New York is home to an expanding network of certified sustainable vineyards dedicated to minimizing environmental impact, ensuring economic stability, and safeguarding worker health and safety. This certification is awarded through the New York Wine & Grape Foundation’s (NYWGF) Sustainable Winegrowing program. Vineyards that achieve certification, along with wineries producing wines made from at least 85% certified sustainable grapes, are authorized to display the Sustainability Trustmark at their vineyards and on their bottles.
Now, NYWGF has released an interactive map to guide visitors to these environmentally responsible vineyards and producers who are committed to crafting exceptional wines while protecting our natural resources. It’s a handy tool tourists can use to plan a sustainable winery crawl to wineries close to one another or make a bucket list of all certified wineries in the state they want to support.
What will visitors see when they visit one of these sustainable establishments? Aside from spying the Trustmark on bottles or signs at a vineyard or winery, many of the measures taken to earn the certification aren’t easy to spot. They probably won’t realize that the cover crops between the vines are there to improve soil health and sequester carbon. They won’t be aware the specific rootstock of a vine was chosen because of its winter hardiness. They’ll certainly never see prohibited pesticides as they are not being applied to vines.
Fortunately, there are other visible signs of a winery or vineyard’s environmental efforts that visitors can see when they follow the new interactive map and visit these responsible producers.
Sustainable Beyond Vineyard Practices
“We can’t show vineyard practices,” says Suzanne Hunt, co-owner of Hunt Country Vineyards on Keuka Lake in the Finger Lakes, but there are things that visitors will recognize as a commitment to the environment.
“They can see the eco flooring in the tasting room,” says Hunt. “It’s all upcycled recycled flooring with the carbon intensity offset.”
They’ll also see the winery’s five electric vehicle chargers installed in 2018 and the 348-panel solar system that provides most of the winery’s electricity. They’ll find local cheese and food items from local producers where picnic supplies are sold. And, visitors can participate in workshops, including those that take them into the environment.
“One of the things we do is host all kinds of different workshops where people come and learn skills,” Hunt says. Workshops include creating art, learning hands-on skills such as building a stone wall, and identifying wild edibles and medicinal plants.
All of these things that visitors can notice and do at Hunt Country Vineyards are not required for the New York Sustainable Wine Growing certification. They’re things the winery has been doing all along because it is, as Hunt says, “It’s who we are. We’re trying to take care of people and the planet.”
Certification Communicates to the Public
“My feeling is that most of us in the industry care deeply about our stewardship of farms and lands especially those who jumped in [to the certification process] the first year,” says Yancey Stanforth-Migliore, co-owner of Whitecliff Vineyard and Winery in the Hudson Valley. “We were already doing what we could possibly do.”
Still, doing the paperwork to obtain the sustainable certification had a benefit for the winery.
“It’s very welcome assistance in communicating our practices to people,” she says.
That’s helpful when most New York wineries can’t achieve organic certification because of climate conditions, but many people automatically think of an organic certification when they think of sustainability.
“This certification for sustainability is a good way to try and open people’s minds,” says Stanforth-Migliore. She understands people want information.
“I know as the marketing face of our business people want to know that we care about environmental issues and are making our wine in a way that is as clean as possible,” she says.
The winery is completely vegan with its wine and winemaking, too.
2024 will be the first vintage that Whitecliff will be qualified to add the Trustmark logo to their wine labels. However, there are still signs of the winery’s sustainability efforts that are apparent to guests. Guests who take the winery tour will hear them speak of the geothermal to heat the winery, and they’ll see the recycling that happens throughout the establishment.
Working on Sustainability Before There Was Certification
“Since I bought the winery one of my basic feelings has been that I’m going return the land better than when I got it, but it’s a real challenge unless you have serious money behind it,” says Scott Osborn, president and co-owner of Fox Run Vineyards on Seneca Lake in the Finger Lakes.
Since 1994, he’s been moving toward sustainability one step at a time.
“Over the years, I’ve asked each of my managers, whether they’re in the winery, vineyard, or tasting room, to try to come up with one thing that they can implement that year that will make us more sustainable,” Osborn says. “By doing it that way, it’s not this huge radical change, but it’s always a step toward sustainability and leaving the planet in a better position than it is.”
The New York Sustainable Wine Growing certification isn’t Fox Run’s first sustainable certification. In 2002 the winery was certified a Lake Friendly Farm, ensuring that none of the vineyard practices would negatively impact waterways.
Fox Run gives tours every hour on the hour, and during the tour, the guide talks about sustainability and shows guests what the winery is doing to protect natural resources. The tour passes by the winery’s solar field, a butterfly and bee habitat that Osborn built.
At the winery’s café, the majority of the food is sourced within New York state. Meat and fish are from the Hudson Valley. The cheese is local and during the growing season, produce is, too.
“People get the idea that we’ve been working really hard on [sustainability]” Osborn says.
Throughout New York, wineries have been thoughtfully caring for the land they grow their vines on. With the new interactive map of the sustainably certified wineries, visitors now have an easy way to find them.
