Pioneering Winery Receives Highest Industry Honor for Sustainability Commitment
SAN JOSE, CALIF. – APRIL 6, 2020 – J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines has been named the 2020 recipient of the Green Medal Leader Award. Now in its sixth year, the California Green Medal Sustainable Winegrowing Leadership Awards provide recognition to vineyards and wineries that are standard-bearers in implementing the three “E’s” of sustainability: environment, economics, and social equity. Four Green Medals are awarded in the categories of Leader, Environment, Community, and Business, and are presented jointly by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance, California Association of Winegrape Growers, Wine Institute, Lodi Winegrape Commission, Napa Valley Vintners, Sonoma County Winegrowers, and the Vineyard Team. The Green Medal inspires others in the wine industry by spotlighting the commitment many California growers and vintners make on a day-to-day basis to protect the environment and enhance the communities in which they live and work.
The Green Medal Leader Award, given to J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, honors the vineyard or winery that “best demonstrates the ability to balance multiple objectives of environmental, economic, and social goals, excelling in these areas with sustainability being clearly integrated into the overall business.” The list of judges who reviewed and evaluated the 2020 Green Medal candidates featured a prestigious roster from across multiple wine industry disciplines, including academia, media, retail, viticulture, and production.
J. Lohr CEO Steve Lohr, who heads J. Lohr’s Sustainability Committee, notes that the award is the result of the efforts of many people: “We are humbled to receive this honor given how many growers and vintners in California focus on sustainability. This recognition belongs to our entire J. Lohr team, which, for many years now, has successfully woven forward-looking sustainability practices into everything that we do. We also want to thank the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA), and other like-minded organizations, for their remarkable work in inspiring others in their journeys of sustainability.”
2020 also marks ten years since J. Lohr became one of the very first vineyards and wineries in the state to earn the Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing distinction from the CSWA. CSWA certification is achieved by meeting a set of 244 best practices and 95 prerequisites from the Code of Sustainable Winegrowing Practices Self-Assessment Workbook. An independent, third-party auditor painstakingly verifies each applicant’s compliance with sustainability criteria in areas such as soil management, energy efficiency, water conservation, neighbors and community, and beyond.
Viticulturist/Viticulture Research Director Anji Perry has been with J. Lohr for 16 years and has been intimately involved with the company’s certification program since its inception. “The documentation and attention to detail required to be ‘certified sustainable’ is a year-round endeavor, covering every department in the company,” comments Perry. “We are proud to have achieved CSWA sustainability certification every year since the program began. The certification includes all of J. Lohr’s estate vineyards, as well as our wineries in Paso Robles, San Jose, and Greenfield.”
Steve Lohr will lead a J. Lohr contingent to receive the Green Medal Leader Award at the 2020 Green Medal ceremonies at the California State Capitol. A reception with industry, media, and legislative representatives will follow the ceremony. More information on J. Lohr’s sustainability program can be found at jlohr.com/sustainability.
About J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines
Founded forty-six years ago by Jerry Lohr and still family owned and operated today, J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines crafts a full line of internationally recognized wines from its 4,000 acres of certified sustainable estate vineyards in Paso Robles, Monterey County’s Arroyo Seco and Santa Lucia Highlands appellations, and St. Helena in Napa Valley. Offering an expressive range of styles that showcase its estate fruit, J. Lohr produces six tiers of award-winning wines: J. Lohr Estates, J. Lohr Vineyard Series, J. Lohr Cuvée Series, J. Lohr Gesture, J. Lohr Signature Cabernet Sauvignon, and the new J. Lohr Pure Paso™ Proprietary Red Wine. The company’s online home is jlohr.com.
