Neither organic nor biodynamic— Sustainable winegrowing and winemaking

As we all learned from our readings for class today, Biodynamic and Organic winemaking are two schools of thought and practice around winegrowing and processing. Sustainable winegrowing is a third practice area. As briefly mentioned in the reading, there is a common misunderstanding around the differences between organic, biodynamic, and sustainable winegrowing and winemaking processes. With this post, I am hoping to clear this up for anyone, as well as give my perspective on why I think sustainable winegrowing is not to be ignored. (!!!)

Sustainable winegrowing promotes winegrowing practices that are environmentally sound, socially equitable, and economically feasible. Being a sustainable winegrower means you are juggling several different goals, including growing high quality grapes and producing high quality wine, protecting the environment, being a good neighbor and employer, and maintaining a thriving long-term business.

Some Sustainable practices include:

• Using micro-drip and regulated deficit irrigation to reduce water waste in the vineyard
• Monitoring vines for insects and mite pests weekly to reduce pesticide need
• Insulating winemaking tanks to reduce energy needed to refrigerate
• Composting winemaking by-products such a lees to reduce organic waste
• Holding regular safety and training programs for employees (in all appropriate languages)

Sustainable practices promote continuous improvement over time, and the standards are improved upon and refined every year.

The simplest way to describe the difference between Sustainable and Organic or Biodynamic is wide vs. deep—where Organic and Biodynamic double-down on specific areas of environmental impact, Sustainability attempts to address a wide array of environmental, social and economic issues. Organic and Biodynamic wineries can be certified Sustainable (and many are)— if they are also addressing water/ energy use, social equity for employees, etc. Organic and biodynamic practices are highly impressive- but can also be cost-prohibitive and time-intensive! Sustainable winegrowing provides a solution for wineries that want to have a widespread impact, and don’t have the time or money for Org/Bio.

I think sustainable winegrowing is a critical baseline for the industry that all winegrowers and wineries- big and small- should be moving towards. It may not be the end-all be-all of environmental responsibility, but it is a fantastic industry standard for moving in the right direction. Sustainable winegrowing also requires more hands-on work in vineyard and winery, which like Org/Bio, can lead to quality improvements in the wine.

In 2015, 25% of statewide acreage and 64% statewide case production were sustainably certified in California. Sustainable winegrowing has grown worldwide, throughout both Old and New World wine regions. New Zealand, for example, has a commitment that 100% of its wine is produced according to sustainable standards. Chile, South Africa, and Italy are also pioneering sustainable winegrowing certification systems.

The California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (where I had the pleasure of working in 2015) is a non-profit that educates winegrowers and wineries on environmentally, socially and economically sustainable practices. The CSWA also offers a third-party audited Sustainable Certification program that currently certifies vineyards and wineries, with wine next on the docket (so there can be ‘signaling’ on the bottle)!

For anyone interested in learning more about sustainable wine, please come talk to me! :) Additionally, the CSWA offers a free, 1-hour Sustainable Winegrowing certificate course online. I think it is super valuable to anyone interested (personally or professionally) in sustainable wine. Link: http://ambassador.discovercaliforniawines.com/