Boldly,
evolving.
New York Sustainable Winegrowing
The mission of New York Sustainable Winegrowing is to advance the environmental, social, and economic sustainability of New York’s wine and grape industry through regionally defined sustainability standards, third-party certification, grower education, and stakeholder engagement. The vision of the program is to elevate New York State as a world class wine and grape region that protects the environment, conserves natural resources, and improves the lives of our stakeholders.
Stakeholder engagement with the program is fundamental for its success and we appreciate your thoughts and time. If you have any suggestions on how to improve the program, please submit them using the form linked HERE.
Enrollment Open Now!
Following the success of our pilot in 2022, the program is now open to all wineries in New York. Certification under this program is based on a grower self-assessment and third-party audit using the latest version of the VineBalance workbook. Growers who achieve this certification will be able to market their grapes as Certified Sustainable under this Program and wineries that make wine Consisting of at least 85% certified sustainable grapes will be permitted to use the program logo for special labeling and marketing.
Justin Jackson
Sustainability Program Manager
VineBalance 2023
NYWGF is pleased to announce the release of VineBalance 2023 as the latest edition of New York’s statewide code of sustainable winegrowing.
Important Dates
| October 10, 2022 | VineBalance 2023 Released |
| December 30, 2022 | Completed VineBalance Due |
| February – May, 2023 | In-person Audits Conducted |
Learn More
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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
We are thrilled to announce that the New York Wine & Grape Foundation has joined the Porto Protocol. The Porto Protocol Foundation is an open and dynamic platform of ideas and workable solutions to combat climate change. The mission of the Porto Protocol Foundation is to drive collaborative action by bringing together a network of change makers and workable climate solutions for and within the wine world. For more information, visit this link.
2022 Unity Awards: Sustainability Recipient - Tim Martinson
Tim Martinson has been working on Sustainable practices for vineyards since starting his extension career in 1997. One of his first tasks was to produce a series of Agricultural Environmental Management worksheets for vineyards, in cooperation with the Yates Co. Soil and Water Conservation District. A few years later they expanded the worksheets into the VineBalance NY Guide to Sustainable Vineyard Practices workbook.
“I’m deeply honored to receive this Unity Award in sustainability from the Foundation, as developing and promoting Sustainable viticultural practices has been a major part of my extension effort for the past 20-od years.” says, Martinson.
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.