New York Sustainable Winegrowing is a comprehensive program that includes educational events and resources as well as an official certification process for Vineyards who are seeking to advance their environmental, social, and economic sustainability. Certification is based on science backed regionally defined standards and independent third-party audits so you can feel confident in the wine you are drinking.
Look for our Trustmark at Vineyards and wineries and on bottles in 2024 to ensure that the wine you are enjoying is environmentally sound, socially equitable, and financially sustainable. Click here for a list of certified vineyards.
Certification is based on maintaining a minimum score in the VineBalance workbook. This workbook is designed to provide grape growers in New York and other regions of the Northeast with guidance in evaluating and adopting best management practices that minimize environmental impacts, reduce economic risks, and protect worker health and safety. Standards in the workbook are set by a panel of experts including academics, industry members, and extension specialists focusing on practices relevant to New York grape production. Annually, these standards undergo review and revision to ensure they are up to date with science based best practices and economic feasibility. Currently the workbook features nine objectives.
NYWGF is pleased to announce the release of VineBalance 2024 as the latest edition of New York’s statewide code of sustainable winegrowing.
October 10, 2024 | VineBalance 2023 Released |
December 30, 2024 | Completed VineBalance Due |
February – May, 2025 | In-person Audits Conducted |
In order to support the next phase of our Sustainability Program in 2022, NYWGF is developing a third-party certification for sustainably grown grapes and wine. The basis for this certification will be a grower self-assessment followed by third-party verification according to the latest edition of VineBalance, a workbook that addresses input reduction, soil health, water protection, energy conservation, resources and waste, ecosystem health, climate resiliency, continuous improvement, and social equity. Growers who achieve certification will
The New York Wine & Grape Foundation (NYWGF) is pleased to announce a new partnership with Born Collective to develop a marketing plan for the emergent third-party certification for sustainably-grown grapes and wine in New York. Born Collective is a strategic branding agency with an affinity for storytelling and a fervor for audience experience. b+cause is the nonprofit arm of Born Collective, dedicated to providing outstanding, full-service marketing to organizations that exist to make our communities and our world better. “At Born Collective, sustainability has always been a priority
Join Chris Serra, a leading expert in sustainable winegrowing certification, as we workshop a selection of new objectives introduced in the VineBalance 2022 update. Growers are invited to practice scoring their vineyard operations anonymously and ask questions as we move through key action items in the Ecosystem Health, Climate Resiliency, and Social Equity chapters of the latest version of the VineBalance workbook. Ecosystem Health – Tuesday, November 30th from 4:00 to 5:30pm Sustainable farming is a
2024 Unity Awards: Sustainability Recipient - Rich Olsen-Harbich
Rich Olsen-Harbich began pioneering sustainable winegrowing techniques decades before it was cool.
“This Sustainability Award really validates what we’ve been doing at Bedell Cellars since 1980,” Olsen-Harbich, winemaker at Bedell Cellars, notes. “Sustainability is a zero-sum game. It is a pathway that you walk on, without an end in sight. You always want to find a way to be even more sustainable.”.
The Sustainability Award recognizes an organization or winery that has exemplified sustainable practices.
NYWGF is a Founding Member of the Sustainable Wine Roundtable
The Sustainable Wine Roundtable (SWR) is an independent, nonprofit, multi-stakeholder initiative to unite the international wine community around a consensus definition of sustainable wine. The mission of the SWR is to develop guidelines and best practices to advance sustainability in all aspects of wine production and trade. As a Founding Member, the Foundation will join with sister programs to share expertise and develop a global sustainability standard for wine. For more information, visit this link.
NYWGF Joins Porto Protocol
The NYWGF Sustainability Program would not be possible without support from the USDA Natural Resource Conservation Service, USDA Rural Development, New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets, Genesee Valley Regional Market Authority, Yates County, New York State Wine Grape Growers, and John Ingle of Ingle Vineyard and Heron Hill Winery.