Napa Green Vineyards sequester 11,000 tons of CO2e, with the potential to store another 12,000 tons
NAPA, CA, UNITED STATES, September 17, 2024 — In 2022, the Napa Green nonprofit launched the redeveloped Napa Green Vineyard certification – the first viticulture-specific whole property standard focused on regenerative farming, climate action, and social equity. Less than three years later Napa Green and its members have achieved impressive milestones, with more than 80 vineyards certified across over 10,000 acres of land and 5,000 acres of vineyards. Napa Green is a practice and performance-based program that baselines and tracks improvements in soil organic matter, water, electricity, fuel and fertilizer use, Scope 1 & 2 emissions, and carbon sequestration. Napa Green Vineyards are independently audited to validate that they are implementing more than 90 sustainability and climate action practices.
Michael Silacci, Winemaker at Opus One, notes, “We were proud to be the first member certified to the Napa Green Vineyard certification in 2022. It has never been as critical for winemakers and viticulturists to assume leadership roles and understand the effects of climate change on grape and wine quality. We must look beyond the edge of our vineyards to address the health of the entire ecosystem and atmosphere. Taking a holistic and scientific approach, with standards to meet and exceed, is vital to the long-term health and success of our community. Others will notice and take action, because the pursuit of certifiable results, like Napa Green, is contagious.”
Napa Green is unique in that they not only provide rigorous, climate smart standards custom-developed for vineyards and wineries, but they also have a team of experts that provide on the ground, value-add consulting services. The vineyard team has trained with the Carbon Cycle Institute to develop regenerative Carbon Farm Plans, and has completed plans for over 70 vineyard properties. They are also trained in the CalPoly protocol to conduct irrigation Distribution Uniformity (DU) assessments and have tested more than 40 vineyard systems, providing DU scores and recommendations reports to maximize water efficiency.
Gustavo Aviña, Viticulture Director at Pine Ridge Vineyards, shares, “As a part of our Napa Green Vineyard certification the team has helped us apply compost, improve irrigation uniformity, and fund forest management. We have water limitations at two of our Carneros vineyards. But it wasn’t until 2022, when we joined Napa Green’s Climate Symposium mentorship program, that we started considering dry farming. They connected us with Tod Mostero at Dominus Estate, and with his help we designed the replant of our Dos Olivos vineyard to be 100% dry farmed. We are now fully convinced of what is possible, so for our Carneros vineyards and other replanting projects, dry farming will be our priority. You never know what is possible without trying!”
Napa Green works with growers to take a proactive approach to climate change mitigation and adaptation. Growers implement regenerative practices (e.g., cover crops, compost, reduced tillage, grazing) that have myriad benefits, improving soil health; water infiltration and retention; microbial, fungal, plant, and animal diversity; resilience to drought, high heat, and, conversely, heavy, rapid rain events; resilience to disease and pest pressure; and building belowground carbon storage. The regenerative practices of Napa Green Vineyards are already sequestering 11,000 tons of CO2e, equivalent to the carbon stored in over 12,800 acres of forest each year. Napa Green has identified additional opportunities to improve soil health, water health, climate resilience and store another 12,000 tons of CO2e. It’s a wine:win.
“Clif Family Winery is proud to be both organic and Napa Green Vineyard certified,” says Linzi Gay, President of Clif Family Winery & Farm. “By utilizing the regenerative Carbon Farm Plans developed by Napa Green, we’ve gained valuable insights into how to maximize soil health and carbon storage in our vineyards and set meaningful targets that engage our team. These initiatives have improved our environmental footprint and enhanced ecosystem health, water retention, and climate resiliency.”
In August 2024 Napa Green launched its inaugural “Cheers to Climate Smart Wines” campaign celebrating and spotlighting the climate smart practices of 21 of its members. Throughout the month there were over 35,000 views of reels and other climate smart social media content. Consumers are thirsty to use their purchasing power to support responsible businesses taking climate action, including the leading vineyards and wineries that have achieved Napa Green certification.
About Napa Green: The Napa Green 501c3 is a global leader in sustainable winegrowing, setting the highest bar for sustainability and climate action in the wine industry. Napa Green facilitates whole system soil to bottle certification for wineries and vineyards, and provides the expertise, boots-on-the-ground support, and resources to continually improve. Learn more at https://napagreen.org/participating-members/.
