What We Are Doing

"A problem cannot be solved with the same mentality that created it". Albert Einstein

When we began to actively manage our environmental footprint we realized the first order of business would have to be a change in mentality. Most of us grew up in a world where resources, including energy and materials, were wrongly assumed to be unlimited. Making changes in our wasteful behavior requires constant conscious effort. We have found that our farming mentality helps a lot. It's impossible to be a successful farmer without some of the same qualities required by sustainability efforts: Thriftiness, striving for efficiency and a respect for the land.

Another useful mental anchor for us is to emulate the behavior of many of our grandparents and other seniors who grew up during the Depression. Their behavior had to do with saving money, reusing items or not throwing stuff away was a big part of it. Sounds like sustainability, doesn't it? We remember clearly the constant nagging to "turn off the lights"! It all makes more sense now. Hope it does for you too.

Transferring our farming mindset to the winery operation and thinking back to simpler times have helped us to establish a useful starting point. We had to look closely at every aspect of our facility and production and determine if we were being mindful. Did the item on the list waste anything, did it pollute anything, was it nourishing, was there a more efficient way to do something, a way to use less electricity, less fuel? This process has been challenging and is incredibly rewarding. We invite you to do the same at your home. Here are some of the "checked off" items from our first to-do list:

Winery

• We have replaced all faucets to low flow, including the dishwashing sprayers in the kitchen.
• We've improved our recycling program for paper, glass and cardboard.
• We've completely eliminated plastic water bottles from our facilities.
• We have switched cups from Styrofoam to paper for associates. We have also encouraged our associates to go one step further and bring their own cups and mugs from home.
• All our light bulbs are now CFL (compact fluorescent) which we will recycle with the manufacturer when they burn out.
• We have switched all janitorial supplies to green chemicals and now use recycled paper towels, toilet paper, seat covers, and Kleenex.
• We have started a "Green Team" with members from every department who will participate in developing and implementing ideas.
• We have switched all paints to low VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints.
• We have installed shades on windows to eliminate heat in our offices, which significantly reduces the need for air conditioning.
• We are using 100% recycled paper, which is chlorine-free in offices.
• Our associates are printing double-sided, whenever possible.
• We have adopted a zero waste mentality in all departments, including errors which ultimately cause waste, such as misdirected wine shipments.
• We installed timers on electrical fixtures to turn off equipment and lights when not needed.

Winemaking/Vineyards

• We have switched all new wines to lightweight bottles, which are lighter and therefore, reduce fuel use.
• Our winemaker and his team are harvesting at night whenever possible. This effort allows the must to be chilled without using much energy.
• Our wine labels use soy-based inks.
• 75% of our wine labels are now printed digitally. The digital printer is a closed system and uses no waste.
• We are working on changing our wine label paper over to recycled matte paper or recycled vellum paper.

Tasting Room

• We are selling re-useable wine totes in our tasting room, which Wine Club members can use to pick up their wine shipments.
• We have purchased water coolers and paper cups for our associates to use.
• We now sell glass Aqua Panna Water instead of plastic water bottles.
• We have begun rewarding members who return their empty Ponte wine bottles to us for recycling.
• We now turn off our Tasting Room ice machine Monday through Friday and use ice from the Smokehouse Restaurant.
• Many of our appliances including cash registers and refrigerators are now on timers and go off during the night.
• We offer discounts to members who bring in a receipt for CFL light bulbs.

Wine Club

• We have stopped using Styrofoam packaging material and have switched to pulp (which is produced in a closed system and has no waste).
• We have changed out our packaging boxes to soy-based inks printed on corrugated boxes. Our previous boxes were first bleached and then the ink was applied.
• We are actively obtaining correct shipping addresses to prevent re-routes which reduces fuel use.
• We have committed to purchasing either 100% recyclable or 100% post consumer waste gifts for the wine club shipment.
• We print the newsletter on 100% recycled paper using soy based inks.
• We've eliminated the pick up postcard and now inform our members of their wine club pick up dates by email or through our website only.
• We invite our wine club members to return their pulp and box to the winery so that we can reuse it.

Smokehouse Restaurant

• We are adding a pulper in the kitchen to grind up kitchen waste to use for compost in the vineyard. This will also reduce the amount of waste to the landfill by half.
• Chef Steve is using locally produced ingredients in the restaurant.
• We've stopped using plastic to-go containers and now use paper products.
• We collect all coffee grounds and use as compost in our flower beds.

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