Third generation farm in the Northern Willamette Valley becomes the 8th B Corp winery in Oregon
PORTLAND, OR April 7, 2020 – David Hill Vineyards & Winery, a third generation farm located in the Northern Willamette Valley, is now a certified B Corporation. Their
vineyard is officially Live certified, and welcome their new
winemaker Chad Stock whose mission is to create wine with
minimal inputs through native fermentation.
Over the last decade, David Hill has sought to improve business and farming practices for the benefit of both the land around them and their community. Choosing B Corp helped them to evolve into a more conscious brand and positively impact the community that supports them. B Corporations are part of the larger movement towards environmental sustainability, and social justice. In choosing a benchmark for collective civic accountability, David Hill commits to actively reduce inequality and environmental hardship.
As David Hill looked to B Corp for benchmarking business and community involvement, they looked to LIVE (low input viticulture & enology) to be the benchmark for farming practices. In the process of taking the farm from conventional to sustainable, David Hill has chosen to work with only live and “certified organic” materials, removing glysophate completely from the property along with creating their own bio-char.
LIVE supports environmentally and socially responsible wine growing. The certification addresses preservation efforts through rigorous biodiversity requirements. These are verified David Hill Winemaker, Chad Stock with “cutting-edge third-party certifications that address issues ranging from energy and greenhouse gas reduction, to water and waste management, to materials sourcing.” With a strategic planning process in 2013, David Hill identified the goals for benchmarking their business which included LIVE, B Corp, and Salmon Safe.
In 2019 their attention turned to the winery. With a desire for the same sustainable approach taken with their business and farm to be reflected in their winemaking. Hiring respected natural winemaker Chad Stock allowed David Hill to utilize an exclusively natural ingredient list. Chad’s 15 year of experience in both California and Oregon, allowed him to seamlessly join the David Hill team in 2019 and convert them to a natural winery. David Hill is excited to be releasing Chad’s 2019 aromatic white wines in the spring of 2020.
Certified B Corporations are businesses that go through a rigorous assessment of the company’s impact on its workers, customers, community, and environment. The larger community of B Corp includes 150 industries, 71 countries, and 1 unifying goal: to better social, economic, and environmental injustice.
“B Lab is a non-profit that serves a global movement of people using business as a force for good. The initiatives of B Lab include: B Corp Certification, administration of the B Impact Management programs and software, and advocacy for governance structures like the Benefit Corporation”
About David Hill Winery
Built on innovation, education and historic tradition, David Hill believes it is necessary to preserve the ecosystem, contribute to community and provide an equitable work environment. They embrace the property’s rich viticultural tradition and strive to express the character of terroir through the creation of their wine. David Hill owns 175 acres of land, 60 of which are planted to vine in a dry-farmed Laurelwood soil. As one of the oldest vineyards in the Willamette Valley, over 15 acres of their vines are self-rooted and over 50 years old.
