Investing in the
Environment: In the Winery
Farming Philosophy | In the Winery |
In the Vineyard
We have carefully planned our
winery to minimize any negative impacts on the environment and
maximize opportunities to have positive impacts. This has taken
a great deal of thought, planning and tireless efforts to find
the right path. We are continually seeking to improve our
ability to affect the environment in positive ways
Winery Design
Our winery is built into the hillside, which allows us to take
full advantage of natural earth cooling year round. Our barrel
room is a constant 55-60 degrees as a result with no additional
cooling required. Cooling is a major energy use in “above
ground” wineries. A side effect of being built into the hillside
is that the humidity level in the barrel room is a constant 85%.
The building is of airtight construction using foam panels for
all exterior walls. Timber frame construction using reclaimed
and “standing dead” timbers was used as well as reuse of older
materials, such as radiators for heating and lighting fixtures.
We used bamboo flooring as it is a renewable resource and
Vermont slate in high traffic areas because it will last
hundreds of years.
Winemaking Techniques
We utilize energy saving winemaking techniques wherever
possible. One area where this is most obvious is in cold
stabilization of our wines. Larger wineries (and all warm
climate wineries) cool their wines with refrigeration units
until they are just above freezing to ensure that potassium
tartrate crystals do not form in the bottle (they form due to
the cold). These crystals are harmless and are a visual defect
only. We do our cold stabilization in the wintertime by moving
the wine outside. This method is simple, effective, and
environmentally friendly.
Labels
We use warm water wash away labels to facilitate easier bottle
recycling. Many labels today use glues that require toxic
solvents for removal.
Corks
We use natural cork. Natural cork is grown on trees that are
harvested every 10 years without doing harm to the tree. This is
a sustainable practice that has been developed over centuries.
Cork is 100% biodegradable and cork trees help to reduce carbon
dioxide in our atmosphere. With the 2007 vintage, we will be
utilizing unbleached cork that has not been treated for color
consistency. This darker cork further reduces our impact on the
environment by eliminating an unnecessary treatment.
Bottles
Our bottles are made to be light-weight, reducing the energy
used in producing and transporting them. Many wineries today are
moving to heavier and heavier bottles. These bottles take more
energy to produce, move and recycle. The extra glass means
nothing to the wine or the quality; it is just wasteful of
resources.
Foils
We use tin capsules or wax to cover the cork. Wax is
biodegradable and tin is totally recyclable. Both are healthy
alternatives to plastic. Most wineries utilize polyvinyl
chloride (PVC) plastic capsules, which is an environmentally
unfriendly material that does not readily break down. PVC has
toxic byproducts associated with both the material and its
production. Sears, Walmart, Target and others have implemented
policies to reduce this material from products they carry due to
the risk of exposure to phthalates and dioxin.
Farming Philosophy | In the Winery |
In the Vineyard
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