California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance
California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance 425 Market Street, Suite 1000 San Francisco CA 94105 workPhone: (415) 512-0151workWebsite: http://www.sustainablewinegrowing.org/ Description
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A Partnership Between California Vintners and Winegrape Growers
The Sustainable Winegrowing Program was initiated in January 2001 by winegrowing members of Wine Institute and the California Association of Winegrape Growers (CAWG) to promote vineyard and winery practices that are sensitive to the environment, responsive to the needs and interests of society-at-large, and economically feasible to implement and maintain. Wine Institute is a public policy advocacy group, representing more than 975 California wineries and affiliated businesses responsible for 85 percent of the nation’s wine production. CAWG is a public policy advocacy group of winegrape growers, representing more than 60 percent of the total annual grape crush. Together they developed the Code of Sustainable Winegrowing Practices workbook as the basis for the Sustainable Winegrowing Program, providing a tool for vintners and growers to assess their practices and learn how to improve their overall sustainability. Wine Institute and CAWG formed the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance to assist in program implementation. These organizations will continue to work together to promote sustainable winegrowing practices that benefit the environment, the community and high quality grapes and wine.
A Proactive Approach to Sustainability
As the State’s population explodes and urban areas encroach on traditionally rural farmland, the California wine community is taking a proactive, precautionary approach to address increasing pressure resulting from public and legislative perceptions, environmental decisions from regulatory and governmental bodies, and other growth-related issues. By adopting and implementing the Code of Sustainable Winegrowing Practices, members of the California wine community can greatly augment their collective and individual ability to respond to these pressures while demonstrating that they are responsible neighbors and committed stewards of the land.