napa Green Farm Certification utilizing practices such as composting, cover crops, deficit irrigation, and we provide acres and acres of wildlife habitat. Our historic winery was one of the first in Napa Valley to receive Napa Green Winery certification, demonstrating our initiatives such as the use of recycled and recyclable materials, diversion of waste away from the landfill, and our reduction in water usage.
Our new Starmont Winery on the historic Stanly Ranch in Carneros is a state-of-the-art solar powered facility. The winery is designed with advanced insulation, and uses low energy lights and motors. We recycle our winery process water and use it for landscaping and vineyard irrigation. The Starmont Winery features accessibly priced wines that are environmentally friendly!
To learn more, visit our historic winery in St. Helena, Napa Valley or visit us online at www.merryvale.com.
Eco Author | 10:02 am | March 23, 2009 | Tours, Winery | Add a comment
By Napa Valley Wine Train Promotions & Partnership Manager Andrea Guzman
Car free travel is a passion of mine. In my wanderings, I am constantly looking for ways to utilize public transportation. I know that other travelers like myself, refuse to rent a car, especially in large metropolitan cities like San Francisco.
The Napa Valley Wine Train, by its nature, supports car-free travel. Recently, the Train created an opportunity for people to travel from San Francisco to Napa Valley without using a car! We have partnered with Platypus Tours to transport guests by motor coach from the Ferry Terminal in Vallejo to the Wine Train Station in Napa. It is now possible to get to Napa from San Francisco by Ferry and private bus. No need for a car or negotiating additional public transportation schedules.
Our guests take the 8:10 a.m. ferry from SF, paying for the Vallejo Ferry link pass at Pier 1, by the Ferry Building. Once they get into Vallejo, a very courteous driver from Platypus Tours escorts them to the Napa Valley Wine Train station. Our travelers will have a chance to shop at the Oxbow Public Market, or downtown Napa, and Wine Train shops before and after an amazing gourmet lunch on the Napa Valley Wine Train. At 4:45 p.m., Platypus Tours picks up the guests and helps them board the 5:35 ferry back to San Francisco.
The cost to travel directly to and from the Vallejo Ferry Terminal is a very reasonable $15 per person, round trip. All aboard!
Eco Author | 10:45 am | November 21, 2008 | Winery | Add a comment
Simi Winery has been in business for 132 years and was founded in San Francisco in 1876. The winery is certified “green” in Sonoma county by The Bay Area Green Business.
We recycle all our corks, glass, paper, cardboard, waste water, and winery waste. We are changing out our lighting systems to be more efficient and we are adding a scrubber to reduce air contaminants. Our vineyards are sustainable, and we recycle our trimmings etc., back into the vineyards.
Eco Author | 9:20 am | October 14, 2008 | Winery | Add a comment
At Arrowood Vineyards & Winery, Richard Arrowood’s philosophy of making wine with as little intervention as possible doesn’t just start at harvest time. It begins in the vineyard, with the land, with the vine.
“The health of the soil is a key element to the overall health of the grapes, and when you are growing wines in the vineyard, organically grown vineyards tend to grow better wines,” Arrowood said. “By using organic and sustainable methods we are essentially putting back into the land more than we are taking out—the soils are always enriched and fertility is strong. Moreover, if we are in fact stewards of the land only passing here for a period of time, then we owe it to the generations to come behind us to care for it.”
With 100% of our 10 acre Estate vineyards are farmed without the use of pesticides, herbicides or other chemical sprays. We were certified in 2006 by the CCOF, California Certified Organic Farmers, which is one of the oldest and largest organic certification associations in North America. Each year the CCOF assesses our farming practices to keep our certification current.
What organic farming means at Arrowood:
Cover Crops:
• induce and maintain soil vigor.
• manage pest control.
• are used to control erosion of our land.
• to help dry the soil in wetter sites.
• fertilize our soil.
• aid in weed control.
Weed Control:
• While our cover crops help control weeds, we still rely upon the old-fashioned method of pulling by hand and mechanical means to control invasive and detrimental plants.
Canopy Management:
• We spend considerable time on fruit and shoot thinning to open up the canopy and let in more light, increase air movement and allow the vines to be more balanced.
Eco Author | 9:17 am | October 9, 2008 | Winery | Add a comment
Peju Province Winery is a family owned and operated boutique winery in the Napa Valley committed to producing high-quality, eco-friendly wines through sustainable business and vineyard practices.
Peju’s 10,000 square feet of solar panels atop the winery roof supply nearly 40 percent of its yearly energy, reducing harmful greenhouse gases and air pollutants. Peju’s award-winning estate wines are cultivated from three of the family’s vineyards: the Rutherford H.B. Vineyard which is certified organic from the California Certified Organic Farmers, and the sustainably farmed Persephone Vineyard in Pope Valley and Dutch Henry Canyon Vineyard in Calistoga.
At the winery, Peju is working with Napa County to earn its certification as a Napa County Green Business by exceeding state and local environmental regulations and conserving water and energy while reducing waste and preventing pollution. The Peju family and staff are strongly committed to sustain, preserve and enhance the health of ecosystems in the land and the surrounding areas for future generations.
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