| Winery Wise
Winery Wise (aka Winewise), the Washington Guide to Sustainable Winemaking
Practices, is an online, interactive guide of business and winery management topics created by and for Washington State Wineries to determine and assess their current winery management practices against industry standards of sustainability.
Winery Wise also provides guidance to wineries choosing to seek internationally respected third party certification of sustainability through LIVE among others.
Winery Wise objectives in advancing sustainable winemaking practices:
· Craft the best quality wines possible
· Reduce our carbon footprint by reducing the use of energy, fuels, and other inputs
· Maintain the economic viability of the winery and the Washington wine industry
· Practice environmentally responsible water management
· Practice environmentally responsible material handling
· Utilize environmentally preferred purchasing
· Practice solid waste reduction, recycling and management
· Promote physical, social, and economic well being of employees
· Promote neighbor and community member communication
· Promote education and research to sustain and enhance wine quality, environmental stewardship, and economic viability
Our future depends on sustainable business and winemaking practices….
To protect and expand our reputation for producing high quality wines, particularly in these times of rapid growth, we must use management practices that respect the long term viability of our wineries and the surrounding environment. Developing management practices that are environmentally sound, economically feasible, and socially equitable, builds a solid framework to achieve sustainability and carry our businesses into the future.
Sustainability Survey
Sustainable management practices are important to the Washington wine industry and to individual winery businesses. Winery Wise seeks to provide Washington state wineries with the tools to evaluate their management practices and plan sustainably sound management strategies.
But what practices should be included in the guide and what do wineries consider their biggest risks to sustainable management of their businesses?
The Winery Wise Steering Committee wanted to know what Washington Wineries consider to be their top priorities in sustainably managing their businesses, so they sent out a Priorities Survey in July of 2008. Respondents represented large and small wineries, corporate and family-owned, across the state.
The survey helped to capture and prioritize management topics pertinent to Washington wineries and those topics considered the most important to developing a sustainable, viable business.
Survey Results Highlights
Winery Wise Guide
The Winery Wise Guide includes a three step process for wineries, covering specific sustainable winemaking practices and business topics. The step include:
1. Checklists
2. Self-Evaluation Form
3. Action Plan
Winery Wise currently includes nine topics. As a dynamic guide, additional topics will be added as needs arise.
Energy Efficiency
Intro | Checklist | Self Assessment
Water Management
Intro | Checklist | Self Assessment
Education & Research
Intro | Checklist | Self Assessment
Waste Management
Intro | Checklist | Self Assessment
Staffing, Safety & HR
Intro | Checklist | Self Assessment
Material Handling
Intro | Checklist | Self Assessment
Community Outreach
Intro | Checklist | Self Assessment
Site Development
Intro | Checklist | Self Assessment
Environmentally Preferred Purchasing
Intro | Checklist | Self Assessment
These additional business management topics can be found on Vinewise.
Business Plans Marketing Plans Contracts Lending
Winery Wise Roots
In 2003, The Washington Wine Industry Foundation (WWIF) received a Commodity Partnerships for Risk Management Education grant from the USDA and fulfilled the grant by developing risk management tools to help growers identify and address risks pertinent to their businesses. From this early beginning sprang Vinewise, the Washington Guide to Sustainable Viticulture which debuted on-line in 2006.
In late 2007, a grassroots effort began to develop a companion guide to Vinewise which would be dedicated to sustainable winemaking practices. Dubbed Winery Wise, the Washington Guide to Sustainable Winemaking Practices, is a series of self-assessment evaluation forms for wineries, addressing a wide spectrum of sustainable winemaking practices and business topics. The following organizations help to ensure the future of Washington state's wine industry:
Washington Wine Commission
Washington Wine Technical Group
Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers
Washington State University
Walla Walla Community College
About Winery Wise
SUSTAINABILITY AND OUR FUTURE
In 1999 Washington State’s growing niche wine industry was comprised of 160 wineries. As of February 2009, Washington State now boasts 602 wineries.
With such rapid growth, ensuring the future of the wine industry through sustainable management practices is increasingly important, not only to the businesses and their many employees, but increasingly to their impact on the state economy.
The Winery Wise guide provides wineries with the tools to evaluate their business and process practices, compare these practices to industry standards of sustainability, and to plan and implement sustainable management strategies.
Sustainability is the key.
To protect and expand our reputation for producing high quality wines, particularly in these times of rapid growth, we must use management practices that respect the long term viability of our wineries and the surrounding environment. Developing management practices that are environmentally sound, economically feasible, and socially equitable, builds a solid framework to achieve sustainability and carry our businesses well into the future.
A number of Washington wineries employ many forms of sustainable management practices, with energy efficiencies, water management, and waste management, practiced most frequently. However, the scarcity of knowledge, education and resources is a challenge for Washington wineries wanting to improve their sustainable practices.
That’s where Winewise comes in.
THE WINERY WISE GUIDE
The Winery Wise Guide is a series of self-assessment evaluation forms developed for wineries, covering specific sustainable process and business topics.
Topics cover a wide spectrum of sustainability – process and resource management, staffing and safety, education, the community, site development, and business management. As a dynamic program, additional topics will be added as the need arises.
The forms are designed to allow wineries to easily assess their current practices on a scale that can be compared to industry standards of sustainability, then plan strategies to improve sustainability in each area. Winery Wise also provides guidance to wineries choosing to seek internationally respected third party certification of sustainability through LIVE among others.
Winery Wise provides seminars and classes for winemakers and industry personnel to learn how to use the Guide to evaluate their practices.
Winery Wise Committee
Coming from a cross section of the Washington wine industry
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Want to help?
We invite all industry help and expertise in developing the Winewise Guide.
If you would like to participate or find out more, contact Joy at 509-786-5546. | , Winery Wise development committee volunteers represent wineries, wine grape growers, researchers, and educators, with support from the Washington Wine Commission, the Washington Wine Technical Group, and the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers.
Formed in May of 2008, the Winery Wise Steering Committee members are:
Joy Andersen, Winemaker Snoqualmie Winery, Winery Wise Chair
Patrick Rawn, Two Mountain Winery
Mickey Dunne, National Sales Director, Powers Winery
Nicolas Quille, Winemaker, General Manager, Pacific Rim
Shayn Bjornholm, Washington Wine Commission
Shaila Nyborg, Safety & Environmental Manager, Ste. Michelle Wine Estates
Tim Henley, Winemaker, Gordon Brothers Winery
Valerie Fayette, Director of Enology and Viticulture, Walla Walla Community College
Vicky Scharlau, Executive Director, Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers
A team of industry experts works on each Winery Wise topic, developing the evaluation tools and industry standards. Together, the Winery Wise committee is dedicated to creating a comprehensive sustainable practices guide designed to take the Washington state wine industry well into the future.
Workshop on Sustainable Management of Winery Water
In April 2009 nearly 60 people gathered at the Tri-cities campus of WSU for a session focusing on the basics of process water treatment. The workshop was one of several held throughout the US including New York and California.
The workshop utilized the Comprehensive Guide to Sustainable Management of Winery Water and Associated Energy as a text book. The Guide was developed in part by funds from the American Vineyard Foundation and Pacific Gas & Electric Company with guidance and support from the National Grape and Wine Initiative (NGWI). It provides a set of tools for wineries of all sizes to use in realigning existing facilities or designing new facilities to achieve goals for sustainable management of winery source water and wastewater with the ancillary benefits of increasing energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas generation. The guide is consistent with NGWI's vision for the US grape and wine industry to be a world leader in sustainability. The workshop was also supported by the work of the Winewise Committee. (Winewise is the Washington State Guide to Sustainable Wineries which will be an online, interactive guide of business and winery management topics to determine and assess current management practices against industry standards of sustainability.)
Sponsored by Ste. Michelle Wine Estates and WAWGG, the workshop detailed the guidebook methods and tools for evaluating winery operations as well as outlining the steps for identifying and implementing changes to reduce winery water use, process water generation, and the energy associated with moving water and wine. The workshop began with a regulatory overview presented by the Washington Department of Ecology. Two interactive sessions took place, where participants discussed options they could implement and the potential impact of those changes in terms of equipment, personnel, procedures and cost. A key take-home message was that certain procedural changes, if diligently implemented, can lead to measurable performance improvements without extensive capital outlays. This was validated by a case study of accomplishments at Snoqualmie Winery. Discussion of the guidebook was bolstered by informative presentations on energy efficiency incentives and rebate programs available to wineries through Bonneville Power Administration and Pacific Power in partnership with local power utilities including Benton PUD and Benton REA.
Workshop speakers included: Bob Chrobak, Stuart Childs and Sharon Melmon from Kennedy-Jenks, Joy Andersen of Snoqualmie, Blair North of Ste Michelle Wine Estates, Vicky Scharlau with the Washington Association of Wine Grape Growers, and Tom Tebb of the Department of Ecology.
See below for links on information from the workshop:
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