The New York Sustainable Winegrowing Trustmark is gracing bottles across the Empire State.
The certification, launched by the New York Wine & Grape Foundation in 2024, is based on grower self-assessment and then confirmed through a third-party audit. Vineyards who earn the Trustmark and wineries making wine with a minimum of 90% fruit from certified vineyards are permitted to use the logo on bottles and in marketing.
The Trustmark is designed to show wine lovers that a bottle is made from grapes grown with practices that encourage soil health, water conservation, biodiversity, energy efficiency, worker safety, economic viability, and community responsibility. But the program was also created to encourage consistent improvement of participating growers and producers in these areas as well.
But what does it mean for consumers? And are growers and wineries investing in the program?
Why Wine Lovers Are Paying More Attention to the Trustmark
People who drink wine are increasingly voting for sustainability with their wallets.
While wine lovers may not buy wine just because it’s sustainable, they’re more likely to.
Younger generations are most invested in sustainability, with one study showing that 9 in 10 Millennials would pay more for a wine that is sustainably produced, and sales of organic wine are surging as sales of non-organic wine are flatlining or declining.
Because the Certification is based on clear, science-backed practices, more wine lovers can feel comfortable supporting it. It’s also always relevant: every year, it is updated with feedback from researchers, growers, and scientists so it can be as rigorous and regionally appropriate as possible.
John Wagner, co-owner and general manager at Wagner Vineyards in the Finger Lakes, says that he has anecdotally noted an increased interest in sustainability among wine consumers, and that their use of the Trustmark enables them to assure consumers that their purchases support a business with environmental and social responsibility at its foundational core.
“It is nice that we can share our longtime efforts with a quantifiable certification that is third-party verified,” Wagner says.
Why Wineries and Growers Are Embracing the Trustmark
It’s easy to talk about sustainability, but ensuring all of the theory gets put into practice is increasingly essential for everyone. The Certification was created to deliver that peace of mind.
“We take the Certification very seriously and have worked for many decades to position our farm to be 100% sustainable now and into the future,” says Wagner. “We are including the Trustmark on the majority of our wines from the 2023 vintage and newer. We also sell grapes to many wineries, and some of them are requesting proof of sustainability.”
Mike Eighmey, vice president of sales at Anthony Road Wine Company in the Finger Lakes, has recently discussed the Trustmark over lunch with his team and was heartened to see support for the program on both sides of the bar.
“We recognize that sustainability is both broad and ever-evolving, less a fixed definition or a cookie-cutter approach, and a more dynamic, ongoing process,” Eighmey says. “Our goal is to encourage meaningful dialogue rather than present a one-size-fits-all standard. The program creates space for producers to highlight the practices that matter most to them, while maintaining a shared commitment to responsible stewardship.”
At Billsboro Winery, co-owner and general manager Kim Aliperti says they are “big supporters of the Sustainable Winegrowing Program.”
“We purchase all of our grapes from certified growers,” Aliperti says. “For us, the Trustmark signals a commitment to producing environmentally sustainable grapes, which in a rapidly changing climate is more critical than ever.”
In 2025, 10 new vineyards earned certification, including Argetsinger Vineyard, Barnstormer Winery, Hermann J. Weimer Nursery, Knapp Winery, Osprey’s Dominion Vineyards, RGNY Winery, Ria’s Winery, Sheldrake Point Winery, Tabora Farm & Winery, and Tuller Vineyard.
For growers and wineries interested in learning more about certification, applications are closed for now, but you can learn more about the program here.
