California - One Nation Under Vines

California’s ground-breaking Sustainable Winegrowing Program (SWP) encourages and enables winegrowers and vintners to adopt the highest standards of sustainable practices. These practices are sensitive to the environment (environmentally sound), responsive to the needs and interests of society-at-large (socially equitable), and are economically feasible to implement and maintain (economically feasible).

This educational and results-based program engenders a “cycle of improvement” among growers and vintners, providing a framework of target setting, learning, evaluation and reporting which leads to the increased adoption of sustainable practices.

Winegrape Growers Leading the Way

The SWP started at the local level, where winegrowers and vintners began implementing sustainable practices at their farms and wineries. Based on the success of regional efforts, the idea quickly gained steam, with more and more growers and vintners together finding ways to create high quality wines using sustainable practices. Their efforts were formalized when the California Code of Sustainable Winegrowing Practices was created in 2002.

The SWP represents the first time an entire agricultural sector has measured the level of sustainable practices among its members and reported the results publicly: anyone can see the progress of California winegrape growers with sustainability initiatives, practices and results by visiting www.sustainablewinegrowing.org.

No other grape growing region in the world has made as much progress toward adopting sustainable winegrowing practices in such a widespread or comprehensive fashion, and no other growing region has published their own “results” or “self-assessments” for the public to view.

We are proud that California winegrape growers are a model for other agricultural communities worldwide. Representatives of the SWP are frequently invited to make presentations to government entities, non-profit organizations and other agricultural and trade associations across the nation and in other countries.

Fast Facts

The Sustainable Winegrowing Program (SWP), established in 2002, is a partnership between the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) and Wine Institute.
In 2003, CAWG and the Wine Institute formed the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance (CSWA), a San Francisco-based 501c3 nonprofit organization to assist in the implementation of the SWP.
The CSWA published a Sustainability Report in 2004 and a Progress Report in 2006. The next report will be published in 2009. These reports measure the level of sustainable practices adopted in the California wine community and , are available online at www.sustainablewinegrowing.org
The CSWA works with 29 regional wine and grape growing associations, numerous government agencies, academic institutions and environmental and social equity groups. In addition to members of CAWG and the Wine Institute, CSWA’s funders include American Farmland Trust, the California Department of Food and Agriculture and other agencies and organizations.
1165 wineries and vineyards have gone through the self assessment process since October 2002.
990 distinct growers (vineyard enterprises), representing 55.2% of the winegrape acreage statewide, have gone through the self-assessment process since Oct. 2002, and have assessed over 170,000 acres of winegrapes.
Since 2002 nearly 200 educational events have been held on subjects ranging from integrated pest management to energy efficiency, reaching over 5000 growers and vintners all over the state.
With the publication of the 2004 Sustainability Report, CSWA identified regions and practice areas of excellence and opportunities for improvement. These areas were targeted with specific educational opportunities/events. Subsequent measurement indicates that grower performance improved significantly in response to this targeted education.

Awards

The SWP is a model for agricultural sectors and businesses, and has been recognized with the following awards:

California Council for Environmental and Economic Balance, Governor Edmund G. “Pat” Brown Award (2005)
Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, The Governor’s Environmental and Economic Leadership Award (2004)
California Environmental Protection Agency, Integrated Pest Management Innovator Award (2003)