Sustainability
Sustainability at La Crema
From a practical perspective, “sustainable winegrowing” isn’t so much an advance in farming practices as it is a return to traditional farming methods. It’s an integral part of what we do – out in the vineyards and here at the winery.
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Land
- To build up the level of organic matter in our vineyard soils, we add composted grape pommace and chipped vegetation.
- We farm many of our Estate vineyards with “non-tillage” practice, reducing tractor passes and lessening fuel use and emissions.
- We use recycled material to make repairs to our vineyard trellises.
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Water
- We irrigate our Estate vineyard with treated and recycled process water.
- By carefully monitoring the water stress on our vines, we have been able to reduce our overall water use in the vineyards.
- We’ve planted trees along creeks and maintained the riparian areas bordering our vineyards to promote the health of watershed areas.
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Critter Control
- Owls, blue birds and falcons will naturally control many vineyard pests, so we provide habitat boxes in our vineyards to invite them to nest here.
- We practice Integrated Pest Management (IPM) which introduces beneficial insects into the vineyard, helping to reduce the need to pesticides.
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Energy
- We participate in a Demand Response Program to cut out electricity usage during potential black-out periods to reduce the need to build additional power plants.
- In partnership with the California Public Utility Commission, we are involved in two pilot programs: Continuous Energy Efficiency Improvement and Green House Gas Inventory and Reduction.
- We’ve retrofitted lighting, production equipment and hot water boilers resulting in annual energy savings equal to 190 homes’ yearly usage!
