Wine Industry Report

The efforts of California winegrape growers and vintners to build on their environmental successes gained a major boost late last month, when the United States Department of Agriculture awarded a $607,500 Conservation Innovation Grant (CIG) to the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance. The grant recognizes the uniquely cooperative approach California wineries and winegrape growers are taking to conserve vital air, water, soil and energy resources, and will allow the Alliance, with the assistance of the California Winegrape Growers Association (CAWG) and Wine Institute, to help growers and vintners learn about, access and benefit from market-based conservation opportunities.

“CIG accelerates development, transfer and adoption of promising new
technologies and approaches to some of the nation’s most pressing natural
resource concerns,” said Agriculture Under Secretary for Natural Resources and
Environment Mark Rey as he announced the nearly $20 million funding for 54 CIG
awards nationwide.

The CIG-funded project will build upon the Alliance’s award-winning track record
in sustainable practices education and outreach to help growers and vintners
understand and use environmental accounting tools that document conservation
outcomes for use in market-based conservation approaches. The online software
system used by the Alliance will be enhanced so the wine community can more
easily manage information on resource conservation practices to participate in
greenhouse gas and water quality trading opportunities, energy and water use
reduction incentive programs, and alternative compliance with new regulatory
programs addressing air and water quality.

“California’s wine industry has been a leading proponent of producing wines and
winegrapes in an environmentally friendly manner that reflects the incredible
natural resources this state has been blessed with,” says CAWG President Karen
Ross. Added Robert P. “Bobby” Koch, President and CEO of Wine Institute, “This
grant recognizes not only the innovative new technology that will be introduced
but the outstanding partnerships that have been forged between growers and
vintners dedicated to protecting our land, our air and our water.”

California’s Sustainable Winegrowing Program (SWP) is a ground-breaking program
that encourages and enables winegrowers and vintners to adopt the highest
standards of sustainable practices. The Program, 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.

For more information on the Alliance, visit www.sustainablewinegrowing.org
For more information on the grant, visit www.nrcs.usda.gov/programs/cig/2007awards.html.