Parducci winery, part of the Mendocino Wine Company has announced that they are the first U.S. winery to achieve "carbon neutral status."
Wine Business News reports that the winery partnered with the California Climate Action Registry to determine their carbon emissions and then took measures to both lessen and offset them. Mendocino Wine Company has had "mitigation" practices such as solar installation, switching to biodiesel in company vehicles and farm equipment, converting from incandescent to fluorescent lighting, and a local tree-planting program. The winery has also purchased carbon credits, supporting projects that focus on methane and biogas capture, wind power and forest projects within its own bioregion. Mendocino Wine Company's vineyards are also certified Biodynamic, Organic, or Fish Friendly Farming and the company's packaging uses tree-free and recycled papers printed with soy-based inks. The winery also participates in reduce-reuse programs including on-site vineyard composting, water conservation and water recycling projects. Want to celebrate Parducci's carbon neutral status, I recommend the 2004 True Grit, a fiesty Petite Sirah-based summer red that goes great with grilled foods.
It sells for $24.99.
