Telling the Winemaking Story, Living the Winemaking Story

The Sustainability Department took a field trip to the winery on October 23rd to work a day of harvest! Although there is still plenty of work to be done, the heavy whirlwinds of harvest have slowed down. Unfortunately for us office cats looking for some adventure, we missed out on the crazier days of harvest. Nonetheless, we put our hands to work in digging tanks and topping barrels. It was a great learning experience for my first harvest, and Julien got to show off his veteran skills in properly digging out a tank. Last year, he worked a full harvest. So he demonstrated some of the techniques he learned. Hopefully, we will be able to get in on the action sooner in the next harvest.

Our vineyards renewed sustainability certifications in time for Harvest

Harvest is the prime time to show off the talents of our vineyards. As the grapes come in, we can be proud to say that they were well cared for. Best management practices are prudently applied from the time of planting, to when the grapes are picked and even beyond the bottle. Our estate vineyards are 100% certified sustainable by Sustainability in Practice (SIP) and Certified California Sustainable Winemaking (CCSW). These certifications must be renewed each year, and our vineyards were re-certified for the 2012-2013 year just in time for harvest. The third party auditors review our certifications to validate that we implement the best management practices in how were grow our grapes.

–Sabrina Sihakom, Sustainability Coordinator