Napa Valley Vintners Set Goal for 100-Percent Napa Green Certification by Year 2020

Sustainability program is one element of plan to help solve key community issues

3/2/2015 - St. Helena, CA – The Napa Valley Vintners (NVV) announced today it has established a goal that every eligible member will be in the Napa Green Land or Winery program by the end of 2020.

Napa Green is a voluntary, environmental certification program for Napa County vineyards and wineries developed in the early 2000s by more than 20 industry and environmental stakeholder groups, as well as local, state and federal regulators. The program is tailored to the Napa River watershed and to winery-specific practices that when implemented affect positive change for the local environment and community.

"Our valley is a rich landscape of grapevines and forested hillsides and the NVV is committed to the preservation and protection of our environment," commented Susan Boswell, member of the NVV Board of Directors, chair of the 2015 Napa Green Advisory Group and owner of Chateau Boswell, a local winery that is certified both Napa Green Land and Winery. "It started with the establishment of the nation’s first Agricultural Preserve in 1968, and we continue to raise the bar on local environmental standards. Napa Green Land and Napa Green Winery further our industry’s commitment to sustainability."

The goal is included in the NVV’s "Local Issues Action Plan," a comprehensive approach to addressing a number of community issues that the nonprofit trade association identified during its strategic planning process last year. In addition to the 100-percent Napa Green commitment, the plan outlines steps the organization has already taken to address key local issues, like advocating for expanded notification policies and procedures by Napa County for development projects; hosting workshops to help its 500-plus members achieve compliance with county rules and regulations; participating in the recent Napa County Transportation and Planning Agency’s transportation study; contributing $2.5 million to help build the Napa Valley Vine Trail; supporting increased commercial impact fees, which help fund affordable housing; contributing millions of dollars toward other affordable housing initiatives; and encouraging wineries to reduce water use.

Other goals outlined in the plan include employing an outside expert to help develop solutions to the area’s transportation problems; encouraging Napa County to implement existing traffic mitigation measures from the General Plan; encouraging its 500-plus members to develop alternative transportation plans; advocating for completion of affordable housing projects that have been identified, but not yet built; and hosting informative resource conservation workshops that will lead to reductions in water use.

Napa Green Facts & Figures

More than 61,000 acres of land are certified or pending certification in the program.
17,000 of the certified acres are vineyard land, more than 1/3 of the total vineyard acreage in Napa County.
Independent certification is granted by the National Marine Fisheries Service, the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Napa County Agricultural Commissioner and Napa County Public Works.
Land owners inventory and manage their parcels holistically – applying best management techniques not just to vineyards, but to their entire property.
Through Napa Green, vintners have contributed to comprehensive restoration projects along the Napa River, improving habitat for native fish species, reducing flood events and limiting soil loss.
More than 4.5 million cases of wine are produced from Napa Green Certified Wineries.
In 2014 alone, participating Napa Green wineries saved more than 3.5 million pounds of carbon dioxide from entering the atmosphere through recycling and other green measures.

About the Napa Valley Vintners
The Napa Valley Vintners nonprofit trade association has been cultivating excellence since 1944 by inspiring its more than 500 members to consistently produce wines of the highest quality, to provide environmental leadership and to care for the extraordinary place they call home. Proceeds from Premiere Napa Valley are used to support the nonprofit trade association’s mission to promote, protect and enhance the Napa Valley appellation. Learn more at napavintners.com.

To download a Napa Green photo (photo credit: By Bob McClanahan for the Napa Valley Vintners)

View the NVV's Local Issues Action Plan

Learn more about Napa Green

Contact: Patsy McGaughy, Communications Director 707.968.4207 pmcgaughy@napavintners.com