Ponte Family Estate Winery was officially recognized as one of Temecula Valley’s “greenest” wineries this month with the achievement of its Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing certificate. “We are very pleased to be officially certified as a sustainable winegrower,” says winery owner, Claudio Ponte. “We started the process of becoming a sustainable winery in 2007 and, in the four years since, have looked at how to reduce the environmental impact of every aspect of our operation – from composting in the vineyards, to sourcing local ingredients for the restaurant, to switching to lighter glass wine bottles and recyclable shipping materials. It is very exciting to finally achieve one of our major certification goals.”Certified California Sustainable Winegrowing is a new certification program introduced in January 2010 by the California Sustainable Winegrowing Alliance to enable wineries and vineyards to communicate their commitment to environmental stewardship, conservation of natural resources, and socially responsible business practices. The certification program provides verification by a thirdparty auditor that a winery or vineyard adopts and implements sustainable practices based on 227 best practices, meets 58 prerequisite criteria, and demonstrates continuous improvement.
CSW certified growers and vintners use sustainable winegrowing practices to conserve water and energy, maintain healthy soil, reduce pesticide use, preserve wildlife habitat, protect air and water quality, recycle natural resources, enhance relations with employees and neighbors, and work towards the highest wine quality possible.
“Our team at Ponte Winery is committed to not just being good stewards of the environment, but also to doing our part to help the community,” says Marketing Manager, Sara Buzza. “Being ‘sustainable’ is really about being good neighbors – giving back where we can, and minimizing our use of finite resources.”
