Sonoma County wine growers set goal of 100% sustainability

(SFGate) - The Sonoma County Winegrape Commission wants every vineyard and winery in its domain to be certified sustainable in the next five years.

The plan, which will be announced Wednesday, could make Sonoma County the first wine region in the nation to be 100 percent sustainable.

It's a tall order, given that it's difficult to get 100 percent compliance in any voluntary program, but in particular, farmers tend to be an independent lot. Then there's the problem that the word "sustainable" is used so often that no one really knows what it means.

Yes, the commission's president, Karissa Kruse, acknowledges that "sustainable" has become a buzzword in the market. But to growers the tenet of sustainability is fairly simple: good farming practices and living as light on the land as possible.

"It's being a good steward, a good employer and a good neighbor," she said, explaining that it comes down to using fewer chemicals and less water, and preserving the natural resources of the land.

Given that 85 percent of the 1,800 vineyards in Sonoma County are family owned, there should be a strong commitment to keeping them healthy and viable to pass on to the next generation, Kruse said. There's also a financial incentive. Consumers - whether they know what it means or not - are demanding products produced sustainably. Big-box stores such as Walmart have even begun to ask wholesalers for information on their sustainability programs, Kruse said.