Sustainability

hand with yellow painted finger nails, holding a glass of white wine, blurry vineyard in the background.

The Value-Added Argument for Sustainable Winegrowing in New York

The landscape of consumer goods has shifted seismically over the past two decades due to growing environmental awareness and desire for ethically produced products. The millennial generation, born between 1981 and 1996, lead the way. Millennials now make up the largest portion of the world’s population, presenting the greatest growth opportunity for the U.S. wine industry. In order to realize this growth, the wine business must inspire millennials and measure up to their generational values. In addition to an emphasis on climate change, this cohort is more health conscious, socially aware, and ethnically diverse than previous generations.

Fox Run family stands with Bottle Crusher machine.

Fox Run Becomes First NY Winery to use GLSand Bottle Crusher

As a producer of nearly 240,000 bottles of wine each year, Fox Run Vineyards knew they had to do more to keep glass out of area landfills. Enter the Expelco GLSand Bottle Crusher: a compact machine designed to crush glass bottles into environmentally usable sand. Fox Run is the first winery in New York State to adopt and use this new technology.

New York Wine and Grape Foundation Welcomes Renowned Climate Scientist Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel to Give Climate Change Presentation to East Coast Wine Community

How is climate change affecting us today and over our lifetime? These are important questions for the wine and grape community to ask. Climate change has the potential to impact everyone in the wine supply chain from vineyard managers in the field to consumers enjoying a glass. Join us to learn the science behind climate change, discover the potential of climate-smart farming, and reflect on the importance of supporting sustainable winegrowers for future generations of New York wine.

Climate Change and the Future of Sustainable Farming

A presentation by Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel, Director of Climate Science at the Climate & Energy Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists How is climate change affecting us today and over our lifetime? These are important questions for the wine community ask. Climate change has the potential to impact everyone in the wine supply chain from vineyard managers in the field to consumers enjoying a glass. Join us to learn

The Potential and Practicality of Regenerative Winegrowing in New York Vineyards

The practical benefits of building soil organic carbon have been recognized by farmers for generations, though perhaps not for the purpose of combating climate change. Undisturbed soils, rich in ground cover, have higher organic matter, microbial biodiversity, and water infiltration, making them better suited to agriculture.

U.S. Sustainable Winegrowing Summit

Who: A gathering of regional winery and vineyard associations, engaged grower and vintner leaders, and others committed to the sustainability of their local vineyards, wineries and regions. What: Learn some of the driving forces behind the increasing interest in sustainable winegrowing. Be inspired with new ideas on how to bring sustainability education and outreach to your region’s vineyards and wineries. Why: Together we can enhance the sustainability of all U.S. vineyards and

Quality winemaking starts in the vineyard

I remember early in my career working in New York’s farm based beverage industry a conversation that I had with Chris Gerling at an introduction to distilling workshop at Catskill Distilling Company. Admittedly, I was super green behind the ears when it came to wine making and really any fermentation process. Chris properly schooled me when he simply described how to make a quality wine, “You can’t make good wine from bad grapes, but you can make bad wine from good grapes.” Reading between the lines, he helped me deduce that quality winemaking starts in the vineyard.

Capalino Partners with New York Wine & Grape Foundation to Advance Sustainability in New York

Capalino, a leading strategy consulting and government relations firm, and The New York Wine & Grape Foundation are partnering to advance sustainability in the New York State wine industry. The industry—from grape growing to wine bottle sales—generates an annual economic impact of $6.65 billion in New York State.

Funding Secured for Sustainability Program in New York

Our first step in this process is to create a business plan for the program to ensure its long-term sustainability. While we have about two years of funding in-hand, we think that it is important to establish a clear strategic direction and program design to ensure it can become a statewide and self-sustaining program.

USDA Accepting Applications to Help Cover Costs for Organic Certification

WASHINGTON, August 10, 2020 – USDA’s Farm Service Agency (FSA) announced that organic producers and handlers can apply for federal funds to assist with the cost of receiving and maintaining organic certification through the Organic Certification Cost Share Program (OCCSP). Applications for eligible certification expenses paid between Oct. 1, 2019, and Sept. 30, 2020, are due Oct. 31, 2020. “For producers producing food with organic certification, this program helps cover

A Long History of Sustainability at Silver Thread Vineyard

Silver Thread Vineyard was established in 1982 on the eastern shore of Seneca Lake, at the heart of New York’s Finger Lakes region. At this location the bottom of the lake drops almost 200 feet below sea level, a dramatic mass of water that creates a distinct microclimate on the leeward (eastern) hillside — cooling breezes in summer, radiating warmth through the winter, and extending the length of the growing season.

Leading by Example: Sustainability & Biodynamics at Hermann J. Wiemer Vineyard

Attitudes, practices, and policies have been changing especially in the last decade with regards to sustainability. There is mounting concern for personal health, and environmental and social problems that the world is facing including sickness and disease, extinction of plant and animal species, depletion natural resources, global warming, etc.

The future of farming and great winemaking in New York: Sustainability at Wagner Vineyards

Five generations of the Wagner family have been growing grapes and making wine in the Finger Lakes for decades. The Wagner Vineyards philosophy is that great wines begin in the vineyard and their success can be attributed to the strict standards of excellence that they employ in their grape growing and winemaking processes. As stewards of the land, they believe that sustainable practices are responsible and respectful to the environment. As a business, they believe that their economic stability is tied directly to how they treat the environment. Although there is a genuine

The future of farming and great winemaking in New York: Sustainability at Bedell Cellars

At Bedell Cellars, sustainability is at the forefront of their vineyard management and winemaking programs. Their distinctive, terroir-driven wines are a direct result of their focus on biodiversity in the vineyard. Bedell Winemaker, Rich Olsen-Harbich has been a pioneer of winemaking in New York for over 30 years and co-founded Long Island Sustainable Winegrowing (LISW) in 2012. LISW consists of a group vineyards and wineries who have joined together to be stewards of the Long Island region by adhering to core management criteria – it is the first of its kind on the East

Field Notes